Exoprimal Review

Overwatch meets dinosaurs!

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Platform: PS4/5 Xbox One/X|S PC

Reviewed on: PC

Developer: CAPCOM

Publisher: CAPCOM

Release: July 14, 2023

Time Played: 14 Hours

Genre: Online Team-Based Action

ESRB: M

Exoprimal is not the dinosaur game by Capcom we wanted, but the dinosaur game by Capcom we got. It’s a multiplayer game set in the future where you play as an exo-suit pilot along with four other players taking on wave after wave of dinosaurs in the chaotic wargames construed by an AI named Leviathan. It feels similar to Overwatch, but not quite as technical or intense. So far I’ve put about 12 hours in, if you’d like to see some gameplay check out the live stream in the description below. It is a game for a certain audience, I enjoyed it, but before you purchase it, I would like to let you know what you’re in for while playing.

Where it begins:

A crew of exofighters known as the Hammerheads are out on a standard patrol mission when disaster strikes, causing them to crash land on a nearby island. Soon after, the rookie of the team, Ace, gets taken back in time three years to participate in a wargame, fighting dinosaurs, run by a mysterious AI. When the game was finished they got sent back to their time. But the AI isn’t quite done with Ace yet, they will be brough back for multiple wargames. It’s up to Ace and their crew to survive the wargames and figure out why all of this is happening.

Can the kids watch?:

It’s nonstop chaos fighting wave after wave of dinosaur, I would say the kids could watch this one despite the M rating. There is a story, but you get to decide when to watch it, there wasn’t any extreme language or graphics to worry about in the cut scenes. The only thing I would worry about is the fact that this is a multiplayer game, where you are playing with random people on the internet. You never know what can come out of their mouths in a match. You can turn off voice chat if you’re worried about it though.

Gameplay:

Starting out

The game will start with you creating your character, Ace. There will be a few preset options to select from and then some more fine tuning, including a more masculine or feminine type. Ace doesn’t speak at anytime in the game, so you don’t have to worry about any voice options. And the great thing is you can adjust your look at any time for no extra cost.

All Multiplayer

There are no single player options for Exoprimal. It will be match after match playing with other people, and sometimes Bots if the lobby couldn’t be filled. The teams consist of five players, you can play with friends or count on the teams to be created for you. Most of the time the games I had weren’t too bad playing like that, but there were a few games that felt like we weren’t a real team and did not work well with each other.

Exosuit Classes

There were three different classes of exosuit, assault, the class with the most damage output for taking out the dinos, the tank class, in charge of protecting the rest of the team from damage by pulling aggro on dinosaurs and keep them distracted for the assault team to do its work, and finally the support class, exosuits equipped with healing capabilities to keep everyone alive and healthy. All classes can be used by everyone in the match at any time, there were no maximum seats of certain classes.

Changing Exos

The ideal team would consist of one tank, three assault, and one support. There is some wiggle room depending on everybody’s skill levels it’s not a set rule. When joining a random match everyone comes equipped with their favorite exo, so the team could be very lopsided and not work. Thankfully there is an option throughout the entire match to change to any exo you have available. So if the match starts to go awry because the team is lacking somewhere it is very easy to fill in the void. When in the change screen the game will also tell you if the team has no support or something like that to help you make quick on the fly decisions.

Mods & Rigging

You can customize your exosuits to fit your playstyle with mods and rigging. Every suit needs to be individually equipped, there isn’t an equip all option. The mods add things like more armor or speed in certain situations, they are a must to really build a good suit. The rigging is the special equipment carried on the back of the suit. They have a cooldown between uses and some work much better with specific suits than others, like a personal healing area, or a get the hell out jump when things are really bad.

Upgrading the exosuit

As you level up your character new mods and rigging will become available for your exosuits. Once unlocked you can use Bikcoins to purchase the mods, bikcoins are obtained from playing wargames. Every exosuit will start at level one, with levels increasing the more you use it naturally. As the exosuits level up they unlock mods only for that suit. So, the exosuits might not feel great starting out, but have the capability of massive improvement with the right mods equipped.

Combat

Every exosuit has its own unique skills, but they all seem to fall into a broader category, allowing for a smooth transition from one to another. They have the basic attack that can go non-stop, unless they need to reload, a couple more powerful attacks with varying cooldowns, a mobility move like dodging, and finally an ultimate move that is slowly charging up the entire fight. They may all be kind of the same, but some skills have very different effects depending on when they are used. There is a lot more to each suit than just shooting and running.

The Wargames

There are a few different wargames that all start to feel the same after so long. Two rounds with a few phases in each, sometimes just culling a dinosaur outbreak, sometimes you need to stand in a specific spot to power up a generator while defending from the outbreaks, with the main goal being to complete objectives faster than the opposing team. There are two different modes, PvE and PvP, with most of the same missions, the difference being in PvP you can attack the other team to hamper their progress, or they could attack you, adding a whole new element to worry about while trying to win.

DINOSAURS!

The wargames will involve a ridiculous amount of dinosaurs. Usually starting out with smaller dinos like raptors and Pteranodons, building up to bigger beasts such as Ankylosaurus and triceratops. The smaller ones usually attack in great numbers, other than that they were pretty weak and easy to take out, but as the team progressed and bigger dinos came out things could get pretty out of control, especially if the big guys were accompanied by all the little ones. At least once in every wargame, in PvE and PvP the teams can take control of a dinosaur and actually attack the opposing team, it’s a totally different ball game when an actual player is controlling a big nasty Carnotaurus.

Unraveling mysteries

The story is laid in a unique way. Sometimes in between wargames a cut scene would ensue moving the story forward, but the story was in passively finding lost data in the wargames and checking it out the analysis map. In there will be short conversations between the characters, fleshing them and the world out. After so much lost data is observed, it will unlock a cut scene, the same cut scenes that show up in between wargames. So, you can really just go through the game with a minimal knowledge of the story, dealers choice.

Cosmetics

There are a ton of cosmetics within the game to really make the exosuits your own. Different colors for the armor or even a unique look. Some of them can be purchased with bikcoins obtained from war chests while others are only available from a purchased season pass. There are even some emblems you can equip in certain spots on the exosuits, the possibilities are endless. If your into that sort of thing.

I was surprised at how much I ended up liking this game. From what I understood there was a story involved and I was hoping for a singleplayer option to go through, but it’s all multiplayer. Very comparable to Overwatch with the different classes and objectives, but it didn’t feel nearly as technical. I felt like I picked up the mechanics of Exoprimal pretty fast. So let’s get this rated so I can get back to it.

The visuals of Exoprimal were pretty good, in combat anyway. The cut scenes didn’t look bad either, they just look like they weren’t the main focus, I’m going with a four

The story was there, it did kind of feel like it was put on the back burner to focus on the multiplayer aspects of the game, I’m going with a three

Gameplay feels like it worked the way they wanted it too, the only issues really being the fact it’s a multiplayer and heavily dependent on working as a team, and that’s not always the case. I’m feeling another three.

Replayability is very high, in the idea that it’s all constantly being replayed with every wargame. If you like the wargames your replaying all the time, it’s getting a five

I came into the game hesitant about what I was getting into, but it really grew on me. I found exosuits in every class that I enjoy to play and I want to keep playing, it’s getting a five.

Exoprimal scored very good in every category, averaging out at four out of five, earning it a spot right there on the top shelf. I enjoyed the game, but if you’re not into multiplayer games I think you’d be hard pressed to really get into it. If you’re still on the fence after this review check out some gameplay. The only thing I’d worry about is the possibility of people getting bored and quitting, with a strictly multiplayer game that could kill it for everybody.