In Exoprimal, humanity faces a formidable threat in the form of history’s largest and most powerful creatures: the Dinosaurs. In the near future, spacetime distortions manifest as portals, allowing these prehistoric beasts to invade our era. Disoriented and aggressive, these dinosaurs appear in overwhelming numbers. It falls to humanity to fight back, an effort facilitated through online cooperative gameplay. Players pilot specialized combat armor known as Exosuits, each possessing unique abilities. Coordinated teamwork is essential to survive the relentless waves of these primeval predators.
Exoprimal is developed by Capcom, a Japanese company with considerable experience in character action and mecha design. Upon viewing the initial trailer, parallels to Robotech were immediately apparent. However, a more thorough examination of the game’s mechanics revealed its true nature.
Exoprimal is exclusively an online multiplayer experience, predicated on cooperative gameplay to repel successive waves of dinosaurs emerging from temporal portals. While a narrative unfolds between missions, player agency in shaping the story is limited. The core gameplay loop centers around eliminating hordes of dinosaurs, often in competition with another team, which can lead to a sense of repetition despite variations in mission objectives and team compositions. The primary objective remains consistently focused on eliminating targets as efficiently as possible.
Visually, Exoprimal is impressive, with a high frame rate, although I observed some performance dips during periods of intense on-screen action while playing on the PlayStation 5. A stable and robust broadband connection is also a necessity. In my rural location, occasional internet instability resulted in untimely character deaths during missions.
In conclusion, Exoprimal presents a polished and visually appealing experience with an intriguing narrative premise. However, the core gameplay loop may become repetitive for some players, despite the variety of Exosuits and the dynamic nature of online team compositions. A single-player focused FPS experience with the same visual fidelity and narrative themes, allowing for free-roaming exploration and dinosaur encounters, would have more closely aligned with my initial expectations based on the promotional material.
Capcom provided a review code for this evaluation. The provision of materials does not influence our editorial assessment.
