Exoprimal

Matches are absolute dino-might but the progression system misses the mark. There’s a lot to love here, but the story gets in the way of the best bits. [Issue#31, p.90]

At its most intense, Exoprimal is aakin to playing an EDF game without the accompanying performance issues. [Issue#388, p.100]

Exoprimal is fun in short doses, and there's absolutely a foundation to build on here. Like many live service games, this could be something very special in a few months.

Exoprimal is a mixed experience. Its simple concept offers immediate fun, as defeating dozens of dinosaurs with the exosuits is very satisfying during the first couple of hours. Unfortunately, the combat system is unable to sustain the entire experience and avoid the feeling of monotony.

Exoprimal’s blending of the futuristic and the prehistoric is an excellent concept, and it’s served well with satisfying combat and a diverse array of Exosuits. However, it’s let down by some slow pacing and repetitive game modes, and any new live service game needs to be doing more out of the gate to convince players to stick around.

Exoprimal is a cooperative shooter characterized by a great gameplay, but which desperately needs more content due to excessive repetitiveness of the matches. It takes very little to see everything that Capcom production has to offer. In other words, at the moment it is perfect for playing a few matches in the company of friends, especially if you are an Xbox Game Pass subscriber. Those who, on the other hand, hoped to invest hours and hours to watch the final video of the campaign, may find themselves faced with an insufficiently stimulating package.

I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have a lot of fun with Exoprimal. With its satisfying shooting, well-designed co-op, and unique yet lighthearted narrative and tone, Capcom’s team-based shooter can often be a genuine thrill, especially when your team synergises together in unison. Sure, it may be big, dumb, turn-off-your-brain fun, but, sometimes that’s all you really need, right?

Exoprimal is a fun and spectacular co-op shooter, featuring a very solid combat system and an interesting strategic balance, tied to the specifics of the Exosuits and the ability to switch freely between them during a match. Clearly it does not possess the narrative depth or personality of a single player experience like those Capcom delivered in recent years, and the retail price could certainly have been tweaked downward considering the current content, but if you have an Xbox Game Pass subscription and enjoy the genre, the download is definitely recommended.

A white-knuckle fusion of Overwatch 2 and Gears of War, the excellent Exoprimal is one of the best co-op shooters in quite some time. With a varied, entertaining roster of characters, all with unique playstyles and synergies, there’s tactical depth to this third-person shooter which only serves to make its pulsating prehistoric battles all the more rewarding. While it is a little lightweight at launch, and there will be questions over whether it’ll receive the post-release support required to ensure its longevity, there’s the foundation for something truly special here.

With a new PvE match type set to be added to the game later this month, and more updates promised in the future, we’re intrigued to see what becomes of Exoprimal. While it’s not quite as compelling to play as we’d hoped it would be right now, it’s still very enjoyable in short bursts. We love its Exosuits, and we love its varied range of brilliantly realised dinosaurs, but we’re not so keen on the fact that there’s currently only one match type and that, whether you play PvP or PvE, it’s ultimately still a race that gives you little opportunity to take everything in.

Held up by its superb class system and the intrinsic elation that comes with melting prehistoric lizards with a railgun, Exoprimal is unfortunately let down by a lacklustre story offering, anemic number of modes and a question over its longevity. While those drawbacks will put some people off, those fond of firing a grenade right up a Stegosaurus’ hide will be laughing long into their dozens of hours of playtime.

Exoprimal has several merits, including making dinosaur hunting fun and challenging fights between exosuits. At the same time, however, Capcom has made several mistakes, such as focusing on only one mode and launching a game that cannot entertain in the medium to long term. In short, after the missteps made with Resident Evil Re:Verse and Resident Evil: Umbrella Corps, Capcom has again missed the opportunity to make a noteworthy multiplayer experience.

Exoprimal is a good example of an idea that should have probably spent some more time cooking in the oven. While its fun to blast your way through dinosaurs and enemies alike, the game is seriously lacking in content and originality, which could shorten its lifespan sensibly.

As you play, you progress through the story and level up the Exosuit of choice, which could be a drag if you like to play with various suits and classes. There is a Battle Pass in place also that has its own leveling which is a bit slower than the character leveling. I think once I play a bit more through the season the game will open a bit more and give more level and enemy variety. I just feel locking the story behind a multiplayer mode is a drag but again I see potential here.

Exoprimal is yet another attempt by Capcom to create a long-lasting online shooter. And while this is the game that comes closest to hitting the target, the lack of content and repetitiveness may deter players willing to invest time and money.

Exoprimal provides plenty of short-term fun, but the fact it is encased in the worst aspects of a live service game make it difficult to love.

Exoprimal has a good foundation, but the lack of content and its progression system make it fall behind its competitors. It is, though, a very original experience, so hopefully it can improve over time.

Exoprimal has a well-structured and quite fun gameplay. But the lack of variation in game modes and a restricted progression system end up hurting its release. Despite this, if you like multiplayer games, keep an eye on Exoprimal, as Capcom's medium-term support could make it a more interesting option.

The wild fight against dinosaurs and the opposing team offers a wide variety of classes, but becomes monotonous far too quickly.

When stripped down to its bare essentials, Exoprimal can be a really fun time. However, its strange monetization choices, locked content, repetitive mission types, and rather sparse options on release ends up adding more tedium than fun to an otherwise refreshing experience.

Exoprimal makes a fantastic first impression as you enter the world of futuristic dinosaur combat. You have an intriguing mystery, cool exosuits, and several varieties of dinosaurs to fight. Unfortunately, the gameplay quickly becomes stale as you realise its repetitive nature. If you want to enjoy the mystery, you must play a large number of games. Only the most hardcore PvP players will want to continue, as others may tire of the lack of variety. As interesting as the concept is, Exoprimal doesn’t take full advantage of the premise, instead providing a decent multiplayer experience for a few hours.

Surprisingly effective it may be at crafting a simple-but-enticing loop of gameplay, Exoprimal‘s shallow variety and unclear methods of progression land Capcom’s latest in a middle-ground of being both entertaining and heavily flawed. If nothing else, the studio’s foray into this form and model of PvPvE multiplayer is not without some merits. A splendid assortment of Exosuit classes to discover complete with an overall tone and delivery via its setting and premise that seems all too aware of its own absurdity and happily running with it. The latter of which aiding immensely in convincing you that one, two or five more matches won’t hurt. And it’s that replayability and direction in tone that just might be this game’s saving grace. As it stands, a non-existent campaign coupled with limited variety of content means Exoprimal‘s fate — like so many — will live or die by its post-launch, mid-to-long term support. As sufficient the foundation admittedly is.

Exoprimal’s dreadful narrative and foundational mishaps drain the life out of the fun to be had, leading to one of Capcom’s roughest outings in recent years.

Exoprimal is a game that had unprecedented potential to be multiplayer entertainment for millions of mecha and dinosaur fans, and yet we got a pale unoriginal copy of typical competitive shooters.

It's tough to deny our slight disappointment with Exoprimal. Rather pleasant to play and offering many tactical possibilities in team play, not to mention simply insane phases with thousands of dinosaurs to face, it is clear that Capcom has not chosen the right structure: the one and only game mode to repeat on a loop is enough to drive crazy the whole first part of the game and even during the second. More solid content, a more traditional single-player campaign, more digestible writing and simply more things to do or unlock (other than skins that push you to buy the battle pass) would have been very wise to make it a fun game over time. We will probably have to come back in a few months, when Capcom has delivered a real variety through the promised seasons… but as it stands, Exoprimal looks like a dinosaur not far from having nothing but mouth.

Exoprimal isn't something anyone really expected, but landing on Bikitoa Island with no expectations may have made the game more enjoyable - at least in the earliest hours. Sadly, it doesn't tend to evolve past that, with its explosive opening volley followed by repetition that, while still fun, feels unfinished. While I'm hopeful more game modes are on the way, what's here right now that's enough bite to convince you to stick around for long.

Despite its bizarre premise, Exoprimal’s core loop works tremendously well, providing a team-based multiplayer experience that’s simultaneously unlike anything else and has a strong ‘one more match’ feeling. However, it remains extremely difficult to recommend due to being a full-priced multiplayer-only title.

A very peculiar online shooter that manages to be both quietly original and shamelessly derivative all at the same time. It does have dinosaurs in it though and that counts for a lot.

Exoprimal will be a rollercoaster of surprises for the majority of players. Making your way through the fifty-or-so matches it takes to hit credits, experiencing all the spectacle on display in this curveball of a game, is in my opinion worth the cost of admission for Game Pass users, and perhaps at a discount for all others. It'll remain a presence on my PS5 home screen, for now at least.

If you’re someone who doesn’t mind investing in a product on the promise of what it might become, then I say go for it, jump on in. The core gameplay is so well refined that I have no doubt that fans of shooters and team-based shooters will find merit in what Capcom has produced and be able to overlook its rougher edges in the way I have. Whether that enthusiasm lingers long after the launch period remains to be seen. As highlighted, Exoprimal has core issues that need resolving to ensure it doesn’t become another live service casualty.

Exoprimal is by no means a terrible game, but it just doesn't reach the heights that you'd expect when you hear about its premise. It's a mixed bag, but if you are looking for a new multiplayer experience and can withstand the Dino Survival mode, perhaps it's the game for you.

We can say that Exoprimal is the worst game Capcom has made after many years. Now companies should put an end to the Live Service game frenzy. Even if they will, they shouldn't do it in an F2P way.

Exoprimal may offer engaging and sometimes exciting combat and the core gameplay mechanics are what you’d expect from a shooter, but it falls into a loop of repeating itself way too early and for an online experience, that’s the biggest issue. It has the potential to become much bigger and better than what it is right now, but unless those updates start rolling, I don’t recommend paying the full price just for potential.

Exoprimal was clearly designed to be free-to-play, and much like Capcom’s other competitive multiplayer offerings, I kept trying to find a hook. It’s worth a go on Xbox Game Pass, but this dinosaur just can’t beat the kings of the genre.