Review of Exoprimal Xbox Series X – Sub Primeval
Capcom may have given many hope when it released the first footage for Exoprimal, which showed a character with red-hair and lots of dinosaurs. But, much to their dismay, the game is not the Dino Crisis remake that many were expecting. Exoprimal will have to fight to survive in the crowded market of multiplayer shooters and live services. While it is fun, Exoprimal’s long-term shelf-life could lead to its demise due to its repetition or high price.
You control Ace in 2043. Ace is an exosuit pilot who has been recently assigned to the Hammerheads. A ragtag group of misfits forced to crash-land on Bikitoa. Ace, a pilot in an exosuit, is kidnapped almost immediately by Lethiavan. She forces Ace to compete in endless wargames with dinosaurs and fellow exosuits to collect combat data.
Exoprimal is a multiplayer PvPvE game that combines horde shooters with hero-style shooters. It’s a unique experience in the multiplayer world. The players form 5 person teams and compete in these wargames to see who can complete the PvE goals faster. The two teams reach the final goal, either more PvE goals or objectives that pit them against one another.
Exoprimal is a rarity among multiplayer games that have stories that evolve as you play. In this way, it reminds me of Titanfall. Exoprimal, however, has the foresight to ensure that your progress through the storyline is not tied to the way you play. You can progress your story by playing games and gaining EXP.
Exoprimal’s wargames become more intense and violent as you learn about the mystery that lies at its core. You will be faced with new enemy types, objectives, maps, and hazards. Exoprimal rewards players who stick to it. Especially when you get halfway through the game, there is a mission that completely changes the rules of the game.
It’s not uncommon for these missions to be rare, which means that you will often find yourself doing basic missions like culling dinosaurs with other players, as the game matches you up with others who are new. Exoprimal may prioritize matchmaking for new players to help them progress and unlock better content. But this can be monotonous for veterans who are trying to solve the mystery of the game.
Exoprimal asks its players to put in a great deal of time into it. They must play for a long period of time before they can unlock more difficult challenges, tougher enemies, and interesting missions. This is a brave choice by a multi-player game, because new players may get bored of the old content before they reach the highlights.
Exoprimal’s core gameplay is very enjoyable, so it’s good that this game has such a strong foundation. The three exosuit classes are tank, DPS, and healer. The tank is all about large health pools to draw aggro and deal with the dinos, while the DPS has a variety of skills at their disposal that can be used at range, or even in the middle of the action. Support and healers have the biggest impact in matches. They ensure that a team is alive, while also dealing status effects which can confuse dinosaurs as well as hostile players.
Exoprimal’s highlight is definitely facing legions of dinos. Nothing can beat the excitement of taking on a T. Rex or a team working together to defeat a powerful enemy like that. Exoprimal’s peak is when it’s only players and AI. But as soon as other players are added, things get a little chaotic. Even if you’re just dealing with dinos, it can get quite chaotic.
There is a PvE-only option for those who do not want to engage in direct PvP. However, this severely limits the number of missions that can be undertaken, which means these players are likely to get bored much faster. Exoprimal will only survive if it has new maps, objectives, modes and objective types. This is without even considering the possibility of new exosuits and other content.
Exoprimal is fun, but it can’t help feeling like the game only has one purpose. After seeing the sight of a thousand dinosaurs attacking your team all at once the excitement wears off. It’s not possible to play the same songs over and over without getting bored. This may happen at different stages for players but it is inevitable.
Exoprimal’s pricing is where many people are likely to be disappointed. You’re paying $60/PS50 for an online multiplayer game which doesn’t give you the full exosuits right away. Instead, three are unlocked at each of the levels 20-30-40. The game has a scummy feel to it, as you can purchase the Head Start Pack in your digital store. It doesn’t help the scummy feel that unlockable tanks Murasame, and Nimbus are both quite powerful.
The Survival Pass (see Battle Pass) adds another 50 levels of cosmetics, and content. This is a charge that will have to be made every month if you plan on playing Exoprimal for a long time. Street Fighter 6 also has microtransactions, so you could argue that it’s a full-priced game. But at least SF6 offers a complete game along with this extra content.
Exoprimal would have been better as a free to play game. It seems that Xbox Game Pass is the main reason why it has a large player base. Exoprimal will likely be a dead game as soon Capcom pulls the plug on Game Pass. This means that all the interesting story content, including those that are worth playing, is gone.
Exoprimal can be played for free if you have Xbox Game Pass. You might even find something new to play with friends. Exoprimal, however, is not a game I would recommend to anyone who is planning to buy it. It feels as if the delisting asteroid is hovering above this dinosaur’s heads.
PR provided a digital code of Exoprimal Deluxe Edition for this review.
