Addition after review publish – It appears that after progressing further in the storyline and switching my playlist to random there appeared to be a few more additional modes opening up for me. Whilst it clearly still does need more, beyond the opening few days I did experience a bit more variance in gameplay after writing this review.

When I first saw a glimmer of dinosaurs associated with Capcom when they first revealed Exoprimal, I was secretly wishing for another Dino Crisis. I think the majority of gamers of my generation probably were, but instead what we got was a third-person multiplayer shooter. Whilst I still wish for a Dino Crisis, I admire that Capcom has tried something totally new and away from their comfort zone of the usual classics they pump out regularly. I’ve spent a good 15+ hours with the game since it launched and I have repeatedly said to my friends “It’s just Overwatch with dinosaurs!”. It has many similarities when it comes to the endgame during PvP in my opinion and mimics many live service games, it also has a full retail price on it. Luckily for those with Xbox Game Pass, it launched straight into the service on release.

What Is Exoprimal?

Exoprimal is 5v5 online and features no single-player portions of the game apart from the beginning tutorial. There are two main modes that the game has started with and these are PvP and PvE through the Dino Survival mode. You can select a setting to randomly choose which one of these two you play with an enhanced experience bonus for filtering into both modes for quicker matchmaking. Crossplay is here from the get-go which puts a great big tick in the longevity box but I have some real concerns with the replayability with the lack of content in these early days with the game. Unfortunately, if you’re planning on hooking up with friends from other platforms, then there is no crossplay party function currently until a further update. This instantly ruled out one of my friends who plays crossplay with us on a variance of games, so he had to sit out on this one and play alone on PC.

Gameplay

The tutorial at the start is a requirement before you can commence into the other modes. After playing through this a few times during BETA testing I knew what to expect and it should only take around 10 minutes to work through. Here you’ll be guided through the basics, how to fire and use all your other special abilities and features and also change exosuits during the game. Once you have progressed through this then you’ll be able to dive straight into the Dino Survival with PvP and PvE as your choices or you can click Random which is what I selected and it never presented me with a PvE game in over 10 matches.

How Does The Game Work?

In both PvP and PvE Dino Survival, the modes work largely the same until the endgame. You and your team must race through a series of objectives in order to be the quickest team. Each section requires you and the team to dispatch a combination of dinosaurs before moving on to the next. Whilst playing you’ll be able to see the holograms of the enemy teams and an indicator at the top to see their progress versus your team. Some sections will throw dozens of dinos at you whereas the next may be a huge dinosaur to tackle.

PvP

At the end of the PvP match, you are pitted against the enemy to push a cube towards the end of the map and hold it there for a specific amount of time. If you worked through the missions quicker then you’ll have a slight advantage going into the final round. Pushing the cube forwards works like the payload mode in Overwatch where progress is fairly slow and team members have to be present for it to proceed forwards. Players can engage in combat with each other and there is nothing to stop you from going towards their cube to disrupt their flow. This is where teamwork is key as you’ll want to also heal as well at attack, so a mixture of classes is paramount to success. There is a dominator that can be collected during the game, this is accessed by pressing X and only one of the team can pick it up. You’ll be in control of a powerful dinosaur for a limited time or till death goes and cause chaos in the enemy areas.

PvE

PvE works on exactly the same premise as PvP without the race of pushing cubes at the end. This is purely a race to get the objectives done as fast as possible and the first team to do so is victorious. Dominators still play a part and become the only form of interaction you can have with the enemy team. This is the mode you want to jump on if you want to be more casual without the constant engagement of gunfights with the enemy.

Graphics & Audio

The game performs exceptionally well on Xbox Series X and I was surprised at how much better it looked in comparison to when I played the BETA. Through each section, you’ll be battling through swarms of raptors and other hordes of smaller dinos with some up in the air. Things can get pretty hectic and with five characters all pulling off different methods of attack and healing, it was impressive that there appeared to be no visual hiccups whatsoever. The cosmetic design of the characters on offer is excellent with me admiring the ones I could purchase later with in-game currency. It won’t be long before everyone has totally different aesthetic appearances and standing out from the pack.

The map designs seem decent enough but with the repetitive side of the gameplay, you take the same paths each time so it isn’t long until the map becomes a little stale. Some of the textures in the backdrops are a little wishy-washy but with how chaotic things are you don’t really stand still long enough to observe them in detail. The audio side of the game I found superb with the bombardment of frantic gameplay, it all hits the right notes.

Good Foundations But Questionable Longevity

Exoprimal has set the foundations of a great game and has an excellent concept that I have never personally experienced in a game. Playing as a five-man squad and racing against the enemy team to complete the objectives is exhilarating and really fun. Unfortunately, as it stands the repetitive nature of the game sank in after only an hour or so with only a couple of maps rotating and often playing the same one over and over again. I’d like to say there is a spontaneous nature to the objectives you do in the modes, but the same patterns of dinosaurs spawn in the same spots, and the same larger Triceratops arrives at exactly the same point. You just know what to expect every single time and it becomes very rinse and repeat almost immediately.

The levelling system, the huge range of cosmetic options and the other unlocks is keeping me reeled in for the time being as I am enjoying unravelling everything for all the characters and working towards unlocking the others. What leaves a sour taste though is that there are paid cosmetics, a paid battle pass, you can pay to unlock characters earlier and so on. For those who pay full price for the game, it feels like you’re getting a little fobbed off and whilst you can unlock those extra characters through normal play, those who pay a tenner to access them earlier get an advantage.

Final Thoughts

The longevity of this game in my opinion rests on how quickly they can keep additional content flowing. It needs additional game modes and fast. According to the roadmap, there is a new one coming on the 28th of July 2023, but across the first three seasons of the game, the plans look pretty lacklustre. I really want this game to perform and do well but with its current pricing structure, lack of modes and repetitive gameplay loop, I’d imagine many will bounce off this one swiftly.