A sign of the standard set by other developers putting out similar models, or a sign at the sheer level of appreciation garnered by the very company in question? Comparing it to others in the field, or comparing it to that which said studio has already created. The answer may well vary depending on your own affinity for and recent history with Capcom and their release portfolio over the past half-decade. And while neither option is inherently wrong in this case, it’s telling that even at their “weakest,” for lack of a better word, Exoprimal is still a fascinating, at times surprisingly addictive on top, release. Inevitable it may have been to more cynical perspectives that Capcom would eventually gravitate to this kind of release – and this kind of drip-feeding content built on little more than promises and in all likelihood, hopes of a sustainable player-base.
That’s of course excluding the likes of recent Monster Hunter titles that too have found themselves recipients of many a post-launch support. But Exoprimal is very much a different kind of beast. And not a beast in the manner its many dinosaurs manifest in, but in the sense that it’s hard to get past Capcom’s decision to make this release feel like one continual, self-inflicting series of contradictions. A game that’s ludicrously pitched – and gains some admiration for its refusal to shy away from such a premise – but is relatively basic in construct; transparent to understand and grapple with its core gameplay, but that which makes itself so annoyingly-opaque in discovering what else there is to dig into.
To say Exoprimal isn’t the best designed release in so far as what players can expect would be an understatement. And if you’re someone unwilling to stick around for at least a few hours of the initial grind, you could be forgiven for thinking there’s little meat to Exoprimal’s Exosuit-powered, dinosaur-slaying bones. The consolation, just as it was with the beta as previous covered, is that Capcom have struck something with Exoprimal. A mixture perhaps of its intentionally-goofy tone, its simple-to-grasp combat systems and subsequently the desire to reach absolute team synergy in scoring that coveted victory in matches, Exoprimal can feel like one is on that all-too-familiar hamster wheel of grinding for simple grinding’s sake. But the difference is that it’s a grind you feel actively and voluntarily compelled to keep on.
Whether it’s mastering the tools employed by its assortment of Exosuits – separated into the three classes of Assault, Tank and Healer archetype – or bettering one’s efficiency at completing objectives at a quicker pace, Exoprimal may start things relatively scarce and basic, but there’s genuine fun and strategy to be found in being efficient. That sense of efficiency is elevated more by the fact that matches – be they PvE or PvPvE-oriented – are governed by how quickly you can complete a series of objectives. Throughout each game, specters of the opposing, five-player team phase in and out of your current progress. Fall behind, even by a spit second and you’ll watch as those opposing players rush to the next objective. By contrast, work well with your teammates and you can catch a backward glance at said team still struggling to meet the required check-list of monsters slain or criteria met.
In fact the best moments to be found in Exoprimal are those that may seem emergent and accidental – a result of one stumbling into some fortunate coincidence where you and a fellow teammate are in sync – but are in fact cleverly orchestrated by the mechanics to begin with. Exosuit abilities that may prove useful on their own, but when combined with another player’s chosen Exosuit at the same time, reveal a surprising level of hidden depth. Even something as simple as the in-game antagonist, Leviathan and its continued goading you on your skills (or lack thereof) inside and outside matches does its job at having you immediately loathe its presence. The main point to take away from all this is that despite the obvious repetition, Exoprimal does suggest its aware of its own limitations and makes an effort to make matches, win or lose, far from personality-devoid.
While this does mean success is often reliant on your team’s own focus on objectives – rather than mere brainless killing of any and all dinosaurs on-screen – it proves that Exoprimal is as much a game all about good coordination and reading the scenario before you as it is the sheer spectacle of near-future Exosuits battling against hordes of dinosaurs big and small. Not to say the spectacle and visual indulgence on show doesn’t lend itself to a smidgen of delight from time to time. Far from; simple an execution it might seem, there’s something comical and more importantly, precarious to seeing so many enemies rendered on-screen at any one time. Even at its most shallow and superfluous – at simply laying down fire on the most cannon-fodder of beasts – Capcom just about manages to imbue Exoprimal’s short-burst repetition with charm.
A need to grind naturally has its reasons in so far as how players make progression in Exoprimal. Accruing currency after every match – with a bonus multiplier applied for victories and in one case, simply picking Random in the match select screen – which can then be used to purchase and subsequently upgrade mods that you can apply to each Exosuit. A maximum of three can be equipped at any time and are broken up between more generic, all-purpose mods, to more tailored types based on an Exosuit’s given weapons or abilities. The drawback is that because there’s no tangible value or indicator to reflect how improved a stat said mod might bring, it’s left to assumption that equipping said mod will somehow make one’s abilities better. Albeit, the few percentage points better the game promises.
But that need to grind also takes the form of what Exoprimal considers its story/campaign. An effort that is by far the weakest element of the game, not just from a presentation and content standpoint, but worse, how it and a player’s progression are oddly intertwined. How continually partaking in multiplayer matches is in fact the game’s interpretation of a “campaign” and how this in effect governs the overall progression of the plot. But in the opposite direction, partaking in the plot is the only way with which players gain access to the wider pool of the overall content. It’s a bizarre way to go about it – made worse by the fact that it would be so easy to sink countless hours into the multiplayer and be none the wiser that something as thread-bare and shallow as skimming through a selection of audio logs, still images and characters partaking in a conversation is the only way to access this wider breadth of activities to partake in.
Even with this eventual expanding on the list of objective types and maps alike, it’s hard not to feel short-changed in so far as the overall package of Exoprimal. A singular mode that may alternate on occasion, but whose fleeting semblances of variety are confined to being mere “campaign” spots, rather than day one choices. There’s no horde mode-styled alternate, no Exosuit-only deathmatch/objective modes, no ten-player purely PvE format. There are so many options and possibilities to expand on the formula, yet Exoprimal strangely decides against this. Be it an eventual consequence of the game’s status as an ever-evolving, constantly-updated release needing that trickle-down of content or not.
Closing Comments:
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.
Reviewed on PlayStation 5
