Among the next releases that caught our attention, there is one that is a bit special. Back to our first hours on Exoprimal, Capcom’s new shooter.
One could easily say in 2023 that all games are starting to look alike, especially in the shooter category, where gamers are beset by a myriad of licenses that saturate an extremely popular and competitive market. Whether it’s ultra-realistic FPS or arcade, Battle Royale or extraction shooter, it’s hard to find in this tide something new that really stands out. But fortunately there are still studios that keep a little imagination, like Capcom and its next Exoprimal. The Japanese studio has swept away all the codes of the genre with this futuristic PvP and PvE TPS, pitting players against…dinosaurs, to the point of abandoning all logic to provide the player with a unique experience. Our editorial team was able to take this new release in hand, and gives you its first impressions.
If we were to pitch you the scenario and the universe of Exoprimal, you might think we were crazy, or probably laugh out loud, but here we are. The game immerses you in a futuristic world, where humanity is in the grip of a terrible war against dinosaurs. You heard it right, our cold-blooded predecessors are back at the end of the 21st century to ravage everything in their path, causing humanity to create divisions of pilots in exo-armour to fight them. Add to that a mega-multinational run by a particularly developed AI, and you have the basis of a whole new universe in which to invest the few hours of your free time.
The goal is not to reveal to you the extent of the scenario of Exoprimal, we can all the same retain this: but where are we there? From the first minutes of the game, we can feel that Capcom was pleased with this next release. Colorful characters, crazy storyline, overflowing action… Everything comes together to create a universe of blissful absurdity where mecha pilots and tyrannosaurs fight each other for the greatest pleasure of a rather dodgy Artificial Intelligence. Note also that a whole section of the game is reserved for the storytelling of this crazy adventure, which may appeal to players eager for lore and contextualization, while remaining optional for those who just want to knock out reptiles. In any case it is clear that the game does not take the lead.
The time has come for us to explain the concept of Exoprimal more clearly, because a third-person shooter, half PvP, half PvE, doesn’t appeal to everyone. In Exoprimal, you are gathered in two teams of 4 players in a strictly multiplayer mode. In the first part of a match, each of the two teams find themselves in their own dimension and face off against the dinosaur under the watchful eye of the Machiavellian Leviathan, the deranged AI which could well be the cause of all the recent problems of the humanity. Once a series of objectives have been completed, the two teams are teleported to the same map where they will have to compete to achieve a final stage such as pushing a cart, capturing points or collecting data. Both teams must complete their objectives as quickly as possible in order to win the game.
Each player chooses their mecha at the start of the game, and can choose another character at any time during the game. Armors are fully customizable from the main menu, have different classes and skills and you will unlock different new elements during your game. progress. A classic scheme to complete a fundamentally original gameplay. In Exoprimal, you will jump in all directions while exploding dinosaurs from all sides, it’s simple, it’s fun, without any pretension, except that of extracting 60 € from you all the same.
So not everything is perfect in Exoprimal, especially in terms of technique. The game looks really dated visually, the environments are very uninteractive and the maps repetitive. Note also that the AIs complementing your team or the opposing team often show undeniable stupidity. But hey, we’re not going to hide from you that our few hours on this title refreshed and amused us, and at the risk of repeating ourselves, its biggest advantage remains its enjoyable absurdity. On the other hand, it is difficult not to imagine a free-to-play format for a game of this caliber, in particular because of its dated technique. Capcom’s intention unfortunately remains to offer a paid game service with different seasons of content when it is released on July 14, on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series and PC.
