Before we dive in, let us be clear about one thing: Exoprimal is a solid game with loads of promise. But there’s more to consider than just that. You see, it’s Capcom’s first foray into the live-service genre, which, let’s be honest, has been losing its shine lately. Introducing yet another live-service game won’t magically cure people’s weariness of the model.
Now, let’s talk about the not-so-great aspects of this dino-hunting simulator, mainly related to its live-service nature. It’s a tricky situation, my friends. Live-service games tend to improve with new content and quality-of-life updates, but they can often impact the game’s initial experience in various ways.
But fear not, it’s time to look on the bright side. Based on the hours I’ve spent here’s what makes Exoprimal shine.
At its core, Exoprimal plays like your typical third-person shooter, but the real fun lies in its diverse Exosuits, divided into three roles: Tank, Healer, and Assault. If you’ve played Warframe, you’ll notice some similarities, but Exoprimal manages to have its own identity.
We must give props to the RE Engine because the game ran smoothly on our Alienware X15 R2 with an NVIDIA RTX 3070 Ti (140 W). At ultra settings, the game was sitting comfortably at over 100 FPS. 1440p we get around 80 FPS. You can obviously try out medium and high settings for higher frame rates. These numbers are without FSR and we recommend not using FSR in this game as it’s a blurry mess. Hopefully, DLSS and XeSS make appearances here, not likely though. Having said that, the game does look nice and it runs well thanks to RE Engine’s magic here.
The core gameplay is also very solid as everything felt fluid and fast. There is definitely fun to be had here. You play in a third-person shooter perspective most of the time. Plenty of Exosuits, which are divided into three classes, Tank, healer and Assault. Every suit feels different and looks very different. Here’s one of the best things in Exoprimal though, you can control and play as a dinosaur. Have a look.
Now, let’s talk possibilities. With the design of a live-service game, Exosuits, the microtransactions, there’s limitless potential for collaborations and new content. Whether it’s introducing fresh Exosuits or raids with your friends or randoms, the sky’s the limit, and Capcom should capitalize on it. But here’s where one of Exoprimal’s weaknesses pops up. By today’s standards, a live-service game that comes with a price tag definitely demands a greater abundance of content.
Also, Exoprimal’s cross-play needs work. Here’s a tweet.
Despite the game’s flaws, it’s undoubtedly a solid experience that will find its audience. However, our gripe goes beyond Exoprimal itself—it’s with the entire live-service model. Let’s face it, live-service games aren’t going anywhere as they make a lot of money for companies. With that being acknowledged, Capcom hasn’t had the best track record for microtransactions. They have had very weird models where gamers get to buy new moves in Devil May Cry 5 and gun upgrades in Resident Evil: 4, and by doing that gamers bypass a lot of in-game progression.
In a nutshell, Exoprimal has its strengths, but a live-service game which isn’t free, definitely needs more content. If you happen to have Game Pass, giving it a go is an absolute must. We don’t recommend buying the game right now, maybe wait for a sale. There just isn’t enough meat on this bone. Yet.
