In recent years, Capcom has continued to not only support its well-known game series by releasing sequels to Resident Evil and Monster Hunter, but also to create something new. This year, the Japanese will present a project developed according to a completely new IP. Multiplayer action shooter Exoprimal with dinosaurs was a “dark horse” until the authors conducted open beta testing, thanks to which ordinary users could get acquainted with the game.
Exoprimal was announced in March 2022 at the State of Play showcasing PlayStation games. Ironically, the action will be available from release on the competitor’s Xbox Game Pass service. The first video was supposed to interest fans of the cult Dino Crisis by showing a red-haired heroine, vaguely reminiscent of Regina, and also to attract people who are fond of fashionable network battles in a team to the novelty.
Events unfold in 2043, where dinosaurs literally appear out of thin air. In the future, humanity is faced with the problem of portals suddenly opening in the sky, from which reptiles fall. To clean up the territory from terrible monsters, a special group was created, armed with force shields, exoskeletons and the latest weapons. Players will join an elite squad of reptile killers and take part in operations to destroy dinosaurs.
In the fight against bloodthirsty creatures, the Aibius corporation, which has revolutionary technologies, has volunteered to help, including a new generation of artificial intelligence Leviathan, capable of predicting the places where dinosaur portals will appear. However, despite the emphasis on the multiplayer component, the developers promise a full-fledged story campaign with a well-thought-out story and memorable characters.
In the trial version, only one mode is available and training, in which players are taught the basics of control and how to use exoskeletons and their special abilities. Each hero, who is given a choice of ten pieces, has his own talents. One is able to put up a barrier, the other to heal, and the third to move quickly and deal increased damage.
Available characters are divided into three parts: attack aircraft, tanks and support. The first ones attack dinosaurs, the second ones protect from them, and the third ones restore health and help their comrades-in-arms in every possible way. Each class can also be customized a bit by choosing one of five pre-installed skills. When a separate button is pressed, the ward will be able at a certain moment to fire a cannon, strike close with a fist, exit the battle with a catapult, heal or hang a shield on himself.
You can change exoskeletons and the above techniques right in battle. It is enough to call the main menu and confirm the decision. However, when replacing the robot, a person will jump out of it and run “naked” for some time. Why the developers did not create an instant replacement and why they complicated the mechanics is not clear. Probably, this will come in handy in other modes, and in the beta Exoprimal is primarily a team game.
Testers have access to the Dino Survival mode, which combines PvE and PvP elements. In groups of five, players complete different tasks on the map, destroying dinosaurs and defending targets, periodically competing with each other. The AI Aibius explains that they were sent into a simulation to learn the suits’ strengths and weaknesses before going into actual combat.
Capcom has taken the popular competitive action shooter Overwatch as its basis, in the second part of which teams of five also complete various tasks on the map. The mechanics of Dino Survival are similar, there are even analogues of the heroes from Blizzard’s creation – a character with a shield and support, moving on rollers and firing pistols that can both heal and deal damage.
However, some moments of the mode resemble completely different games. Exoprimal flaunts asynchronous multiplayer, allowing you to annoy the enemy in the form of a dinosaur. When the AI realizes that one of the teams is getting ahead, it will give the weaker team the opportunity to summon the T-rex. Moreover, it will be controlled by the player who will take the gain that appeared on the map. A powerful predator is able to instantly trample all five enemies, thereby giving odds to his comrades.
When both teams are at the finish line, a real fight to the death begins: exoskeletons compete with each other on the same terrain, trying to bring a cart with valuable cargo or collect resources faster than the enemy. In the latter case, points are awarded not only for obtaining materials (1 point), but also for killing enemies (3 points). At the same time, dinosaurs interfere in the matter, preventing victory.
Separately, it is worth highlighting the moment of protection from a wave of raptors. In a separate case, a huge portal opens in the sky, from which hundreds of bloodthirsty creatures spill out. The flow of predators sweeps away everything in its path, and the team needs to literally build walls and close with a shield to keep it.
The passage of the modes for the destruction of dinosaurs is quite simple: players need to kill a certain number of a particular species in order to complete the stage. Reptiles are small, overwhelming, flying, exploding, spitting, and huge. Also, very small dinosaurs that slow down the movement are inconvenient.
Players will meet velociraptors, pteranodons, ankylosaurs, pachycephalosaurs and triceratops. Among the neosaurs are: gas neosaurs, sniper neosaurs, awakening neosaurs, pyro neosaurs and neo ankylosaurs. In addition to the Tyrannosaurus Rex, Aibius throws dinosaur buff anti-bonuses to the enemy team if he sees that the gap in progress is too large.
In addition to the exciting gameplay, users are waiting for the impressive graphics of the RE Engine, which is the basis for Resident Evil 7: Biohazard and subsequent games in the horror series. On the PS5, not a single bug or frame drop was noticed during the entire testing period.
Exoprimal runs quite smoothly and flaunts a bunch of special effects that make you give your eyes a break after each session. Management to match the technical performance – incredibly accurate and with excellent response. When dealing damage, the DualSense vibrates, making it clear that the blow did not go “into milk”.
Based on what has been written, we can say that the Japanese have an interesting project. The mixture of Overwatch, Anthem, Earth Defense Force and other competitive and co-op shooters comes out well. Dino Survival is incredibly fun to play and hard to put down. However, the exciting mode is only part of the upcoming game. It will be interesting to look at the plot component and other missions.
Exoprimal will release on July 14, 2023 for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One and PC. The project will be translated into Russian with subtitles, full dubbing is also expected. In addition, it is worth considering that Capcom will add a cross-platform play feature, so there will be no shortage of teammates and opponents.
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