Exoprimal Closed Network Test impressions — Good ol’ dino-blastin’

Look, I’m a pretty big Dino Crisis 2 fan. I’ve beaten it more times than I can count. And I may or may not have been depressed the last two years solely due to Classic REbirth not moving forward with a full fix for the game’s broken PC release. I’m getting off topic here, huh? My point is, when Capcom announced a game about fighting dinosaurs, I was fully committed at the outset. Exoprimal just had its first closed network test, so I was happy to get to jump into it. For a little bit, at least. Gotta wait another couple of weeks for the next one.

Exoprimal is a multiplayer PvPvE game. The closed network test only had a single game mode and map available, which was plenty to get a feel for the proceedings. This mode is the game’s main focus and sees two five-person teams competing against one another. Each character plops their avatar into an exosuit of their choice among three classes: assault, tank, and support. I had access to two of the assault and tank suits, but only one support suit. The game will have a lot more when it launches next year.

For most of each match, you and your team will go up against hordes of dinosaurs. Raptors, Pteranodons, and triceratops (weren’t they herbivores?!) are all present. Once all of the dinos are taken care of, teams compete to collect energy containers. If a team member holding energy containers gets killed by the opposing team, that energy is taken. The first team to get enough energy is the winner. Personally, I’m just here for the dino-fighting, as I don’t at all care for PvP. I’m sure there’ll be a hoard mode or something similar.

Dylan and Regina are not here, so don’t ask

Fighting dinosaurs is great fun; Exoprimal is something of a crowd fighter. Suits offer both melee and ranged attacks. You can wade into a ton of dinos and just go ham on them. Or dino-ham. They’re extinct, so we don’t have a name for their meat, although I’d imagine fowl is close. Sometimes, an enormous amount of dinos spawn and you have to hold out while getting swarmed by them, which is my absolute favorite thing about Exoprimal. The graphics are flashy and combat is impactful and immediate.

Each suit has different abilities that make them all feel quite different. The default assault suit can fire a grenade or a powerful laser blast, both of which have a cooldown between uses. I prefer using the assault suit with swords a lot of the time, but it’s easier to hit flying enemies and larger foes with guns.

In my brief time with the game, I think Exoprimal might really be worthwhile when it launches next year. Blowing up hundreds of raptors is just a good time, I don’t care who you are. But for now, patience. Maybe Classic REbirth will put out that Dino Crisis 2 fix in the meantime. They can’t ignore me on Twitter forever. Okay, they absolutely can and probably will. But I can dream.