Exoprimal is out today! While we haven’t had the chance to play enough of the game to do a full review, we’ve given it plenty of time considering it’s a live service shooter that requires a considerable investment of time to write an educated review A cheeky preview. Our early verdict? It’s a fantastic game for Game Pass.
First things first: what is Exoprimal? The game puts you in the role of a suit pilot who is sent back to the combat war games of the past by a Rogue AI named Leviathan. You see, Leviathan’s job was to create better and better exoskeleton suits, and they decided that putting you and other players in endless battles with dinosaurs (and each other) was the best way to go.
If that sounds a little outlandish, it is! But the game actually does a decent job of setting up the premise, with enough sincerity and vibrant lovable characters to keep you engaged. It’s not a super-serious, heartbreaking story of love and loss, but it’s a fun way to slip into a tropical island full of dinosaurs without breaking a sweat. The feat I had feared was impossible.
But let’s dive into the gameplay. Exoprimal is packed full of exoskeleton suits (ten as of this writing), each with their own unique abilities and roles within the team. They fit the Assault, Tank or Support classes, and when you’re sent into battle, you can choose the right suit for your squad.
As you can probably imagine, Exoprimal’s overall fun factor depends a lot on how fun these sets are to play. I’m happy to report that after trying out most of the available suits, they were all exciting enough to keep me engaged in the quest. Krieger is my personal favorite, capable of quickly destroying hordes of raptors with its massive machine gun, but I’m glad to see that even support suits (there’s always a risk of this character feeling passive if mishandled) Can push me into action.
But if there’s one thing that stands out to me, it’s how spectacular Exoprimal is. It’s bright, colorful, and frantically tense battles and intense conflicts. Seeing a flock of raptors rushing towards you down the street, crazily crawling over cars and each other is a real visceral pleasure. It’s heart-wrenching to watch a T-Rex smash through a car and ravage your teammates. Exoprimal often produces “oh shit” moments–an invaluable trait for any action-oriented multiplayer game.
As far as first impressions go, it all sounds good, right? So why is it especially for Xbox Game Pass subscribers? Well, Exoprimal, as a complete game, sells for $59.99 or the equivalent in your region. This is a full priced game, and rightfully so! This is a game of real quality and heart. However, it’s a live-service shooter, and as we’ve seen of late, those games either swim far or sink fast.
I’m still not sure how long Exoprimal will be around. It’s fun, it’s weird, and it’s different from the hundreds of other co-op shooters out there, so I do hope it finds a following. However, it is indeed possible that this is not the case. That’s why Game Pass is crucial here – if you’re at all interested in the game, you can try it out right now for $12.99. Don’t want to buy the full thing? Had a fun weekend with some friends. A big fan? You can dive headfirst into Dinosaurland for full price.
Right now, this launch window is likely to be the pinnacle of Exoprimal. We don’t know yet. While my full idea of the game isn’t quite solidified in my head yet, I do think there’s some real fun to be had with this game. For the price of a month of Game Pass, it’s well worth your time if you’re a little bit eager to give it a try.
We’ll have a full review of Exo Primal next week, but if this preview convinces you to give it a go, you can grab it on Game Pass right now. Or, hey, buy the full game if you’re keen enough! It’s available on Xbox, PC and PlayStation, with full cross-play between all platforms. OK