Exoprimal Review (Vixen)
Since Capcom has added additional MTX to some of their games post-launch before, I decided to hold off on a review until Season 2 just in case. Thankfully there hasn't been any post-launch MTX as of writing.
(edits for adjusting formatting)
TL;DR:
If you like or are open to trying PvE/PvP hybrid gamemodes (and/or hero shooters), are ok with long-ish queue times with crossplay (~2-5 minutes as of October 2023), and the concept of the game seems interesting to you; I can highly recommend giving this a go. There is no cross-platform partying yet (no playing with friends on Microsoft Store as a Steam player for instance), but if you are not bothered with partying up on Steam/aren't sure if you can commit to the price of the base game, it is also available on Game Pass if that is more ideal.
Despite how it looks, the game is not very grindy and the monetisation is surprisingly not egregious. Performance is quite good in my experience: I've experienced no major bugs and ~2 crashes overall, though of course YMMV. Servers seem fairly stable with no major hiccups in online play.
Long winded extended version follows, with some key stuff in bold:
The main flaw of this game is the marketing: I had little clue what this was about jumping into it and with how ~30-45 seconds of some of the trailers was dedicated to pre-order bonuses and showing off the Season 1 "Survival Pass" (battle pass), I was concerned this was going to be little more than an attempt to cash-in on the "live service" model that many multiplayer games have adopted.
Except that's not the case at all.
First off, the gameplay: it's a PvPvE gamemode primarily that's 5v5. Mainly a hero shooter but with an invasion mechanic (Dominator) that lets the invading player control a dinosaur and attack the opposing team. And there's also hordes of dinosaurs, potentially with dozens if not hundreds on screen at once. Including "Neosaurs", which function like elite units in other horde shooters (some use CC abilities, some strike from a distance, some explode, etc)
All this stuff has been done by other games, what sets Exoprimal apart is just how well executed it is. The suits have playstyles that feel familiar to some games (you have the infantry grunt DPS, the big shield Tank, the Healer spawning healing pools), then some that tap into something more unique (like the Healer that can fly and spawn black holes, or the damage Tank samurai, or the melee rushdown glass cannon DPS). Controlling a dino feels clunkier and heavier, but this seems by design and doesn't detract from the fun of smacking the relatively tiny suits around as a Triceratops or T-Rex.
(The Dominator is mostly used as a catchup mechanic, though the winning team still gets one but they get it nearer the end of the match. The catchup mechanics do feel fine. Since there's no Skill Based Matchmaking (SBMM) in this game as of present the catchup mechanics do help prevent the action getting too one-sided in my experience, though steamrolls sometimes happen they feel surprisingly rare.)
Presentation: graphically speaking, it's nice but not revolutionary; picture a game with high graphically fidelity from ~2017-2019 and that's about where this lies on a technical level.
However, the visual design makes up for it - the animations for different abilities and attacks are very nice to look at, battle damage shows up on exosuits as their health gets lower, dinosaur animations make large dinos look imposing (although not always in line with attack hitboxes) and small dinos look like a frenzied swarm, it's all very nice to look at.
One flaw is shadows sometimes showing up weirdly, as a bunch of little black dots on a surface like tiny bugs. This seems to be an engine issue, though there's no easy fix in the settings. It can be reduced by setting shadows to Medium and AMD FSR 2.0 to Balanced, but this is not a perfect solution.
The soundtrack is mostly nice ambient music, with some FANTASTIC tracks during key story moments, though the latter ones are not included in the OST on Steam unfortunately. Sound effects are also very nice and again help accentuate combat, however the big winner in the sound department in my opinion is the voice acting. The exosuits are standard hero shooter quips, but the main story cast manages to tap into some great emotion in their characters.
It's enough that I don't mind the unskippable cutscenes, because even if the lines are hit or miss the delivery is spectacular.
Speaking of, the story: like most multiplayer games now, there is a story. Unlike most "live service" titles, it's not background set dressing - it's mixed into the multiplayer.
You're given Metal Gear Solid 1 Codec Call audio logs after match completions and can see them on a big mind map to see how they all link to each other and the big picture. It's rewarding to complete multiplayer matches and have that translate into story progress, which then links into unlocking more missions in multiplayer.
On that note, multiplayer missions and maps are tied to story progress. New dinos and objectives get trickled in as you progress. This can make the game seem smaller than it is at first, I don't mind it but I can see why others may not be a fan.
In addition, some story events happen during multiplayer matches, including full on 10 player vs a boss fight encounters. The first time I played this stuff is where I got invested in the game.
It does mean unskippable cutscenes in story missions in case someone is doing this mission for the first time, but I absolutely love this concept of mixing multiplayer and a narrative campaign together and it is executed pretty well.
And lastly, some other online game stuff: this honestly feels like an "anti-live service" to me. Or maybe "what if live service games prioritised being a video game instead of a potential perpetual source of revenue?"
There are loot boxes, but only earned through gameplay and no way to buy them. There's a currency used for buying cosmetics, but there's no way to acquire that outside of gameplay. There's a battle pass, but with no tier skips and a 1:1 XP earn rate. There's not even challenges that make you sabotage yourself to progress the BP, or any Monopoly Money used for DLC.
Just play the game, get stuff, simple as. Heck, the battle pass is pretty quick compared to other games in my experience.
Especially once you hit level 50, it becomes very easy to get almost everything through gameplay; just as well since you can only get it through gameplay (save for some skin DLC packs). Exoprimal has pretty generous progression, though not a whole lot to grind for. Asides from getting exosuits to level 20 (or Alpha variants to level 10) going for higher levels is just for bragging rights.
Which, honestly? Good. It's nice to not feel punished for taking a break or playing other games too.
Overall, if you enjoy or are ok with PvP/PvE hybrid gamemodes in video games, and like or tolerate hero shooter combat, this is a solid game for both of those.
The monetisation is less than most games but there is still some, though all the stuff you can buy is on the Steam store and not hidden away in game. The only ones that affect gameplay are the Head Start Kit and Early Unlock Ticket packs; the former isn't necessary and I would recommend against the latter.
It might not have enough to chase if you're the kind of player who likes to go after every unlock possible, but the gameplay loop is fun and asides from the battle pass you don't risk missing out on a lot when taking a break. If nothing else, the main story takes ~30 hours of game time to complete, so as long as that interests it should last til then at least.
...I'm still not over a game NOT monetising loot boxes for a change...