Exoprimal: PS5 Review

Developed by Capcom
Published by Capcom
Platform: PS5

As a gaming pitch, shooting hordes of dinosaurs dead as marauding waves of them head toward you is a compellingly simple one.

It's been the backbone of the Jurassic Park arcade game for some years now and with a frighteningly similar MO, Exoprimal's focus on doing what it says on the tin proves to be an impressively enjoyable one, even if it does feel a little disposable at times.

There's a little more at play here though than just some Overwatch-styled dino mayhem as you have to battle within your teams of five and try defeating the sinister artificial intelligence Leviathan. But largely, it's a case of kill, progress to your next in-game challenge and then try and survive.

In terms of gameplay, it's fluid, confident and as you'd expect.

This sounds like damning it with feint praise, but in truth, it does exactly what you'd need it to do to suck you in and help consume your time and investment. With a proffering of different suits and a smattering of differing abilities, Exoprimal is not a game that plays with the formula, merely one that helps build on the wargames formula and throws dinos into the mix.

Matchmaking is solid, quick and works well with plenty of opposition players to pick from currently, so the servers are more than doing their jobs. And while the initial missions consist of a team-only objective, the final one allows for confrontation and the real mindgames to begin as the bullets fly.

What's cleverest about Exoprimal is that the story develops after a certain amount of time is pored into the game - though one could argue that's also a danger given some will dismiss it as Overwatch-lite and give up before the twist comes.

Worth sticking with because of upgrades and also how simply fun it actually is to blast away, Exoprimal makes use of its enemy with narrative joie de vivre. 

Exoprimal makes an argument for solid PvP shooters, and also allows for many surprises - it's a rare beast that may just be a little too clever for its own good, despite its ease of pick up and play.