izigame.me

I truly don't think there's a game quite like Exoprimal. There's a lot of vitriol from either side regarding its design, but the truth is that whether or not it will be to your tastes is subjective. No one has to like the game for what it is, and that should be respected. But I also don't think it's fair to say the game is bad for being exactly what it was designed to be, especially not when Capcom has already discussed plans to expand the game's breadth of content in the future to accommodate those looking for a more co-operative experience, which I'll touch on later.
Personally speaking, I adore the gameplay loop. Blow up dinosaurs as a team of cool robots in a PvEvP competitive speedrunning format. It's like if Tetris let you fill in the opponent's column with a T-Rex. The suits are all varied with interesting gimmicks, and leveling up is a steady process that rewards you with new ways to personalize those suits using various cosmetics and passive upgrades. If you're familiar with classic Call of Duty progression a la the original Modern Warfare titles, it's very similar in structure: level up your individual Exosuit and player levels to unlock new upgrade modules that provide boosts or even change the function of some abilities.
The story isn't going to be what everyone is looking for, but I've enjoyed the way it's presented. It lets you focus on the meat of what you're here for—the multiplayer—and you can either skip it to get back into matches or enjoy the cork board web of mysteries. It's a totally absurd narrative with a wacky cast of diverse characters, and it's exactly what I'd expect from a game self aware about the fact that it looks like some ridiculous mock up you'd see on a gaming monitor advertisement.
As for monetization, I don't hate it, but it could be better. Cosmetic-only payments are ideal, especially if you're going to have the audacity of charging $60 as a base price. The monetization isn't what bothers me because I understand that profits need to be made, servers need to be maintained, and lights need to be on if the game is going to keep getting support and releasing free content updates. But to add multiple $5 cosmetic sets on top of a battle pass at launch with a $60 base price tag? That's a lot to ask of people when taking a risk on your new multiplayer title. If the base price was $30-40, I'd be a lot happier. That said, everything surrounding the entry price is fine. Yes, lootboxes exist. However, they only provide cosmetics, CANNOT be purchased for real money, and are handed out with considerable frequency alongside the in-game currency (that you also can't buy with real money), which can be used to bypass the lootboxes for the majority of cosmetic items. Think along the lines of Overwatch (NOT Overwatch 2) if it wasn't designed to try and pressure people into gambling. It's a fairly admirable system overall, but for a lot of people, the price of entry is going to be a tough pill to swallow.
And regarding the aforementioned free title updates, Capcom has already given a roadmap for the game's future content. The first major title update will not only be adding alternate variations of every single suit in the game at the same time, but also a strictly co-operative gamemode; a purely dedicated PvE mode for groups of five players. This is separate from the existing raid-style content of ten players that you can only get as a random event during Dino Survival. Given the demand there's been for this sort of content, I can only assume more like this will be coming in the future. I may love the competitive element of the game, but this can only be a good thing. More ways to enjoy a game I like, and new features to attract those looking for something different. My hope is that, by the time these things are added, it'll be possible to buy the game on a decent sale to attract more players understandably put off by the price tag.
This has been a lot of words to say that I really do love this game. In a time where so many multiplayer games come out wanting to be a living, breathing ecosystem or whatever other buzzwords, it's been refreshing to have a game that hearkens back to the old philosophy of just making a game that's fun to play with other people. No, it's not perfect. I've already addressed the $60 price tag, and I have issues with the rubberbanding systems in place feeling questionably effective at times. But it's hard to care when I've had such a damn good time killing dinosaurs. No daily challenges, no toxic stat spread, no ranked competitive grind: just dead-simple fun rolling the mission objective slot machine and playing dress up with my little robots. If you're looking for a good drop-in, drop-out multiplayer experience then Exoprimal has delivered in spades with more variety to come in the near future. At worst, it's a game worth keeping on your radar to see what's new when the price goes down.