Sony’s PlayStation State of Play events are always cause for excitement, as they give fans the chance to check out upcoming games that are in development for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5. Thelatest State of Play from Sonyfeatured a number of new game reveals, primarily from Japanese publishers. It kicked off with the reveal of a new game calledExoprimal, though it seems to have upset some members of the gaming community.
Exoprimalis a new game from Capcom that mixes co-op and competitive elements. The basic premise is that the game is set in the future, where people have to use mech suits to fight back against dinosaurs who appear out of portals. In theExoprimaltrailer, fans get to see an absurd number of dinosaurs on-screen at one time, not to mention some beasts that are impressive because of their sheer size, including a rampaging triceratops and a huge T-Rex.
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Online-focused games are always risky, butExoprimal’s reveal has ensured that some have dismissed it entirely. TheExoprimalreveal trailerbegins by setting up the basic premise of dinosaurs appearing in portals and people using mech suits to fight back against them, and then it cuts to a title card that says “CAPCOM PRESENTS…” As Capcom fans will know, the company is already well-known for having another dinosaur game,Dino Crisis.
TheDino Crisisfranchise has been dormantsince 2003’sDino Crisis 3, and it doesn’t seem like a new game will be happening anytime soon. Combining dinosaurs with the Capcom logo led many fans to believe that they were seeing the announcement of a newDino Crisisgame, only to be bait and switched with the reveal that instead of a newDino Crisisgame,Exoprimalis a brand-new IP.
Fans could be forgiven for assuming that theExoprimaltrailer was setting up the announcement of a newDino Crisisgames. TheDino Crisisgames deal with futuristic settings and portal technology that brings dinosaurs to modern and future times. There is even acharacter in theExoprimaltrailerthat looks very similar to Regina, the main protagonist of the originalDino Crisisgame and its sequel,Dino Crisis 2.
Considering this, it makes sense that there areDino Crisisfanswho are up in arms aboutExoprimal, as they feel like Capcom teased a new game in the long-dormant series, only to reveal a new IP instead. This reaction isn’t going to do any favors forExoprimaleither, so it’s a shame in more ways than one. That being said, it may be for the best thatExoprimalisn’t a newDino Crisisgame, as that would likely open up an entirely different can of worms.
IfExoprimaldid turn out to be anewDino Crisisgame, it would have likely seen significant backlash from the community. After all, the originalDino Crisiswas a survival-horror game, essentially functioning asResident Evilwith dinosaurs instead of zombies. The sequel stuck somewhat close to that formula but went in a more action-oriented direction, whereasDino Crisis 3threw horror completely out the window to be a pure action game. Even so,Exoprimalwould still be seen as such a significant departure from the previous games that it’s hard to see how fans would have embraced it with theDino Crisislabel.
And while it’s definitely disappointing that Capcom didn’t announce a newDino Crisisgame, the company should still be free to make games with dinosaurs in them. After all,Resident Evilisn’t the only Capcom franchise with zombies. TheDead Risingseries, while also having been dormant for quite some time, got off to a rather strong start with the originalDead Risingearning strong reviews from critics and developing a dedicated fan base.
It’s entirely possible that theExoprimalgame will be toDino CrisisasDead Risingwas toResident Evil. It may feature the same kind of enemies for players to fight, but is otherwise a completely different, unique experience and potentially the start of a popular new IP from Capcom. Then again, it’s also possible that the backlash to theExoprimalreveal is enough that the game will be dead on arrival, but it’s far too early to make that call.
Besides disgruntledDino Crisisfans being upset at theExoprimalreveal, it seems others aren’t happy about Capcom announcing another new game before delivering more on itspreviously-revealedPragmata, which is expected to launch for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X in 2023. There’s also some fans who are annoyed that theResident Evil VillageDLC wasn’t announced at the PlayStation State of Play either.
Regardless, fans should wait and see howExoprimaldoes before completely dismissing it. It could very well surprise the doubters and turn out to be a great game, despite its somewhat botched reveal.
Exoprimalwill launch in 2023 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
