Many fans were surprised by Capcom's newest IP Exoprimal, when it was announced a few months ago during Sony's State of Play event. The game focuses on team play where role specific exosuits are used to fight back against seemingly endless waves of spawning dinosaurs in a futuristic sci-fi setting. Capcom clarified things further this week during its own Showcase event where Exoprimal was heavily featured, revealing new gameplay, various modes, as well as new exosuits players can check out.
However, since the game's initial reveal, the community has raised questions about Exoprimal, especially if the game had ties to another beloved Capcom franchise, Dino Crisis. With Capcom remaking many older titles like Resident Evil 2 in the RE Engine, fans were hopeful that Dino Crisis could also be up for revival and many believed Exoprimal could be related in some capacity. During the game's initial trailer, one character in particular resembled the protagonist Regina, leading to plenty of rumors and speculation of a possible connection.
Following up on Exoprimal's recent big showcase, producer Ichiro Kiyokawa and director Takuro Hiraoka set the record straight in terms of any possible connection to Dino Crisis. During a recent interviewer, the duo were directly asked about any potential connection, to which they replied that Exoprimal is "its own unique thing and has no relationship to Dino Crisis." Hiraoka went to to further elaborate that Exoprimal is a full-priced release, also putting to bed any questions as to whether or not its Capcom's attempt as a free-to-play live service style experience.
Hiraoka then went on to reveal how the strange concept came to be as well as attempting to be the opposite of Capcom's other online cooperative series, Monster Hunter. In an attempt to create a feeling of satisfying action, the team decided to steer away from going up against a single powerful enemy and instead on a horde of smaller enemies. With the gameplay concept set, the team settled on dinosaurs, pitting Exoprimal players in intense battles against some of history's most fearsome predators mixed with futuristic technology.
Capcom also went on to explain how Exoprimal iterates on the PvPvE concept many games have started to turn to. Hiraoka believes PvP is a starting point for most games utilizing this concept, while Exoprimal is focused on PvE first, with what they describe as "enjoyable, exciting and unique." For players, the campaign mode Dino Survival is the best showcase of this concept which mixes modes, stages, and dinosaurs to create a unique experience each time it is played.
Exoprimal releases in 2023 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
Source: IGN