Capcom's latest IP Exoprimal thrusts players into the war games, where they are tasked with surviving the onslaught of dinosaurs summoned by the AI, Leviathan. With ten different high-tech Exosuit options, players will not be without the right tools to lead their team to victory and ensure they live to see another day.
Exoprimal currently features two game modes, Dino Survival and Training. However, game gets its variety from the war games within Dino Survival mode, which are chosen at random by the Leviathan to test the skills of the Exopilots. With 11 different war games currently in the selection pool for players, it is worth becoming familiar with them as gamers progress through Exoprimal's narrative.
Dinosaur Cull
The most common of the war games players will encounter in Exoprimal, the objective of Dinosaur Cull is simple: defeat the indicated number of dinosaurs as quickly as possible to progress to the next round. The real challenge of this game mode is developing a strategy according to which dinosaurs are summoned to the battlefield, as well as hitting the dino quota before the opposing team.
The round will generally consist of between one and three different dinosaur types, depending on how difficult the dinosaurs are to defeat and how far into the game a player progresses. While the game may seem simple and a little repetitive to start with, progressing through the game's narrative will broaden the pool of available enemies.
Dinosaur Pursuit
The Dinosaur Pursuit game is self-explanatory, but it plays much like a Dinosaur Cull mission. Players are presented with a big dinosaur, such as a Triceratops or T. rex, and need to chase it down and kill it in order to progress to the next stage.
While the premise is fairly simple, completing the task is not as easy as it sounds. Fleeing dinosaurs are accompanied by swarms of their smaller counterparts who serve to block access to the target. In order to win, players will need to push past the swarms of Raptors and the like in order to complete their objective.
Data Key Security
Generally, this is the first final-round war game players will be assigned. Data Key Security requires teams to escort a large data cube to its checkpoint and upload the data it contains. To do this, players must walk next to the cube while holding off the advances of dinosaurs and opponents alike.
Checkpoints for both players and their opposition are side-by-side, meaning a conflict with the enemy team is inevitable. To get the upper hand, players can go on the offensive at any point and destroy the hostile cube, which will halt its progress while it is repaired.
Uplink Control
Similar to well-known Capture The Flag games of popular first and third-person shooters, Uplink Control concerns itself with maintaining control of the majority of the three bases located throughout the map. While in control of these uplink centers, teams can transfer data in pursuit of victory. The first team to reach 100% data transfer will win the round.
This war game is a PvP heavy challenge. Players will need to withstand the assault of both dinosaur hordes and enemy Exopilots. Given the variety of Exosuits available, players need to be accustomed to the strengths and limitations of their suit in order to adapt to the constantly changing battle situation before them.
Omega Charge
The Omega Charge game mode requires a single member of the team to take control of the Omega Hammer, charge its energy, and destroy the device preventing the squad from progressing. To charge the hammer sufficiently to remove the barrier, teams will need to amass as many dinosaur kills as possible.
For the initial rounds, this war game plays like a PvE-type scenario. However, the final device that needs to be destroyed is shared between both teams. This means that in order to win, players must outlast their opposition long enough to deliver the winning blow to the final barrier.
Escort
Like the Data Key Security war game, the Escort game requires teams to accompany a non-playable character as they perform some investigations on behalf of Leviathan. The NPC is a fellow Exofighter, but will not engage enemies or dinosaurs if it impedes them from performing their assigned duties.
Players will need to walk alongside their comrade as they progress on their mission, and ensure that the incoming dinosaur hordes do not harm the Exofighter. The one advantage is that the NPC is not fragile, so players just need to keep an eye on its health bar to know if they're at risk of losing their assignment.
Energy Taker
Energy Taker has a distinctly different premise from the other war games in Exoprimal. This challenge tasks teams with acquiring the target number of energy sources before an enemy team. The energy is scattered throughout the map and is reset in intervals to provide more opportunities to claim the advantage.
One point to note about the Energy Taker game is that energy can be stolen from opposition Exofighters when they are killed. While players won't lose all of their stash, losing efforts will be penalized and the penalty will likely end up in the enemy stockpile.
Vortex Sabotage
Vortexes are an integral part of Exoprimal and are a headache for Exofighters, as they are the source of the endless swarm of dinosaurs. In Vortex Sabotage, players will look to claim their planet back by destroying the vortexes and stopping the bleeding of prehistoric monsters.
To sabotage the vortexes, players first need to destroy the protective energy cylinders around the device, which requires significant firepower. This will require teamwork, as some fighters will need to damage the device, while others hold off the advancing dinosaurs.
VTOL Defense
In this game mode, players will find a grounded aircraft out of commission, which requires the team to work together to protect it. The vehicle has a health bar to monitor how well it is being guarded, with the round being lost if it hits zero.
There are a multitude of strategies players can employ. There are opportunities to stand on top of the VTOL and pick off dinosaurs. However, there is also the possibility of being more aggressive and not waiting for the dinosaurs to get there first. Whatever strategy players employ, teamwork is of the essence.
Area Defense
The Area Defense game is identical in premise to the VTOL Defense challenge; however, players must protect a different type of target. Instead of an aircraft, teams are tasked with protecting a data point while remaining in proximity to it.
The main point of difference between this and VTOL is that winning Area Defense requires completing the indicated uplink. By standing in the indicated zone, the uplink is made faster, and more players will increase the speed of completion.
Neo T. Rex
Aside from the final boss in Exoprimal, the Neo T. Rex provides the most significant combat challenge in the game. To kill a Neo T. Rex is so significant a feat, it requires both teams working together to overcome it. As an added challenge, this game mode comes with a restriction on the number of respawns allowed. The game is considered lost if the respawn counter reaches zero.
The Neo T. Rex is a far more difficult challenge than its namesake, and is capable of overwhelmingly powerful skills that have to be seen to be believed. To win, players will need to compete with the high-powered dinosaur, a multitude of other dinosaurs that come to help, and the potential hazards that Leviathan produces in the simulated environment.
Exoprimal is now available for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S