It would’ve been easy to come away from a reasonable amount of matches and proclaim Exoprimal looks destined to be a flop. That this is one to easily avoid; as great a run Capcom have been on with their releases over the years, that even they're not immune to the more boardroom-dictated, economic temptations of recent. Of having players be that figurative hamster in the wheel, repeating the same ad nauseam service-based gameplay loop in the pursuit of some continual stream of revenue. Yes, it would’ve been easy to come away with several hours of the most recent beta -- closed and open to the public alike shortly thereafter -- under one’s belt and declare a unanimous conclusion on whether or not this is a game to invest your time into. Yet [un]fortunately, Exoprimal is an oddity. It has something going for it, a few things in fact. Minor glimpses and flashes of aesthetic touches they may be there to help steer the game away from the stigmas of live service-esque infrastructures, but beneficial factors nonetheless.

Inconsequential perhaps in light of how limited this recent beta has been and how little else we know of the game's nature. One mode of randomly-assigned mini-objectives in a small pool of randomly-selected maps and that’s it. Great it is to have access to every one of the Exosuits from the get-go, its inevitable monetization -- that which you know is stirring in the backdrop, just out of view and reach alike -- still something heralding many an unanswered question. One of the main sources of helping to stave off some unanimous dismissal is first and foremost in its tone. How Exoprimal seems to lean into the absurdity and nonsensical ridiculousness of its premise more than your usual game of this ilk, rather than hide from it. After all, this is a game revolving around Exosuits blasting away hordes of dinosaurs being transported to near-future locales. If that alone doesn’t sound like one of the most distilled equivalents of a "just roll with it" pitch, then what is? But what makes the premise easier to swallow, if not entirely be sold on, is in the acknowledging of (even reveling in) its own silliness.

While the game’s attempt at a story or plot were not touched upon in the beta, mid-match Exoprimal still has a touch more of the arcade-esque, self-aware vibe to its moment to moment gameplay. Leviathan -- the AI character who is both your guide but also the [somewhat] antagonistic force orchestrating the cyclical nature of the premise -- will occasionally attempt something a kin to wit by way of some description of a part of the map you’re in or a scenario unfolding. So too the game itself makes this unusual effort to straddle the line between grand and goofy, when a mission objective commences — despite it amounting to the bog-standard "fill the meter" shtick we’ve seen a thousand times over. Why are we suddenly up against a bottle-necked army of Raptors? Well…"just roll with it." And you do, not because the gameplay is complex or rewarding (I'd argue said moment is specifically the simplest of actual interactivity), but just like some pre-recorded B-roll to a high-profile ride at a theme park, Exoprimal has a touch more of a humility about the disconnect between what it's setting up and what's actually happening.

Which itself is more of a boone than Capcom themselves might expect, for as far as the gameplay itself goes, Exoprimal is an interesting mess of a core loop. A loop that is part senseless and chaotic, yet at the same time satisfying when it all clicks into play and you're fighting alongside fellow players who have your back, just as you have theirs. Monotonous in one breath, flexible the next -- dull and uninspired to then suddenly become more exciting and worthwhile when you eventually clinch that decisive victory late on. It’s truly bizarre just how quickly Exoprimal goes from one end of the enjoyment spectrum to another and how polarizing its finer mechanics are. Matches in Exoprimal proceeding as follows: two teams of five compete in completing a series of objectives, the first team to complete the last objective wins. The route between objectives, much like the selected map and type of objective, is entirely random but that doesn't stop the game, after a few matches, inevitably blurring together. Ranging from: take out a pre-assigned number of dinosaurs -- that can range from cannon-fodder Raptors, to frustratingly bullet-sponge Triceratops -- to defending an objective…while taking out a pre-assigned number of dinosaurs.

The variety (or lack thereof) does quickly wear the experience down. Maybe not in terms of enjoyment, but certainly in terms of the number of ways Exoprimal could potentially flow. Not least when brief spells are relegated to little more than holding down or endlessly spamming a solitary button for extended periods, without much in the way of challenge or strategy. More frustrating is how Exoprimal makes a conscious and seemingly incessant effort to get in the way of its players' own success. Do too well and the game will throw the opponent team a lifeline in the form of a powered-up dinosaur to soak up even more damage to level the playing field. By contrast, find yourself lagging behind the other team too much and you almost feel like you're cheating by forcing an added roadblock on your opponent to slow them down. It's an understandable way to make sure no one match swings completely in either direction, but the execution at present feels too invasive for its own good. Keep in mind that during these segments, both teams never directly engage with one another; instead a brief spectre-like glimpse of the opponent team is provided at intervals to indicate how far/close they are with their own mission progression. It's only at the final round whereby the PvE elements of Exoprimal evolve to being more PvPvE in nature. The same point unfortunately Exoprimal suffers one of its more major faults: its desire to appeal to everyone but as a result, as the saying goes, appeases no one.

Suffice it to say, the more direct and confrontational PvP sections of Exoprimal are its worst moments. Not because of the more direct and competitive element between teams. But because such moments can escalate to a kind of directionless, muddled chaos that (ironically or otherwise) loses what semblance of strategy there was in prior instances. There's nothing wrong with the prospect of having to balance one's focus between combating dinosaurs in one part and pushing the opponent team back so as to halt their progress. The problem is that in these moments, Exoprimal is too excessive. How, crucially of all, it’s hard to keep track of what’s going on and why it's even happening to begin with. One end-game objective having you pick up collectible energy to add to your team’s total, yet the game never makes it clear just how beneficial it really is to steal said energy from the other team or just rush across a map, picking up stray energy as you go. As noted, Exoprimal wants to be this bizarrely-themed PvE pitch with thousands of AI enemies on-screen, but at the same time wants a piece of the class-based shooter pie as well. The reality is both forms of gameplay seldom gel well or at worst make the preceding PvE objectives feel utterly meaningless.

For someone who focuses on playing objectives in objective-based modes -- as opposed to the bog-standard "get x amount of kills to win" -- it's frustrating when a match of Exoprimal can so quickly devolve to players simply going for kills and ignoring said objectives completely. One more thing to add to the abundance of factors to consider. A perfect example of the game trying to do too much in such a small pocket of time. Victory, as a result, feeling most times like something you've accidentally stumbled into as opposed to cleverly, strategically achieving. The "winner" being the team the game decided to screw over the least, by way of the infinitely-respawning enemies. And yet, its mindless indulgence with sheer numbers and volume of enemies aside, the reason Exoprimal’s gameplay is quick to convince you that one more match won’t hurt is in the sheer variety of Exosuits. Familiar a set-up the class-based attire may be to some -- Exosuits falling into one of three categories: Assault, Tank or Support -- even for someone like myself not that deeply-entrenched in these types of multiplayer systems, credit to Capcom for making such a premise so tempting to mix up from time to time in the pursuit of a play-style not just personally beneficial, but beneficial to one's team.

Each class, naturally, coming with a handful of unique abilities -- as well as one special move that slowly charges over time -- but whose own personal drawbacks and weaknesses are quick to exploit if proper synergy with fellow players isn’t met. Which in a way is the biggest plus: Exoprimal isn’t a game that you can just go full "lone wolf" over -- classes that provide buffs and heal other players are just as important as those that can lay down continuous fire, who themselves equally rely on those that can get up close and personal. Each class still relies on one another to truly thrive. Better still, the fact matches don’t confine you to the class you started with -- allowing you to swap between Exosuits at any time in a match -- means that that ideal team set-up is never too far away from being achieved. Even if the only real set-up to all-but-guarantee success does rely on your team made up of at least one of each class. Without a Support among your ranks, you're not going to do well.

And there I was swearing an oath to myself that only something like Genshin Impact would be excused from some daily grind of repetitive missions and similar gameplay loops in the pursuit of justification for one's time sufficiently spent. Because as flawed and a touch repetitive it is, Exoprimal does have its hooks. As reflected in the fact that by the beta's end my character is already beyond Rank 20. For every dull moment comes a spark of life to make matches more interesting. For every concern there's at least something else to illicit some degree of optimism that Capcom's intentions are [mostly] in the right place. Exoprimal is a mess, but the best kind of mess. A fascinating and at times lovably-silly kind of mess that seemingly has a solution to every problem the game itself creates. A few tweaks here and there -- sufficient content notwithstanding -- and it just might be enough to counter any substantial hemorrhaging of a player-base. Equal parts mundane and entertaining alike, Exoprimal's divisive, inconsistent and at times contradictory nature if nothing else has lent the game an air of curiosity as to where exactly it will land come July.