Last night, Capcom announced a new Dino Crisis, except it didn’t. There seemed to be a collective turning towards Dino Crisis in hopeful desperation over the couple of days before the event; we knew it was Japanese games, we knew it was unlikely (as it always is!) that Final Fantasy would bother to show up, and it feels like we’re all Resident Eviled out for now. In this era of comebacks, reboots, and remakes, it feels as if Dino Crisis is right at the front of the queue. Instead, we got Exoprimal. It’s Dino Crisis, except it isn’t.

It would be significantly less weird if Exoprimal was being made by literally any other developer. If this was, say, a Square Enix game, it would just be a co-op shooter with dinosaurs. I’d think ‘Huh, cool. Probably won’t bother with that one’. But it’s a dinosaur game being made by the Dino Crisis people. Do you need me to draw you a map?

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It’s begging for comparisons, but Exoprimal comes off worse in every way. Sure, there is a bit of rose-tinted nostalgia around Dino Crisis, a game that was frequently wonky with its controls and had graphics that were hideously clunky and basic by today’s photorealistic standards, but it had personality and charm. It was designed with purpose. We might have only seen a single trailer for Exoprimal so far, but it’s incredibly glossy and bright. It looks soulless. It looks like Anthem.

Exoprimal

It’s not meant to be Dino Crisis, I understand that. But when you’re the Dino Crisis Dudes making Dinosaur Game, you can’t go so completely against everything Dino Crisis was and expect a free ride.

That’s another way it reminds me of Anthem. When Anthem was first announced, I had a bad case of BioWare Brain. I wanted another Mass Effect, another Dragon Age. Don’t care how, I want it now! But maybe Anthem could have been the third BioWare beauty of the modern era. I was torn between wishing the company would focus on what worked, and what we all wanted, while also seeing (or perhaps projecting) the potential for Anthem to take off. I should have known the glossy, soulless online title from a studio whose best work is in cultivated single-player experiences would turn out to be a waste of time. Now, talk to me more about Exoprimal?

Capcom Dino Crisis T-Rex Reveal Regina
Dino Crisis T-Rex Reveal Regina

The characters seem bland and ineffectual, so perfect for an online game where rinse and repeat is the order of the day. Though they only get a few lines, it’s clear the protagonists have the extremely relatable and layered goal of ‘being a good pilot’. Gameplay looks a mess, too. Thousands of dinos falling out of the sky might make for an effective visual at the start of the trailer, but the fact that the two and a half minute clip returns to it no less than three times suggests it’s going to get repetitive.

In Dino Crisis, less was more, but I get it - this isn’t Dino Crisis. I loved Spyro the Dragon on PS1 as well, and there’s no point in complaining that Exoprimal doesn’t have enough gems to collect. It’s not just in the differences between Capcom’s most famous dinosaur game and Capcom’s new dinosaur game where issues can be found. It’s not soulless compared to Dino Crisis, it’s just soulless. It’s not messy compared to Dino Crisis’ more reserved and horror-centric design, it’s just messy.

An interceptor stands ready to fight

Exoprimal already looks like the kind of game where you plug in your controller and unplug your brain. Yeah, I know controllers aren’t wireless these days, shut up Steve. The point is, it looks like a game you’re just meant to play and play and play and never really question it or think about it. We all need games like that. But it feels like with Capcom making a different dinosaur game, especially one that I expect to fizzle, Dino Crisis is further away than ever. Good night, sweet velociraptor.

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