A brand-new upcoming title from developer Capcom,Exoprimalcombines the futuristic and the prehistoric as players team up to battle against vicious dinosaurs brought forward through time. These won’t just be average visitors from before the dawn of time; some will be mutated dinosaurs, also known as “Neosaurs,” which have been given special abilities, making them more effective at taking down humans in droves. Of these “Neosaurs” inExoprimal,one in particular has caught the eye of fans: the massive predator Neo-Tyrannosaurus.
Capcom is no stranger to pitting players against giant reptilian foes; itrecently released a massive, well-reviewed expansion titledSunbreakforMonster Hunter Rise,which added at least one new scaly creature to the game. However, the Neosaurs ofExoprimalare something different entirely. Each possesses unique abilities such as shooting gas, firing projectiles, and creating gelatinous spikes. While the full extent of the Neo-Tyrannosaurus' capabilities have not yet been revealed, fans have already begun to draw parallels with the iconic mascot of theJurassic ParkandJurassic Worldfilms, as well as the enhanced dinos debuting inJurassic Worldand its sequels.
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Jurassic World Introduced The Hybrid Indominus Rex
When Universal Pictures decided to reboot the classic dino action film series with 2015’sJurassic World,the film’s creative team decided to raise the stakes. While the iconicT. Rexfrom the original film – nicknamed “Rexy” both in and out of universe – does put in an appearance, the film’s primary saurian antagonist is the Indominus Rex,a hybrid dinosaur created by the geneticists at InGen.
As her name suggests, the Indominus Rexis heavily inspired by the Tyrannosaurus,but possesses abilities drawn from other species, including the ability to camouflage herself. Partway through the film, Chris Pratt’s character Owen Grady realizes that she also possesses some VelociraptorDNA, granting theIndominus Rexenhanced intelligence and viciousness. The 2018 sequelJurassic World: Fallen Kingdomintroduced further hybrids, including the Indoraptor,a more explicitly raptor-like follow-up to the I. Rex who is smaller and faster than his predecessor.
Neo-Tyrannosaurus Could Be the Best of Both Worlds
Capcom’s Summer Showcasegave fans an extended look atExoprimal’sgameplay, including a special battle against the Neo-Tyrannosaurus.In Neo-T. Rexmode, teams of rival fighters must work together to fend off an enormous mutated version of the king of all dinosaurs. This mission ditches the PvP focus of many ofExoprimal’sother modes in favor of focusing on PvE combat. Players can respawn only a limited number of times, so they will have to team up if they want to have any hope of surviving their foe’s assault.
The Neo-Tyrannosauruslooks to be a powerful creature with the I. Rexand Indoraptor’senhanced capabilities, but it also retains the classic look of the iconic Tyrannosaurus and is more similar in appearance to “Rexy” than to any mutated or modified dinosaurs. This could potentially make it popular with fans of both the originalJurassic Parkfilms and theJurassic Worldfollow-ups. The Neo-T. Rex’sfull set of abilities has not yet been revealed, although they may be soon, as Capcom is currently planningclosed network tests forExoprimalprior to the game’s 2023 release.
Other Modified Dinosaurs Could Appear in Exoprimal
Jurassic World: Dominionmoves away from the plot of InGen’s hybrid dinosaurs to focus on humanity having to learn to co-exist with these prehistoric creatures, which were released into the world at the end ofFallen Kingdom.It’s unlikely that such cooperation between human and dino could exist in the world ofExoprimal,where the dinosaurs are living weapons modified bythe villainous AI Leviathan. However, with Leviathan’s ongoing efforts,Exoprimalcould easily feature a greater variety of mutated and hybrid dinosaurs than were previously seen in theJurassic Worldfilms.
Some fans were disappointed that no new hybrids were introduced inJurassic World: Dominion,with a focus on returning creatures such as the Dilophosaurus,the raptor Blue, and the iconic Tyrannosaurus Rex,who has established herself as an apex predator in the world beyond Isla Nublar. Exoprimalwould be wise to take a different direction and instead introduce a greater variety of dinosaur species. So far, most of the footage ofExoprimalhas focused on various species of raptor, such as the “Gas Neosaur” which seems to be an upgraded Velociraptor.However, Leviathan’s experimentation could easily allow for theinclusion of more species inExoprimal, including usually-peaceful herbivores such as Stegosaurusesand Triceratops,as well as fliers like Pteranodon.
Exoprimalwill release in 2023 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.
