Even after a more in-depth look at Capcom’s upcomingExoprimal, it seems the prehistoric third-person shooter can’t catch a break from its dino identity crisis, as its story appears to be taking beats from the latestPokemon ScarletandViolet. Back when Capcom first revealedExoprimal, it had unintentionally riled hopes among fans thatDino Crisiswas returning, while others pointed out the flaws of anotherAnthem-like game being released. But while that particular rumor mill has since died down, a new trailer from the Xbox Games Showcase has shed more light onExoprimal, which sees it being compared to yet another gaming series.
While neitherExoprimalnorPokemon ScarletandVioletwere the first games to dabble in manipulating time, they have taken an uncannily similar approach where creatures pulled from time and transformed in ways that seem paradoxical. But even with the huge scope thatExoprimalhas given itself with both its story and the world at large, there are far more odd parallels between the two games that go beyond just mere prehistoric paradoxes and time travel. As a result, whileExoprimalandPokemonaim for different kinds of players, they could find themselves getting contrasted against one another more than they’d prefer.
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Pokemon’s Paradox Pokemon Versus Exoprimal’s Neosaurs
One of the immediate comparisonsExoprimalandScarletandVioletare going to receive will be down to their use of time manipulation and the creatures that come with it. ForPokemon, this can be split into two camps, with the first encompassing the series' various fossil Pokemon and the second isScarletandViolet’sintroduction of Paradox Pokemon. Though fossil Pokemon play a small role in these three games' comparison, it is the Paradox Pokemon that are being directly compared toExoprimal’s"neosaurs.“As creatures from a distant past and future,ScarletandViolet’sParadox Pokemon consist of Pokemon that theoretically can’t exist.
But when actually compared toExoprimal, there is a certain degree of separation between the games and their “dinosaurs.” WhileExoprimalhas both ordinary dinosaurs, much likePokemon’sfossils, its neosaurs are less like aberrations of time and are instead more like corruptions of time travel. AsExoprimal’srecent story trailervaguely explains, an energy, chemical, or substance categorized as Hi-Xol and Lo-Xol has mutated dinosaurs into the various neosaur types seen in-game. Though interestingly, the blending of dinosaurs with futuristic sci-fi mutations does reflect bothScarletandVioletas past and future respectively.
Pokemon’s AI Sada/Turo Versus Exoprimal’s Leviathan
However, beyond just the presence of dinosaurs and neosaurs, there are still more parallels betweenExoprimalandScarletandViolet.As it has already been revealed,Exoprimal’santagonistic AI Leviathanappears to be in control of summoning dinosaurs and neosaurs to the present-day for humans and exosuits to fight against, though Leviathan’s motivations and reasoning behind this remain unclear. Developed by the game’s Aibius Corporation who also created the exosuits, the original intention behind Leviathan was to help humanity and guide those piloting exosuits, butExoprimalhas succumbed to the same rogue AI trope as everyone else.
After all,Pokemon ScarletandVioletfell victim to this tried-and-tested storyline too, as players can eventually journey down to Area Zero and discover that Professors Sada and Turo are long dead with their imposter AIs running the show. While AI Sada and AI Turo are much more upfront about any master plan they might have, they do still reflectExoprimal’sLeviathan in that they too are responsible for drawing more prehistoric paradoxes to the present-day. Hopefully,Exoprimalcould offer a more interesting motivation behindLeviathan, if not to subvertthe rogue AI tropethen at least to distance itself fromScarletandViolet.
Exoprimalwill be released on July 16, 2025, for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
