Exoborne is a title I was intrigued by from the beginning due to its focus on extreme weather. As someone from the southern United States, I’ve seen my fair share of weather, and I’m certainly interested in following it every time we get a storm. I have yet to see a multiplayer video game implement a dynamic weather system in the fashion that Exoborne teased, and that alone was enough to get me excited.
Unfortunately, after spending roughly eight hours with the game, I feel mixed about the current state of Exoborne. While there is certainly a noticeable polish in some areas, Exoborne doesn’t feel like it does enough to stand out in a well-populated crowd.
A Ravaged Planet
Developed by Sharkmob, Exoborne is described as an open-world tactical extraction shooter. Earth has been destroyed by all kinds of crazy weather events, and you’re sent in an exo-rig to obtain resources and pull out of this variable environment. As an extraction shooter, you should know what to expect regarding the gameplay loop. Each round, you’ll drop onto the map, collect resources, defeat a few enemies along the way, and extract via a helicopter with your squad. Each squad is filled with three players, so you can squad up with two of your friends and jump in.
You’ll find that there are loads of different equipment options to choose from. You can purchase different primary and secondary weapons, grenades, and even customize your exo-rig. This customization is appreciated, and even after playing for quite a few matches, I still felt that I had more to discover with the various equipment combinations.
As you traverse through the map, you can take advantage of winds to use your glider and move faster across areas. This was a fun mechanic to try at first, acting as a great alternative to running, but after a few matches, it’s hard not to feel like the movement is a bit stiff. The sprinting felt a bit off, and the grappling hook, while neat, had a weird feel to it that was a little difficult to control.
One of my initial impressions of the game was just how massive the map is. I think this is great to provide solid variety and take out the factor of dropping in similar places each round, but this is a double-edged sword. Since the map is so big, it can feel empty a lot of the time as you run around and collect loot. Sure, there are NPCs to fight here and there, but I rarely, if ever, encountered other players to fight against in the world. I can’t help but feel that a smaller map would have remedied this issue, as players would be closer together for the most part. Even if the team shrunk the map, though, it still would not resolve my biggest issue with the Exoborne Playtest.
My biggest problem with Exoborne unfortunately is with the weather system. This has been showcased and marketed as one of the biggest selling points of the game, but in my experience, it could not be more of a gimmick. The tornadoes that I expected would ravage my land and force me to flee felt like a pointless addition. The damage to the map was essentially a non-variable, and I felt that it barely damaged or threatened me as a player.
I’m not sure if there are more weather hazards planned for the full release, or if this was just a limited experience in the playtest. However, if this is the grand vision for the weather, I am unbelievably disappointed. Yes, it is cool and exciting to look at, but that’s about it. It’s a nonfactor inside each round, and the events themselves are extremely easy to avoid. Sometimes I wasn’t even trying to avoid a tornado and one would never even come close.
I think there is probably an audience for this game. If you are searching for a new extraction shooter or just a fresh multiplayer experience, you can have a lot of fun with this one I believe. However, I came away from the Exoborne Playtest pretty underwhelmed with what the game had to offer. Even despite the exciting weather events, they did not do what I expected them to do in terms of damage to the environment, almost making them feel just for show. The looting system never managed to grab me, and I got bored quickly.
Additionally, with the massive map and general mediocre feel of movement, I personally am struggling to see why you would jump to Exoborne over other extraction shooters out there. With Sharkmob planning to take Exoborne as a paid title, I’m concerned that the game is not doing enough to keep players engaged. I think the core gameplay loop available in the game is solid, but does it really do enough to stand out and create a fresh experience? In my experience, no.
