Aaah Ubisoft. How good have you been to us these past couple of years? With Rainbow Six: Siege being a hit in the tactical shooter department, and games like Assassins Creed: Odyssey or Far Cry 5 being major hits as well. You come to us this year with promising games such as The Division 2 and Far Cry: New Dawn. And let it be this last one that I was most excited about, as well as a bit worried. Reason why I was worried is the fact that not even a year has passed, and here you are. Already with a direct bloody sequel! Even if you’d take in account that the last DLC for Far Cry 5, was released just months ago? I couldn’t possibly believe that you would’ve been able to deliver to us a sequel that not only was lengthy, but that would also be able to be held up against the quality of your previous hits. And boy was I wrong guys! Ubisoft surely delivered! I don’t know which kind of witchcraft they used but please don’t lose it. Want to know how Hope County treats us now, after the nukes have dropped? Then my sweetest readers. Get your best wasteland gear out, modify your car with rusty handlebars and say goodbye to your spare time, because this black hole of a game will just suck it all up and then just keeps on sucking afterwards. Lets dive deep into Far Cry! Booyah!
What is good?
- Pricing: I’m going to come straight out of the gate with this. Lads, keep in mind everything that you’re going to read in this review and then think about the fact that this game only comes in at a wonderful price of 45 euro. Even when they could have easily marketed the base game at 60. So, kudos Ubisoft for thinking about our wallets, in the already game expensive month of February!
- Beautifully Serene: Okay, so I got the price out of the way. Let us get into the nitty-gritty here. This game? Just looks absofrickinlutely amazing. You’d think that after a nuclear holocaust, we’d get a dead and desolate environment. But nope! What we get here is not only a vibrant world but also one that is brimming with life. And I loved every second of it. First off the landscapes. My god how gorgeous these are. There are multiple spots as to which you can be standing at the edge of a ridge, and below you, you see tall green trees stretching for miles on end, edging around a beautiful clear blue lake. And if you are lucky that you aren’t constantly swarmed by the countless aggressive animals that populate these endless stretches of lush lands? You actually could just sit there, come to an inner form of peace and heck, even throw out your fishing rod and catch some of those big fishes that live in these perfect lakes! Okay, you think that was all? Oh no, not at all. The gun models, the characters and animals, even the buildings, look incredible! The people you interact with look natural. And the animals come across just like their real-life counterparts. Okay, maybe not irradiated, sporting glowing red eyes… Or glowing with a blue like a hue in the dark. But still… They look convincing. Even how the weaponry and armory look and feels, could come over as believable in this post-apocalyptic gorgeousness.
- Guns with a kick: While I’m on the topic of weaponry. Do not worry about that my dearest readers. These feel satisfying and sound like you would want guns to sound. From the guttural crunch of the shotgun, all the way to that One shot One kill sound of your sniper rifles. They just match the style of the game and that is complemented by the fact that a lot of weapons look like they really were crafted with bits and bobs the survivors found still to be useable. Like paint cans being used as silencers, water pipes for scopes and so much more. But one gun in particular really jumps out above all else. And that’s the one that was shown to us countless times. I’m talking about the sawblade launcher. This gun will be one that you’ll either come to love or hate. You’ll love it because how satisfying it is, knowing that you literally shoot out a bouncing sawblade at the poor idiot in front of you. You’ll come to hate it because, even though you can recover your ammo if it doesn’t shatter, you’ll still never be able to find that damned blade. In all my time that I actually used it, I rarely was able to recover a shot. Oh, and did I mention they are painted just to look like a smiley? Yeah, you deliver death with a smile.
- Content, get your content!: This is going is to be a fairly large block, if you don’t want to read it all. Here’s the recap: This game will give you a TON to do and explore. And that’s without the story missions. Okay. Good? Now, for those who want to know it all?
- 1. Treasure Hunts: These are little side puzzles that you can do. From time to time your intelligence network will inform you about spots on the map where you could find bunkers created by the Preppers (these were the doomsayers that knew something was going to happen and they needed to have a stocked shelter to survive the apocalypse). Now, these are closed off and need some thinking to actually get inside of. And each one is unique and sometimes even a brainteaser. One of these puzzles was to shoot a few balloons tucked away, to start a rotating disc that had a small hole in it. Behind it target dummies for me to shoot at. Shoot them all? And it would set in motion a system that would eventually open up the door. Trust me guys, these are worth it, as these bunkers are littered with loot and some give you more insight into the mindset of these Preppers, or how they experienced their last moments.
- 2. Outposts are amazing: The outpost system is back from Far Cry 5. But what sets these apart from the previous ones? They work on an escalation system. Basically what this means is that when you capture one of these Outposts you will ofcourse get your rewards. But, you get the option to scavange the outpost, and return it to the highwaymen. This option comes with its own upsides and downsides. The upside is that you can recapture it, giving you better rewards. The downside? Is that they’ll be better equiped, as well as be able to call in reinforcements. And let these reinforcements actually be a force to be reckoned with. These aren’t pushovers by any means and if you aren’t properly geared, you’ll quickly come to regret it. Don’t be fooled though. Because you can kill a higher tiered enemy, just be prepared to sink a lot of bullets into them.
- 3. I craft, you craft!: Alright alright, lets get the elephant out of the room. I know what you all are thinking. But Alexis, what with the micro-transactions! They are going to push us to buy material packs! And I have to slightly agree with you on this. You CAN buy these material packs with real money. BUT! You can also get everything (or at least most of it for what I was able to see) by just playing the game. I put in a lot of hours exploring, doing treasure hunts, wrecking outposts. And not once did I have an issue crafting an item of my wanting. But what about the cosmetics Alexis! Well you have a % chance to getting cosmetic items when retaking the Outposts. I actually unlocked a few of these items during my game sessions. Alright so that covers the materials question. On to the actual crafting. You can craft. A LOT. Everything works on a Tier system. Enemy levels, your weaponry, outposts,… These go from Normal, Rare, Epic and Elite. The last one being the most powerful version. If you look at the weaponry, each new form or upgrade acts and looks differently. If only slightly. This gives them all that unique feeling and makes it worth your while to sink materials into it. Okay one tip though, if you get a few good regular guns, try to skip the rare tier. This upgrade is incremental but the upgrade from rare to epic is huge. Try to keep your precious materials for this tier and higher. Just saying.
- 4. Expeditions: If you thought that the above was all of it? Think again. Alright, your normal map. Granted you might say “but Alexis, these are just re-used assets just modified”. And I might tend to agree with you. But the expeditions that this game offers are new sections entirely. Your first expedition that you can embark on is on a stranded -For you to find out-. This place is frankly speaking, huge. These expeditions are put in place to gain some of the more exotic crafting materials, and work on a tier system as well. You finish it? Good, next round will be more heavily defended. And you might say, yeah but that feels like grinding. Okay, sure. But at least it is a grind that is a challenge to beat, and actually is worth doing. So yeah, I love this Expedition part that they put into place if I am allowed to be honest.
- Co-op is back: Having a hard time or just want to explore the vast open terrain with your friends? Or go on a scenic route? Then have no fear, the game supports Co-op as well. Only keep in mind that if you’d go on treasure hunts? They only complete for the host of the game, not the others. That’s just a little side note.
- New and Familiar faces: Excuse me, sir? Do you have some time to talk about Joseph Seed? Yes, the antagonist from Far Cry 5 makes a reappearance in New Dawn as well. In which way, shape or form I will not say. But you can bet your bottom dollars that he reappears. As well as some other characters. Heck even h… Whoops, nearly spoiled something! But the game doesn’t revolve around them. Instead, we get the Twins to deal with. Mickey and Lou. And let me tell you, these 2 girls, although pretty, aren’t to be messed around with. Nor do they lack spirit. Ubisoft gave us 2 fine antagonists here and they did a damn well good job to ensure you that they mean business and do not kid around.
Mixed feelings.
- Experiment Dolly?: Far Cry: New Dawn throws at us an entire slew of animal life, from dogs to boars and bears. From fishes to sharks and even birds for crying out loud! But with all that life filling these woods and waters? You’d think that there would be all sorts of animal models right?! Sadly this is not the case. In a weird twist of reality, it feels like every species was given the dolly experiment treatment. Because every species looks the same. Every boar will look the same, every cougar or peacock. They are all the bloody same. But this didn’t only apply to the animals. The informers of your intelligence network (of which I am not going to spoil the name. Trust me, it’s a funny pun towards its real world counterpart) all look the same as well. And you might say, but Alexis, they just scouted further. Yeah.. But that wouldn’t explain why I talked to the lady, and 100 meters further, I come across the same one again, but with another quest for me. That breaks the immersion for me just a tad bit.
- Pink is the new pink: Okay, let’s be honest here. This writer doesn’t shy away from some hot pink in clothing. Let’s call it a perk for being naturally tanned. But I don’t know who made this decision but tone down the use of that fluorescent pink, PLEASE. It really is everywhere! From the flowers, to fire in a certain part of the game’s story and like… EVERYWHERE. There’s one spot that I actually had to take a short break because it had strained my eyes. It’s not like the only paint cans that survived the nukes were of the colour pink, right? Mix in some blue or green, or… Something. But let it not just be all bright pink!
- Little bugs: There’s a few minor glitches and bugs here and there that I detected. Like for instance hearing sounds play out 2 times, or my NPCs saying something. Then litteraly repeating the same thing again, half a minute later. But one of the funniest glitches that I noticed, was the object clipping. Random objects would from time to time get stuck in people or animals. And trust me, suddenly getting passed by a cougar with a door stuck into it is something you totally wouldn’t be expecting. But yup, it happens! Though do not fear, these are really just minor things, never did I encounter a game breaking issue.
What is bad?
- If only they had a brain: For all the experience that Ubisoft already has in developing video games, you would come to expect that they would of had the ability to program these blind moles with a brain. But nope, the trend continues and even here these enemies feel like they’re the return of the walking paperweights. Okay, granted, they do use some tactics like hide behind a twig, or stand still behind a rock. But thats about it. More then once I had my companion run through an entire compound, undetected! Because I was crouched and hidden. For some ungodly reason my nana just ran crouched in front of countless enemies without even alarming them. But the moment I even glanced their personal bubble? That mind you, is the size of a house! The detection bar came up and I could skiddaddle away because I wanted to take that Outpost in a Stealthy fashion. Or, another one of my gripes, were the fact that sometimes they drove their trucks like it only had one direction, that being forward. They’d hit a tree, drive backwards a bit, then just drive into the same tree. I mean… Come on Ubi! Make them react a bit more realisticly please, I beg of you!
Far Cry: New Dawn – 90/100
To be honest guys, I didn’t think I’d be this impressed with Far Cry: New Dawn. But I knew they hit the right spot when I was about 8 hours in, already had a few upgrades in my homebase and acquired enough raw materials to get me some Elite weaponry. And suddenly came to the conclusion that I still hadn’t done my first mission. Ofcourse, my 2nd mission was instantly ready as it asked me to get a few specialists and do some base upgrades. As you can imagine by now, New Dawn really tends to everyone’s needs. You can relax and explore. Or you can burn through the story. I was more for the relaxed exploring ofcourse. Other then this, I totally enjoyed the fact that this game was just a pleasure to look at! Ubisoft, I truly applaud you for this amazing sequel, please keep this up! And for the rest of you out there? If you enjoyed Far Cry 5, or want to try out Far Cry for the first time? Then this is the game you should be getting! Now, let me daydream some more while gazing upon these beautiful and lucious fields!