Far Cry: New Dawn Review – Post-Apocalyptic Bliss

Typically, post-apocalyptic open-world games are all about death, despair, and generally bleak settings. Titles such as Fallout 4 and Metro Exodus have excelled in creating those kinds of environments. With Far Cry: New Dawn, Ubisoft has chosen to take a different tact and instead provide a more vibrant and colorful world, and I am very grateful for that.

Things Went Bad After Far Cry 5

Zealot

If you haven’t finished Far Cry 5 yet, this will come as a bit of a spoiler, but things didn’t end well in Hope County. A nuclear explosion was set off, and Far Cry: New Dawn picks up several years after the fallout when humans have emerged from their bunkers and shelters. What they found was a world where life had found new ways to thrive, and the environment is filled with colorful fauna and varied wildlife. And humans with some real jackass tendencies.

The main antagonists of Far Cry: New Dawn are the highwaymen, led by a couple of ladies dead set on dominating Hope County. There’s a real Mad Max vibe present here, with a dash of color and some standard Ubisoft open-world mechanics spice.

As the protagonist, it is your job to try and help the locals get out from under the highwaymen’s constant threat, and you do this by liberating outposts, assisting those in need, and generally hoarding ethanol. This valuable commodity is used to upgrade Prosperity, your home, and sanctuary for those looking for a better life.

Stop Me If You’ve Heard This Before

Selene

Far Cry: New Dawn follows the tried and true formula of many Ubisoft games in recent memory. Players won’t find anything earth-shaking or surprising here, but why fix it if it’s not broken, right? Aside from the usual bunker puzzles, treasure hunts, and collectibles that littered Hope County the first time around, players must complete missions to recruit specialists that allow for upgrades of Prosperity. Depending on the specialists’ area of expertise, this means better vehicle options, more powerful weaponry, or stronger medicines.

Overall, the pacing in Far Cry: New Dawn is quite excellent, and while the story isn’t going to win any awards, it’s passable enough to be entertaining, especially when things go boom in such colorful fashion at any given moment. You recruit partners to assist you in your travels, a role which can also be filled by a human friend, in an excellent co-op mode.

Whether you choose a real-life pal to help you or one of the recruitable companions, they all bring something different to the table. Nana, for example, is a wise-cracking, sharpshooting grandma, while Horatio is a wild boar that will mess up outposts full of highwaymen in rather spectacular fashion. In those cases where you find yourself stranded in a remote region of Hope County, you can also count on several other companions with vehicles to pick you up. Sadly, none of them come with helicopters, honestly the only way to travel.

It’s Beautiful, in a Bloody Kinda Way

Hovercraft

Sure, you can power your way through the main story of Far Cry: New Dawn in about six hours or so, but that means you’re not stopping to smell the roses. Ubisoft’s engine does a wonderful job of not only creating a pretty world but also one full of life. Animals roam the countryside and you’re just as likely to become lunch for a mountain lion or bear as fall prey to a highwaymen ambush.

The perk system includes options for fishing and hunting, in addition to the typical perks that increase ammo or takedown power, but unfortunately, that part of the game goes mostly unused. It’s nice to take a break and go fishing, and there are plenty of beautiful spots to do so, but there’s really no point. The other design choice I take issue with is that the world never truly becomes more civilized, no matter how many outposts you liberate. Even after the story ends, highwaymen are everywhere, and at some point, they become more of a nuisance than a challenge. One day an open-world game will let me take control of an area and actually make it seem like I’ve made a difference. But not today.

Wait, What?

Twin’s Dinner

Ubisoft has undoubtedly taken some liberties with common sense in regards to the antagonists and overall story, but I will forgive that in a game that’s branded as a bit of a whacky, colorful offshoot of its predecessor. Some choices strike me as extraordinarily odd, however. The highwaymen led by the twins have the feel of a rather localized group of baddies, but a new feature, Expeditions, have the player strike out to areas all over the US, from Florida to San Francisco, all filled with the same kinds of enemies. This leaves me wondering how that makes sense at all, but if you’re ok with just enjoying things for what they are and not overthinking, it’s all in good fun.

Technically, it’s clear that Ubisoft has this whole open-world thing down pat. The Far Cry and Assassin’s Creed games in recent years have all benefitted from large open areas with no loading screens and a real sense of freedom. Unlike other recently released AAA titles – cough – Anthem. Far Cry: New Dawn runs smoothly and without hiccups, but I will continue to harp on games that can’t manage to include cutscenes for ultra-wide monitors. 21:9 resolutions are getting more and more common, and there is no excuse not to support them properly. What’s worse is that some in-game functions, such as using binoculars, also add hideous black bars on the sides to bring things back to 16:9. Yuck!

Short Story Shorter

Far Cry: New Dawn is a fun continuation of the events in Far Cry 5, and there are plenty of tie-ins to the previous title. It’s priced like a DLC update for many other games and still manages to provide a good value for your money. There are plenty of hours of content in here, especially if you like to explore the lore and discover all of Hope County’s secrets.

If you enjoyed Far Cry 5 and wish you could have hung out a bit longer, this one is well worth your time.