Though Far Cry: New Dawn treads similar ground as its predecessor, this direct sequel signals the franchises is stretching its wings by introducing RPG mechanics and easily replayable content. This is still a game packed with zany characters, bizarre moments, and fast-paced fun.
Far Cry: New Dawn was a constant thrill as I took my mustachioed female player character and blazed a trail through post-apocalyptic Hope County, Montana. Ample laughs and entertainment have become a pillar of the franchise and this direct sequel to Far Cry 5 is not one to buck the trend. Players who remain captivated by Ubisoft’s open-worlds of anything-can-happen madness won’t find a game that strays far from the established path. Yet Far Cry: New Dawn strikes me as a game well aware of its need to evolve, which explains a few key additions that we will likely see going forward.
Set 17 years after the cataclysmic ending of Far Cry 5, Far Cry: New Dawn shows a Hope County only physically altered by the fiery path of nuclear fallout. The populace is still tormented by a ruthless dictatorship, Outposts require capturing, and as a one-person army you are the best hope of keeping all the pieces together. The husk of Joseph Seed’s former dominion is as fine a blueprint as any. Echoes of his bloody devotion are littered everywhere as anyone familiar with last year’s game will likely be able to appreciate this new take on an old map. Familiar faces and locations have been aged by time and devastation.
This year, twin sisters Mickey and Lou act as antagonists, commanding their roving band of Highwaymen across the United States in a campaign of violent terror. Although visually striking and scene-stealing when they show up, the twins face a similar problem of past Far Cry “villains” in that their presence is only felt in infrequent bursts. The punk motorcycle gang aesthetic is unique among the roster of the series’ bad guys and holds up over the course of the game. But their bombastic violence and blaring boomboxes spend most of the game focused on destroying the lives of the small community of Prosperity. It is here that players will find their home and base of operations.
Prosperity is where players meet Kim Rye, one of the first familiar faces peppered throughout Far Cry: New Dawn. Kim’s daughter Carmina sought out Thomas Rush, a man known for helping survivor groups getting back on their feet in his attempt to rebuild the infrastructure of a broken America. As Rush’s Captain of Security, we are journeying to Prosperity with him as a noble deed for Carmina and arrive to Hope County by train. Surprise… it doesn’t work out. While it does seem strange that Mickey and Lou are hell-bent on tormenting such a small group of people, it does give the player something to fight towards.
Over the course of Far Cry: New Dawn, players improve their character by upgrading the various wings of Prosperity. Upgrading the infirmary boosts max health, a beefier crafting table means stronger guns, and a fancier training ground means your Guns for Hire are more efficient. The root of Far Cry: New Dawn‘s gameplay loop lies within Prosperity, as most actions done in Hope County will benefit its growth. In this post-apocalyptic slice of America, ethanol is the new currency, not cash or bottlecaps. Ethanol is the fuel that powers each Prosperity upgrade, requiring more and more with each new level. Thirsty for ethanol? Steal a truck carrying the stuff from the Highwaymen, loot one of their supply drops, or complete an Outpost.
Outposts are now a Far Cry staple and one way New Dawn furthers the formula is by allowing players to increase their difficulty. Once an Outpost has been captured, you can receive bonus ethanol by salvaging it. The Outpost no longer acts as a fast travel/crafting point and is instead reclaimed by the Highwaymen who will come back with stronger numbers. Not only does this mean more Highwaymen at an outpost with more weaponry, it means they will be a higher level.
This is where Far Cry: New Dawn‘s light RPG elements come into play and enhance both the entertainment and feeling of progression. From animals and Highwaymen roaming the wild, anything that can kill you will have a level associated with it. A level 1 enemy can be taken down pretty swiftly but a level 4 baddie with a yellow crown next to its health bar? You better hope, you’re ready. To have any chance of progression, guns of equal level must be crafted. A level 1 assault rifle will only be able to nick away at the health of a level 2 Highwayman but a level 4 weapon will down him almost instantly.
Here players will get into the loop of seeking out locations with crafting materials ripe for the looting. From there, it’s wise to tackle as many low level Outposts as possible for a small portion of ethanol, salvage them for a bit more ethanol, and then invest in upgrades to take on the content at increased difficulty. It’s a constant cycle of rewards as clearing out locations in any Ubisoft open-world game feels satisfying and fun. Outposts even have a chance to reward players with a cosmetic item to make your player character look even more ridiculous or badass. While shooting in Far Cry games has never been on the level of a Destiny or Call of Duty, the varying range of weapon types feels good to use and always crunch against enemies in a pleasing, ridiculous way.
Far Cry: New Dawn‘s aesthetic language is perhaps a bit more bold than in Far Cry 5. Highwaymen are slathered in whites, reds, and blacks and the harder ones are decked out in bulkier armor. The flora and fauna of Hope County have become more beautiful in their otherworldly nature. Albino deer with pink antlers pop in the distance while the fur, feather, and scales of other animals are tinged with bright stripes of color, indicating not all radiation has to be bad. Guns are cobbled together from household junk that becomes more ludicrous as each new tier of weaponry is unlocked. The visual identity of Far Cry: New Dawn is easy to appreciate, even if Hope County has been reused and pared down in size.
While I appreciate the way the game looks, I feel as if the team at Ubisoft Montreal could have pushed their vision even further. Hope County was already a world shaped by lush forests and wildlife. 17 years after a wave of nukes, Hope County is still a world shaped by lush forests and wildlife. Drastic palette swaps are lovely to behold but the landscape of Hope County doesn’t allow for much post-apocalyptic chaos. Most of the ruined buildings are small- or medium-sized shacks and huts with the occasional Outpost reaching more than one or two stories tall. This same logic applies to the weapons in the game, which fit standard archetypes and the only truly “weird” one being the saw launcher. Again, the callbacks to Far Cry 5 are nice, especially after reading through all the notes strewn about the world, but in a series about extremes, the needle could have gone much further towards the wild end of the spectrum.
One new addition to Far Cry: New Dawn that really shines are the one-off Expeditions. These act as independent missions which take place across various Highwaymen outposts in the United States. What Hope County lacks in variety, Expeditions make up for in spades. A crashed space station, Alcatraz, a beached aircraft carrier, and an amusement park are highlights in these missions where you are tasked with grabbing a Highwaymen supply drop and getting the hell out of Dodge, culminating in a stand-off until a helicopter whisks you away. Expeditions are simple in their mission concept but exponentially fun in their execution. This is where Ubisoft Montreal really let their creativity loose and designed open concept mini-dungeons, perhaps that’s why the sanctity of Hope County was so well preserved. And just like Outposts, Expeditions can be tackled at higher difficulties, which really begs for you to team up with another partner in co-op. To be fair, though, most of Far Cry: New Dawn is even more enjoyable with another friend along for the insanity.
Far Cry: New Dawn is not revolutionary in most of its concepts. Though it acts as a perfect pairing to Far Cry 5, it still treads the same water as past entries. Most players won’t be blown away by the story but will enjoy its brisk pace that constantly rewards an engaging gameplay loop. A large chunk of my time gunning down Highwaymen was spent with Carmina Rye screaming bloody murder as she threw dynamite at anyone who got in her way. It was hard not to laugh at the absurdity and feel a bond with this NPC who was fighting for her home. Far Cry loses itself in a cast of memorable characters and the supporting roles in New Dawn are not easy to forget.
Ubisoft Montreal has this formula down. Creativity is not a problem for this team capable of building unforgettable situations and moments that are cool, absurd, and entertaining. More than anything, Far Cry: New Dawn feels symbolic of a game that recognizes its strengths and is prepared to build on something new. Integrating RPG mechanics in an FPS is nothing new but in a series like Far Cry, it’s a welcome, obvious change. When a new numbered entry rears its head, I won’t be surprised if Far Cry: New Dawn is used as a jumping off point for inspiration. Until then, Hope County calls.
