Far Cry: New Dawn
Far Cry 5 again, but with a post-apocalyptic paint job.
You’d think a nuke being dropped on Montana would have changed it somewhat, but Far Cry New Dawn’s post-apocalyptic version of Hope County is essentially the same one we know from Far Cry 5. New Dawn adds a couple of new twists to the series’ formula, but nothing to make it feel like a wholly different game. This is Far Cry 5 again, just on a smaller scale, and with a lot more pink flowers.
It’s years after the nukes fell at the end of Far Cry 5, and your nameless character has been traveling the country by rail, helping survivors rebuild the post-apocalyptic United States. A group of highwaymen (not that cleverly called the ‘Highwaymen’) derail your train, and leave you stranded. After making your way to a small community called Prosperity, you venture out into the overgrown remains of Hope County, fighting the Highwaymen, conquering outposts, gathering resources for crafting, and enlisting a small cadre of companions, like an elderly sniper and an enormous boar. This goes without saying, but never bring the sniper. Always bring the boar.
As you help out the locals you gain perk points that can be used to unlock skills in any order you wish, a nice and loose ability system that lets you focus on whatever is most important to your playstyle, be it melee damage, stealth kills, or traversal tools like the wingsuit and grappling hook. A set of five new skills introduced near the end of the game indulge a bit more ridiculousness, giving you fun powers like a double jump and limited-time berserker strength. Now when I swing my spiked baseball bat at a bear it sails comically through the air. These powers seem fresh for a bit, but feel a little unnecessary when I’m already able to insta-kill with stealth takedowns and spawn an endless supply of helicopters.
Combat is the same frantic and fun gunplay as in the past few Far Cry games. Vehicles and barrels explode, fire spreads across grass and trees, enemies recklessly charge and scream, and bombard you with mortars or light you up with flamethrowers, with the occasional wild animal or friendly citizen getting caught up in the chaos.
COUNTY LINES
There are plenty of familiar landmarks on this smaller version of the map (radiation has closed off a portion of it) and several familiar (yet older) characters from the last game are still around. I think we’re meant to feel a bit wistful about Hope County — a quest has you collecting old photographs to help you remember what the landscape looked like before the bombs — but it’s hard to feel like there’s much difference between the world’s chaotic past and present, and Far Cry 5 was only just last year, so it’s not exactly a nostalgia trip. You can make a few expeditions out of Montana, raiding larger and more imaginative enemy outposts off the main map, like an aircraft carrier on the coast and even Alcatraz.
The big bads of New Dawn, twin sisters Mickey and Lou, are so inconsequential I almost forgot to mention them. Unlike the Seed family in Far Cry 5, they aren’t constantly subjecting you to long, drawn out speeches (thank you). The twins only appear a few times, and mostly just issue brief threats over the radio to remind you they exist.
I completed the main story quest in about a dozen hours, and spent a few more mopping up side-quests and exploring. It’s brief compared to Far Cry 5, and completable without fully upgrading Prosperity to access the highest levels of gear and vehicles (though you’ll definitely want to unlock the best weapons).
While it’s good fun at times, New Dawn is really just a quick trip back to Far Cry 5’s Montana that hasn’t changed much beyond a post-apocalyptic paint job.
Five new skills introduced near the end of the game indulge a bit more ridiculousness.