Ghost Recon: Wildlands Review

Ubisoft have invested heavily in open-world sandbox style gaming for a while now, so it was only a matter of time before it infiltrated one of the larger brands associated with them, Ghost Recon. After finding great success with another co-op based shooter last year in The Division, they’ve doubled down on this concept with Wildlands, setting you free in the giant landscape that is Bolivia. It’s one of the largest scale games I’ve played in terms of map size, and while it is predictable and flawed on occasion, it has, so far, kept me coming back to play with my mates on a nightly basis.

While the story is largely forgettable despite the well-made cut-scenes and constant flow of intel that you uncover about the cartel, before you know it you’ll be diving into old habits of uncovering new sections of the map, picking off enemies, grabbing upgrades and moving on to the next objective. It’s a rhythm that feels natural and expected, which makes it both very comfortable but also somewhat repetitive if playing alone.

In the single player, you’ll have three AI-controlled squadmates, who follow you around and assist you on your missions. They’re not always effective and don’t have much personality of their own despite the conversations they always have while on the move, but at least they do manage to back you up when needed, are usually available for a quick revive and follow your lead adequately. But, Ghost Recon: Wildlands has been designed with online cooperative play in mind, and this is where the experience shines.

Drop-in, drop-out cooperative play is done seamlessly here, allowing you to tear up the Wildlands with three friends. While your AI teammates always do what is predictable, playing with fellow humans often comes with varied, humorous results, giving objectives that you encounter multiple times throughout the course of the campaign new life. Coordinating a tactical assault in a stealthy manner feels smooth as butter when you pull it off successfully, with some genuinely intense moments that saw us tracking enemy positions with drones and binoculars, picking off snipers, moving in quietly to gather intel and then escaping an area without leaving a trace.

The world itself is gorgeous, with detailed environments that are varied as you discover more of them. Ghost Recon: Wildlands as a sandbox title relies partially on the atmosphere of Bolivia to keep you engaged, so it’s good that everything looks so nice. Weather effects are really damn pretty, with lightning cracking in the sky, rain bouncing off of the road and very slick water and lighting effects backing this up. Looking to distant mountain tops and dense forestry that you can travel to with the games mix of land, air and sea vehicles is a sight to behold.

The actual handling of these vehicles does leave a lot to be desired however. It feels janky for the most part, and while they work, the actual physics are almost comical at times (read: cars shouldn’t be able to scale mountains, but sometimes with enough persistence you sort of can). Helicopters and planes definitely take some getting used to as well, but when available I much preferred to fast-travel my way close to my objectives rather than driving there on a long trip.

I also have to mention that the cover system doesn’t feel great. Other games have done a fantastic job of making cover an integral part of the experience, like Ubisoft’s own The Division and of course Gears of War. There’s no button to take cover, you just have to move against it and it will, theoretically, happen automatically. I found this to be a little inconsistent and it led to me making some mistakes where I thought I was in cover properly, but found out that I wasn’t… the hard way. I wish they could have taken the learnings from other games and implemented something more solid.

Luckily, most of these flaws are at the very least entertaining, especially when you all experience them together. When the developers have made such an effort to craft this vast and detailed landscape, the odd comical gitch can certainly be forgiven. I also liked finding different weapon parts that I could customise my guns with and enjoyed the satisfying loop of tagging supplies that led to upgrading my skill tree, though most of the game can be completed without putting much time into this if you weren’t super invested.