Far Cry New Dawn Review – The apocalypse never looked so good

Ubisoft have continued their trend of releasing a non-numbered Far Cry title every other year, satiating the appetites of open-world enthusiasts around the planet. With Far Cry New Dawn, the narrative is a direct sequel to Far Cry 5 and as such has produced a level of character development, story depth, and world building that has not yet been experienced in the franchise. Simply put, Far Cry New Dawn is an adrenaline injection straight into the bloodstream of Far Cry as a whole, and sets a new standard for what should come next.

Society has more or less returned to Hope County in the 14 years since the bomb fell. Settlements have been built, communities have flourished, and the tyrannical Highwaymen have begun terrorizing everyone. In Far Cry New Dawn you play as ‘Cap’, a military expert in the post-apocalyptic Hope County set with the task of liberating the land from the chokehold of The Twins, Mickey and Lou, who lead the Highwaymen. The usual Far Cry flavour is present in the main campaign; liberate outposts, recruit followers, push back the bad guys. Rinse & repeat. It’s in the visual and mechanical changes where Far Cry New Dawn shines, and bring a new perspective to the open-world shooter.

Hope County has been blasted with a shade of pink and purple, evoking memories of Netflix’s Annihilation, which is a *ahem* far cry from the browns, blacks, and chromes usually seen in post-apocalyptic game worlds.

The changes made to Far Cry’s core gameplay are a resounding success, in my opinion. The addition of RPG elements such as a home-base you can upgrade, perks you can level up, weapons you can customise, damage numbers during combat, enemy levels, and repeatable instances keep the gameplay fresh, and more than make up for the shorter-than-usual main campaign.

One such example is ‘scavenging’ the outposts. Choosing this option lets the Highwaymen take back outposts you have previously liberated, fill them with increasingly stronger foes, and award more loot upon completion. Each scavenge brings in Enforcers, elite enemies with body armour and powerful weapons, who are a nightmare to take out without the game’s best weaponry.

Where the game falls short is its length (pun not intended), and overall plot direction. The open world elements of the game shine strongest, and unfortunately the campaign pales in comparison. Where I praised the cast of characters above,  regrettably the other characters significantly fall short of the high standard.

It is these characters that the central plot revolves around, and as such the campaign missions feel shallow, with cheesy performances and forced melodrama tainting the otherwise stellar package that is Far Cry New Dawn. Most egregious is the Twins, Mickey and Lou, who swan about with a streak of B-grade villainy that falls far short of the likes of Vaas (Far Cry 3) and Father Joseph Seed (Far Cry 5).