Far Cry New Dawn review

Far Cry New Dawn is a spin-off and sequel to the fifth installment of the 2018 Far Cry series. It takes place nearly two decades after its predecessor’s dramatic conclusion. (Spoiler warning: Far Cry 5 ends with an atomic bomb that ushers in a post-apocalyptic era.) Set back in Montana, New Dawn follows a group of survivors as they try to thrive in the face of great adversity. That adversity comes mainly in the form of a new group of bandits known as the Highwaymen. Blood Dragon and Primal demonstrate the franchise’s potential for creating stellar or lackluster spinoffs. But where does New Dawn fit into Far Cry’s pantheon of voices?

Comparing the series

Much has been said about Ubisoft’s reluctance to deviate from the status quo in its major IPs. Far Cry 3 casts an incredibly broad shadow that the license has yet to escape. Hence, Far Cry 4 is essentially a carbon copy of its predecessor. Meanwhile, Far Cry 5 introduces a handful of changes to the base formula. Rather than filling the Montana map with icons to tick a list, Far Cry 5 encourages exploration. Your character aims to discover outposts awaiting liberation. While traversing the open world is more intuitive, the actual game cycle remains essentially unchanged from previous iterations. Far Cry 5 is a cautious step forward rather than a sure leap.

Conversely, New Dawn seems reluctant to step away from the light of its main game. Spin-offs offer the perfect opportunity to steer a popular franchise in a new direction. Unfortunately, Ubisoft chooses to regurgitate most of Far Cry 5, adding only a few small tweaks along the way.

History

The player character is an unnamed captain who spends his days wandering around looking for settlements that need guidance. Eventually, the hero’s caravan travels to Montana when they are summoned by a hastily assembled collection of survivors. They try to establish a slice of heaven called Prosperity. Sadly, they face opposition from the Highwaymen, an assortment of scavengers, brawlers and bandits led by the evil twin sisters Mickey and Lou.

Running around 10 hours, the main story works best as an epilogue for some of Far Cry 5’s personalities, especially those associated with Eden’s Gate. While the franchise is known for its funny antagonists, Mickey and Lou are New Dawn’s saddest disappointment. After a somewhat effective introduction, the twins disappear for much of the campaign, only showing up sporadically to make sure the player doesn’t forget them.

For the most part, New Dawn interprets her story in a straightforward way, which doesn’t exactly match the setting. The Highwaymen and Prosperity residents are both willing to plunder others to help their own causes. However, the pursuit of the latter is presented as noble. The protagonist of the mass murder makes no effort to protect a native culture from being overrun by outside influences. He nor he is just trying to survive. In a post-apocalyptic world, everyone is fair game.