It’s been a while since I played a Ubisoft open world game. The last one I played was Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, and as much as I love the Assassin’s Creed franchise and really liked Odyssey, that game really burned me out on any sort of open world game for a long time.
I really enjoyed Far Cry 5 and the cult story with Joseph Seed, and seeing how New Dawn was essentially a sequel to that story, I should’ve been all over it. I actually started the game when it first came out, but after playing a little bit and hitting that open world bit, I was completely out. I wanted to see the story, but I had no drive to do so.
Now over a year later I had that hankering to play an open world game and New Dawn happened to be on sale. It was the perfect storm of desire and not wanting to play my actual backlog. I can now say Far Cry New Dawn is the third game that I have beaten in 2020 and here are my thoughts on the game and franchise as a whole.
Spoilers for Far Cry 5 and New Dawn Below
Far Cry New Dawn takes place 17 years after the events of Far Cry 5. The ending of Far Cry 5 ends the story with bombs falling onto Hope County, Montana, and presumably across the world, because we learn in New Dawn that all of the United States has been ravaged by these bombs. You play as another voiceless character with the nickname Captain. You’re head of security for a guy named Rush, someone who has gathered a following and has been helping people across the west coast rebuilding society.
First off, I really miss having an actual character in Far Cry games. I know it’s a way for them to have the players assume that role in a way, but I really wish the character had a voice actor that would actually communicate with the NPCs of the world. It just seems like a really lame way to try and make it more of a role playing game Ike Fallout or something, but the customization is just so minimal to your character that it doesn’t feel enough. Ubisoft needs to either lean all the way into character creator, or back off it and go back to how Far Cry 3 did it.
Side Note: The ending to Far Cry 5 with Joseph Seed being right about the world ending and you as Rook being stuck in a bomb cellar with this cultist leader was such a wild ending to me and I absolutely loved it.
Anyways, New Dawn is just like Fallout 5. Same map, just transformed to where everything has been demolished for the most part. It’s really cool running into places that I remember from Far Cry 5 but seeing them overgrown, or bombed out. Seeing old characters from Far Cry 5 is also super rad. Talking to Nick Rye, the fantastic pilot, or Grace Armstrong the bad ass sniper is cool to see how they’ve overcome the last 17 years. Even a new character by the name of The Judge has an amazing back story. I actually plan on making a whole separate post just on this character alone.
The bad guys in New Dawn are not the same as 5 though. New Dawn’s new baddies are the Highwaymen ran by Mickey and Lou. Mickey and Lou are two twin girls that run this particular chapter of the Highwaymen and they are ruthless as fuck. The Highwaymen are all decked out in motocross gear which gives them a pretty cool look going along with New Dawn’s vibrant, neon aesthetic.
New Eden is back, and eventually you’ll even meet Joseph Seed again who kind of exiled himself from the cult, awaiting for a shepard sent from God, which turns out to be you. It’s all very mystical after meeting Joseph, which makes sense since Far Cry 5 had the psychedelic sort of stuff too. New Dawn takes it a step further by giving the player character supernatural abilities like going ghost so it’s harder for you to be detected, or giving you a double jump which is excellent.
Game play for New Dawn is more of the same. I like the shooting and using the brutal stealth take downs. Finding stashes to earn perk points, and collecting companions like Horatio the giant boar are still cool, as is taking over Highwaymen Outposts. It’s all very familiar and I was alright with it.
Ultimately, New Dawn was a really fun open world game. I really like that we were able to wrap up Joseph Seed’s story, because this whole thing was essentially his. Mickey and Lou are some of the most bad ass and ruthless enemies I have ever faced off against in a Far Cry game easily. I would love to see a continuation of New Dawn’s world, exploring more of the colorful wasteland in the USA or even the world. I would recommend New Dawn to anyone who played Far Cry 5 and liked it, and I would recommend Far Cry 5 for anyone craving a beautiful open world game that isn’t massive and overwhelming.
The Tired Obsidian 
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