Far Cry New Dawn feels like a prolonged drug trip from the previous Far Cry games in all the right ways. It’s a wonderfully colourful, vivid, and insanity-induced trip into the kind of mayhem that fans of the beloved series have been asking for since Blood Dragon. Taking place after the “true” ending of Far Cry 5, New Dawn serves as both a successor and a standalone title that tells a new story in a post-apocalyptic wasteland – a first for the series. While obvious comparisons might be drawn to the likes of Fallout and the upcoming Rage 2, New Dawn does enough to set itself apart while remaining faithful to the core ideals of Far Cry.

In New Dawn, Hope County is a shell of what it once was. 17 years after nuclear bombs ravaged most of the countryside, the new Hope County isn’t exactly a desolate wasteland. Instead, it’s teeming with lush forestation, an eye-popping colour palette, and a knack for neon-pink that, at times, gets carried away with its visual overload. Nonetheless, it all paints a stunning picture; and a very different kind of post-apocalypse that paves new ground for the series, at least aesthetically.



However, where New Dawn really shines is in its execution. My main problem with Far Cry 5 was that it often took itself very seriously, and made for some unintentionally brooding scenarios, but New Dawn gleefully understands how to up the ante in its crazy, fun factor. This all comes through in the smallest of details. Enemies are dressed like they just binged a 48-hour marathon in an underground rave club, while entire outposts – minus the scenery – sparkle with bright lime and pink colours. It’s all overwhelming at first glance, but half an hour into the demo, I was absolutely engrossed in this almost fantastical world that Ubisoft has meticulously crafted.

In this regard, the obvious comparison point should be a predecessor in its own series, Blood Dragon. Originally touted as a spin-off to Far Cry 3, Blood Dragon managed to resonate so well with fans, that it unanimously became the standard in which future Far Cry titles should aspire to – insanity factor included. Far Cry 4 struck a fine balance between telling a compelling story with an awesome central villain while delivering that slice of insanity, but there was always room for the series to really embrace its newfound identity – be it unintentional or not. New Dawn is the first game since Blood Dragon to do so - albeit with less supernatural chaos. I loved how creatively compelling the game was, taking many daring directions that I didn’t expect the series to go in.



While story details were unfortunately limited in the demo, we got a good understanding of where it would be taking us. Instead of one villain, New Dawn sports two brutish female antagonists with a charismatically sadistic twist (I mean, "charismatically sadistic" is kind of expected of Far Cry villains at this point). Mickey and Lou, the new villains, are the leaders of a group of raiders called the Highwaymen who have stormed into the new Hope County to enforce a kind of dictatorship over the inhabitants (once again, it’s expected of Far Cry villains…). However, while I sadly never got to encounter either of them in the demo, their totalitarian grip on the country was felt in almost every corner of the map. Propaganda litters the land as their henchmen rode around in armoured vehicles, delivering the smackdown to anyone who opposes the word of Mickey and Lou. It’s all par for the course in Far Cry, really, but that boils down to how much you enjoyed the series as a whole – because not much has changed, but at the same time, enough has evolved to make New Dawn feel fresh.

The gameplay brings a slew of new changes to the series’ more traditional aspects. I was initially concerned about its “light RPG” mechanics as it sounded a bit too out-of-place in a Far Cry game. You’ll be glad to know this isn’t the case at all. In fact, these RPG mechanics ended up being the most memorable aspects of the demo for me. You traverse the wasteland to gather materials which can be used to modify, upgrade, and even barter for new equipment and weapons.



Speaking of weapons, the demo gave us access to perhaps one of the coolest weapons I’ve ever had the joy of using – the Saw Launcher. This nifty weapon, a combination of a crossbow and spinning saw blades, launches saws out at high speeds to decapitate enemies, take off limbs, and even ricochet off walls and surfaces to bounce back at other enemies. Nothing feels more satisfying than lining up the Saw Launcher so that it takes out multiple enemies at once in a ridiculously over-the-top but exhilarating fashion. It made me feel like Rambo, and I never grew tired of it.

Unfortunately, there’s only one negative that irked me while playing New Dawn. Like Far Cry 5, New Dawn allows you to choose between a female or male character in the beginning; a nameless shell to project yourself onto. Some fans took kindly to this in Far Cry 5, and will certainly enjoy the fact that they can play New Dawn as themselves, but I’ve always personally enjoyed playing as Jason Brody or Ajay Ghale, characters with predetermined traits and backstories that had personal connections to the antagonists. It’s hard to tell if it will play out the same way in New Dawn, but this is just a personal preference of mine, and it shouldn’t come in the way of your enjoyment if you’ve liked Far Cry 5.

Overall, I’m happy to say that New Dawn is shaping up to be a fantastic game, and possibly the best in the series since Blood Dragon. The game seems to offer a wealth of content for its relatively lowered price point, and even then, Ubisoft has gone the extra mile to ensure that it’s a polished, well-rounded, and superbly enjoyable experience. The world design is stunning and a sight to behold, the villains are going to be a big talking point, and the gameplay provides fun by the heaps. Yet, I must stress that if you have not enjoyed previous Far Cry games, New Dawn isn’t going to change your mind. At its heart, it’s still a Far Cry game, only with a shiny coat of bright pink - and a Saw Launcher. Seriously, that thing is amazing.