The Far Cry Series Needs To Go Back To Its Original Formula

The Far Cry series came into the light when Far Cry 3 was released by Ubisoft in 2012. It took the gaming community by storm with its highly immersive open world and story, which kept players hooked on their Xbox 360 for hours.

I recall myself coming back from school and playing the game for hours. The story was very eerie and had an impact on me. The story and characters had substance. The new games lack this, so let’s dive into them.

The Storytelling Of The Games Has Hit A Barrier

In Far Cry 3, you go to some Island with your college friends for the summer. However, you are met with a terrible fate as they meet Vaas Montenegro, who kidnaps the player and his friends and traps them on the island under his dictatorship; throughout the whole game, we have to make allies and factions, piece aside from Vaas’ troops and rescue our friends, this is what made the experience super fun to play.

I’m looking to replay a classic far cry game. which is better, far cry 3 or far cry 4?
byu/Jhmos123 infarcry

However, in the new games, the story is less impactful, and doing stuff like this feels more like a chore rather than getting a feeling of accomplishment. Older Far Cry games created a sense of place and immersion through detailed environments and survival elements. Newer titles sometimes lose this atmospheric touch. The newer titles no longer present the feeling of gradually stepping up the stairs and becoming powerful yourself.

Dear Ubisoft, Villains Are Not Everything

Far Cry 3 became famous because of its main villain, Vaas Montenegro. He is a well-written character with complexities that make you question the human mind. Vaas is considered one of the best video game antagonists of all time. Ubisoft took this idea but forgot the rest of the deal. What made Far Cry 3 unique was its villain, the atmosphere, the storytelling, the progression, and the fear it invoked of you leaving the island without dying.

The newer titles have some fantastic, well-written Villains or Antagonists like Pagan Min from Far Cry 4 or the Father from Far Cry 5, but they lack the other aspects. The newer titles sometimes feel less engaging or emotionally resonant. I think they need to focus on all the elements to retain the greatness the series once had.

The Fear Of Being Stranded Somewhere Is Gone

Objectively speaking, the new Far Cry games are easy and less challenging, which is also a turnoff for many players. In Far Cry 3 or even in 4, the checkpoints were located far away so if you died you would have to go back to the objective, the new games have generous checkpoints, autosave, and respawn points. This takes away the fun of being on the edge and lessens the tension and suspense in the earlier titles.

The enemy AI of the new games has been criticized so much by the fans, that you could be shooting right beside them just outside their field of vision and they wouldn’t notice, they are more predictable, and fewer tactical plays are involved, just take a machine gun and go boom. Despite this, the Far Cry is still fun and a solid series. I expect the new games to be as much as gameplay-driven as they are character-driven.