The end of “Far Cry 5” had many people shaking their heads. The 2018 game had some of the greatest gameplay of the series and offered a great story to go with it until the end. The narrative successor, “Far Cry: New Dawn,” could have been a great way to expand on the narrative aspect of Hope County, Eden’s Gate and the rest of the people in the game. Although this game offers quite a few hours of content, it should have been added onto the original.

The beginning of the game is similar to “Far Cry 5” in a couple of ways. The first involved a simple trip turned wrong by the enemy and a chase scene only to be thrown into water and narrowly escaping the leaders. In “Far Cry: New Dawn,” one is able to see how the world has changed without being thrown into the narrative too early on. There is a beauty in this apocalyptic setting. The bright, vibrant purple and green colors may annoy some gamers, but they give this world a unique taste that will be seen throughout the rest of the game.

The story is very strong and rich despite its short time. Set 17 years in the future after a nuclear catastrophe in the U.S., the cast of new and returning characters brings Hope County back to life. Kim Rye has a much stronger role in this game, playing as the guiding hand of the player and having to help build up the new settlement’s prosperity. But the main story feels repetitive at some points, as the main missions are easily completed and do not have the same kind of emotional impact as the previous game.

The main villains, twins named Mickey and Lou, lead the highway men and their mission to survive by pillaging and looting for anything they want. They fall into the trope of apocalypse villains being bad for survival. Unlike Joseph Seed, the main villain of the previous title, they are bland and try too hard at being tough. What separates the other villains in the series are their personalities. Mickey and Lou feel forced and have moments to have great monologues and give players a deeper look into the world of the present-day U.S. Unfortunately, these opportunities are missed and leave players void of at least a decent villain.

Before talking about the gameplay mechanics, one big gameplay change is the new RPG system implemented in this addition. All enemies have a rank that shows players how tough they will be to beat. Enemies with a ranking of one will be easily displaced with a powerful weapon or a well-placed shot. Enemies with a four, five or even a legendary crown symbol are the toughest to take down and will require the player to have advanced in the story to the point that these enemies are common enough to beat easily. Enemies are different from the previous entry and surprisingly feel tougher than the cultists of “Far Cry 5.” The group play of these enemies can make going solo tougher than one would think.

Another big change is having a home base to operate and maintain as well  as handling settlements. The main base, Prosperity, can offer a lot of resources to fight the highway men. Upgrading this base is essential to not only move the story forward but also to be able to upgrade certain weapons. Recruiting specialists and collecting ethanol is exciting at first, but after a couple of missions and settlement liberations, it repeats itself terribly. The bases start to feel familiar, and prosperity can only grow so much.

Gameplay mechanics are generally the same compared to its predecessor. Minor improvements are made, like aiming a throwable weapon, driving and shooting a gun, and using items are easier than before. One major improvement to the system is the crafting system. Since this is a post-apocalyptic world, players need supplies. The crafting menu was another button click away from the weapons menu, but in “New Dawn,” this is easily fixed, which makes crafting weapons and items on the fly much easier.

Gun play in this game works the same minus one small detail: guns take longer to reload and are not as powerful. Given the setting of the apocalypse, many of these weapons appear to be patched up with bungee cords and duct tape. It adds a nice, well-used vibe to the appearance of guns, but reloading takes seconds longer than usual. This can affect some players, as reloading can make the difference between winning the battle or respawning soon enough to try again. Players will be treated to better guns and have their own ranking system as well. This helps decide the load out of which gun is best.

In conclusion, this is a fun, small title. It does not do well as a stand-alone game. Despite Ubisoft’s attempts to make this game an independent title, it falls short in almost every other aspect. The story is a breeze to get through, the gameplay is very similar to “Far Cry 5,” and the graphics are slightly better than before but do not offer much besides a few postcards from the wastelands. The villains fall short of being memorable, and the new RPG trend in Ubisoft culture has affected another title. “Far Cry: New Dawn” is a wasted opportunity for an expansion pack but is not a total miss. It is still a good story and can offer fans a setting that has been dreamt of for some time: post-apocalypse, “Far Cry” style.

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