In Milan a few weeks ago we had the opportunity, thanks to Ubisoft, to try in preview Far Cry: New Dawn, highly anticipated new chapter of the famous franchise, direct follow-up to Far Cry 5 which carries the arduous burden of introducing the theme of the post apocalyptic into the series.
Seventeen years after the events of Far Cry 5, Montana is now a place where the law of the fittest is in force, where survival is the only separating line between living and dying, between what is right and what is wrong. After the great rains that gave life to a territory that had turned into an arid desert, the vegetation took over creating a new biome called "Super Bloom": the survivors of the collapse of seventeen years earlier found refuge in Prosperity, a makeshift village that from then on will be the new home for those who have chosen to start living again. To put a spoke in the wheel, however, as always, a group of militarized mercenaries (Higwaymen) at the top of which are two twins, Mickey and Lou, who will be the main villains of this chapter.
In short, from the narrative premises, it is clear how the rate of madness, of unscrupulousness and of character is really high in this chapter. Despite this, our test surprised us by showing us a mature, logical and even unexpectedly serious narrative both in the main missions and in what will be all the side activities and secondary missions. Precisely this detail is important to emphasize, because often chaotic and confusing elements are attributed to post apocalyptic games, resulting in a jumble of disconnected elements. During the three hours of hands-on of the title, all this was absent, the line drawn by Ubisoft Montreal is very clear from the beginning and the freedom left to the player turns out to be a small piece of a much larger and well thought out puzzle.
If from the point of view of the gameplay, there is no news (shooting, running, driving and thinking as in any other chapter of the franchise), it is in the activities and in the gameplay outline that the title is renewed. One of the two biggest innovations is called Light RPG, and consists in the introduction of a system of levels (from 1 to 4) that will indicate the difficulty of the enemy you will be facing, the activity you will face or the equipment you will find and / or crafterete. A bit like it was with Assassin's Creed Origins in the other famous Ubisoft franchise, this Far Cry New Dawn also brings a bit of role-playing elements within a purely FPS ecosystem.
The damage on the screen, the life bar above the heads of the enemies and the power according to the rarity of the equipment are elements that go well, in this Far Cry in which crafting will have a central role (but not invasive, fear not). As in any self-respecting post apocalyptic setting, every equipment is built with makeshift materials found around the world and for this reason every over the top weapon you will see (rifle shoots saws, silenced guns with bottles, spade spades, etc.) will go crafted on the work table in Prosperity through the use of materials collected during your raids in Montana. We tell you right away, the amount of available materials is absolutely abundant and there will be no problems whatsoever, as well as the required amount will not be exorbitant so as not to force players to compulsive grinding..
To stay on the RPG theme, even outposts like Prosperity or enemy Outposts will be able to rank up but how? Upgrading your home will be essential, first of all to unlock the ability to create objects and vehicles of higher rarity and power, secondly to advance with the plot at certain times; to do this, however, you will need a specific material called Ethanol. This material (which will also act as a framework for some plot events) will be obtained by completing various activities, main and secondary but above all by facing enemies in the Outpost. In these outposts (which function like the old Fortresses) the enemies will be fierce and numerous, and the difficulty of each Outpost will increase by different degrees. The interesting thing is that each Outpost after a certain period of time can be faced again with increasing difficulty and we assure you that not only the rewards will increase but also the challenge they will offer you will be really tough.
Therefore, if the RPG component is the first big news of Far Cry New Dawn, the second lies in the introduction of the Expeditions. These particular missions will in fact allow you to leave the Montana border to carry out one-shot missions in other places in the United States (you can for example explore the Arizona desert) to recover materials and ethanol. This novelty greatly increases longevity but above all breaks for the first time that continuity of the franchise that linked the title to a single gigantic setting, offering the player the opportunity to see other sections of this colorful universe created with Far Cry New Dawn.
If therefore the narrative and the gameplay offer several notable food for thought, such as the consistency of the plot in a world characterized by madness and the desire to renew a system anchored up to now to the high standards of the series, the technical quality of the title remains truly amazing . The colorful "Super Bloom" is a feast for the eyes: colorful, sparkling, dynamic, surprisingly beautiful, it offers several breathtaking glimpses of highlight-colored flowers and the most classic colors of terrestrial nature. The quality of the textures, and / or the dynamism of the flames also remain practically the same proposed in Far Cry 5 and not necessarily this is a negative point.
Finally, a small note should be made on some of the elements that, renewed in form, make Far Cry a recognizable product of its kind: hunting and co-op. The first will also return massively, now more than ever hunting and procuring food and skins will be necessary, and the various bows available will allow you to specialize and become a skilled hunter. The co-op remains unchanged with the possibility of playing with a friend by joining his session or vice versa, or accompanying AI-controlled companions (the Specialists so dear to fans of the series). In the latter case, the Specialists will see new faces in their ranks but also well-known faces of which, however, we do not want to reveal any details. Wild boars, dogs, snipers and so on and so forth, in short, alone or with a friend Far Cry New Dawn will keep the same spirit as ever.
Far Cry New Dawn was a very pleasant surprise, a product that carries the theme of the post apocalyptic within a now historic franchise, but which does so in an original, thoughtful and consistent way with the nature of the series. A solid and unaltered gameplay that sees the main introductions for the series in the role components and in-game activities. The world of Far Cry New Dawn and Prosperity felt very inspired to us and we can't wait to return to that colorful world of insane.
► Far Cry New Dawn is a Shooter type game developed and published by Ubisoft for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, the video game was released on 15/02/2019
Far Cry New Dawn is a beautiful game that cannot be missing from your collection: we have decided to evaluate it with a 83%, if you are interested in learning more you can read the Far Cry New Dawn Review
