Games I Beat: Far Cry Primal

Far Cry Primal
Mass Caveman Murder Simulation
1 Player
System: PS4
Developer: Ubisoft Montreal
Year of Release: 2016
Beaten: December 4th, 2016

Far Cry is a series that has seen little to no change since the third entry dropped. I remember falling utterly in love with that game when it came out. It just felt so good from the controls to how the game visually responded to your input. It tends towards the easy side, but can offer some interesting challenges, primarily when it comes to taking over enemy bases. My two favorite entries may have only shaken up the game superficially, but for me that's enough. Both Blood Dragon and Primal drew me into their world in such away that I could easily forgive their repetitive Ubisoft natures.

One really important note before I dive into this, DO NOT BUY THE APEX ADDITION. It is an absolute waste of time. It adds three terrible missions to the game that nets you a single skill point for completing all three. It has you control a mammoth awkwardly, with a limited point of view and eventually has you leading other mammoths around. Except the call mechanic doesn't seem to work properly. I wasted five more dollars than I needed to on this crap and regret it. Ignore the Legendary Mammoth Missions. They suck. Good news though, that's really the only negative I have to say, the pre-order bonus sucked.

Of course had they put in more effort to actually change gameplay mechanics a little bit it could have been more interesting, but perhaps then it wouldn't be Far Cry? On the other hand Assassin's Creed turned into a game about piracy and everyone loved that. Upon announcement of Primal I was instantly intrigued, but having just played through Blood Dragon and 4 I feared the game would be too samey and held off on picking it up. Recently the game went for sale and I finally got the chance to play it. My initial gut reaction was spot on, I love being a caveman.

Primal does attempt to switch some things up. First there's a much greater reliance on melee combat, for the most part this style of combat was either incredibly easy, or just silly, usually both. For reference I played through the game on normal. The game limits the variation of weapon types down to a scant few, spears, clubs, a bow and a sling alongside a few varieties of setting appropriate grenades, like bee hives. Surprisingly this doesn't make the gameplay itself feel limited. Each weapon serves a very specific purpose, and through the game you can not just upgrade them with crafting components but also discover whole new versions, like a two handed club with a much higher base power.

Crafting has been re-emphasized in this game, weapons break, which makes sense considering that you tend to be smacking pieces of wood into neanderthal skulls. Not once throughout the game was this either tedious or leaving me without options. Sometimes I might have been without a spear, but I could make do with a bow shot just as well. I tend to hate weapon breaking systems, but this game never bothered me. Though I did casually collect various supplies throughout the game, it never felt like grinding of any sort.

Another new addition, or more so expanded on the white tiger mechanic from 4, you can tame various wildlife across the land. Usually you use them to help you attack other groups, but eventually you can even ride some of them. Considering it's ancient times the camera has been replaced with an owl. I really love the owl even if it did trivialize some enemy base capturing. You fly around as the owl and can tag enemies from on high. Additionally you can not only insta-kill most enemies with a cool down after, but you can drop various grenades which can cause massive havoc on an unsuspecting group of proto-men.

The game flows like a typical Far Cry adventure. Find side and main quests, which limit you to a small area and force you to complete your objective before moving on. Explore the open world to discover new collectibles and locations. Take over enemy land by capturing bases and forts. The ultimate goal is to conquer the land of Oros from two rival groups of cavemen. They felt different enough from each other, but it's nothing outstanding. Once again this game rests on its series' laurels and while that may frustrate some, with enough time between playing the last game and having a unique setting that appealed to me I wound up having an amazing time.

I would go so far as to say Primal is my favorite in the Far Cry series. It doesn't do much to reinvent the mold, but does anyone expect that from Ubisoft anymore? It's a sad state of affairs maybe, but it still feels so good stalking through the wilderness taking out enemy cavemen. Capturing forts feels as great as ever, even if the owl can make it pretty easy. This certainly will not win over non-fans, but for anyone who loved exploring any of the previous entries, and if it's been awhile, I highly recommending sinking a bit of time into conquering Oros. It's yours for the taking.