Review
Played on: Xbox One X
Released: 2019
Released: 2019
Introduction
Let me make something clear in this review, you really should play Far Cry 5 first. Read my review of that, here. This spin-off is a direct sequel to FC5. The setting, story and atmosphere makes more sense playing FC5 first. Read on at your own discretion, there will be major FC5 spoilers.
There seems to be a sort of expected design choice that Far Cry titles outside the main series have headroom to deliver a left field, crazy and innovative experience. New Dawn kind of has a foot set in both, delivering a familiar experience close to FC5 but dares to throw in a lot of fresh and fun ideas, plus looking more vibrant and outlandish than FC5.
It's time to check out this spin-off and return to Hope County with a touch of mad, post-apocalyptic, neon colour to it.
Plot and setting
17 years have passed since the dramatic and shocking ending of FC5: the crazy Father figure, who was the main villain, turned out to be right in his prediction of an imminent catastrophe. All the doomsday prepping suddenly made sense as the nukes fell at the end of the game.
New Dawn continues the story many years after the atomic dust has settled and a post-apocalyptic, rural, america emerges. This pink, flower covered, world has been taken over by a couple of female twins, dressed crazy and rave like, which rule the lands harsh and without mercy. As a survivor in a peaceful camp you have to slowly regain power of the familiar, yet changed, post-nuked, valley of FC5's Hope County, once again.
Although I could've done without it, New Dawn throws you into a chaotic getaway at the beginning, much the same way FC5 did. I would guess its designed to quickly get into the action, but I'd like a gradual approach in a future Far Cry. Luckily, the action settles shortly after and the game leads you to what is happening in its world and what you need to do. The first meeting with the crazy twins is set in the introduction, giving you a taste of what to expect and fear from the main villains.
The main goal of the game though, is to not only defeat those twins but build a safe haven for the peaceful settlement. Along the way you'll run into familiar faces from FC5, even the Father himself!
Although I could've done without it, New Dawn throws you into a chaotic getaway at the beginning, much the same way FC5 did. I would guess its designed to quickly get into the action, but I'd like a gradual approach in a future Far Cry. Luckily, the action settles shortly after and the game leads you to what is happening in its world and what you need to do. The first meeting with the crazy twins is set in the introduction, giving you a taste of what to expect and fear from the main villains.
The main goal of the game though, is to not only defeat those twins but build a safe haven for the peaceful settlement. Along the way you'll run into familiar faces from FC5, even the Father himself!
Gameplay and features
If you've played previous Far Crys, including FC5, then gameplay comes as second nature. New Dawn stays close to it's main predecessor with solid gunplay. This time around, the weapons have a post-apocalyptic look, featuring some cool and weird solutions for sound suppressors and aiming devices. They look the part for the edgy and vibrant look of art style. They've even thrown in a saw wheel shooting gun!
This time around you need to collect resources to be able to upgrade weapons. Some of the more advanced weapons, especially the higher level ones, require rare parts to salvage around the map.
Weapons, vehicles, enemies and camps that need capturing, all feature levels to indicate how difficult they are to take down. Your weapon should match the camp or enemy level to have the most fair fight. Resources can also be used to upgrade the settlement camp. Although I would've preffered visual differences each time you upgrade, I quite enjoyed tracking down resources to upgrade all the buildings in the camp.
This focus on upgrading, collecting resources and trying to recapture enemy camps to further get more resources, albeit fighting even harder enemies, really helps bring replay value. It keeps the player occupied with tasks that actually are progressing a settlement, feeling like you're taking part in rebuilding something.
Another cool new feature, which I found really entertaining, was taking a helicopter ride to completely off-map areas. These locations can be anything from a derelict aircraft carrier to an overgrown and abandoned theme park. These locations are quite large and require you to sneak in and find a resource pack and get the hell out with the chopper. Grabbing the resource pack will bring down all the enemies to your location, ending in an intense escape! I'd love to see these missions return in future FC titles.
Weapons, vehicles, enemies and camps that need capturing, all feature levels to indicate how difficult they are to take down. Your weapon should match the camp or enemy level to have the most fair fight. Resources can also be used to upgrade the settlement camp. Although I would've preffered visual differences each time you upgrade, I quite enjoyed tracking down resources to upgrade all the buildings in the camp.
This focus on upgrading, collecting resources and trying to recapture enemy camps to further get more resources, albeit fighting even harder enemies, really helps bring replay value. It keeps the player occupied with tasks that actually are progressing a settlement, feeling like you're taking part in rebuilding something.
Another cool new feature, which I found really entertaining, was taking a helicopter ride to completely off-map areas. These locations can be anything from a derelict aircraft carrier to an overgrown and abandoned theme park. These locations are quite large and require you to sneak in and find a resource pack and get the hell out with the chopper. Grabbing the resource pack will bring down all the enemies to your location, ending in an intense escape! I'd love to see these missions return in future FC titles.
Video
Once again, the Far Cry 5 graphics impress with New Dawn. It's basically the same visuals, although there's even more foliage this time around and tons of pink flowers everywhere. It's a colourful treat to look like and a reminder of how fantastic the engine can do nature environments. On the Xbox One X version, I played, we're treated to a full native 4K, just like FC5, and it looks stunning. The HDR is impressive, especially at night with a lots of neon lights.
The amount of detail in trees, bushes, hills, grass, flowers with the new settlements and worn down buildings from FC5 spread around the vast landscape puts New Dawn, like FC5, on the top list of best looking open world games. The draw distance and far away detail bring a gasp of amazement.
To pick on some small things: I still found the water looking bland on it's surface and the fast loss of anisotropic filtering in the distance is visible when walking on flat surfaces like tarmac. Small blemishes, on an overall beautiful title.
The amount of detail in trees, bushes, hills, grass, flowers with the new settlements and worn down buildings from FC5 spread around the vast landscape puts New Dawn, like FC5, on the top list of best looking open world games. The draw distance and far away detail bring a gasp of amazement.
To pick on some small things: I still found the water looking bland on it's surface and the fast loss of anisotropic filtering in the distance is visible when walking on flat surfaces like tarmac. Small blemishes, on an overall beautiful title.
Audio
Nice spatial sound on the surround, making it easy to understand where enemies are coming from. Guns all sound punchy like you want them to. There's a more modern style to some of the music this time around and a lot of electronic and some fast paced aggressive rap songs kicking in when engaging enemies. It fits the neon pink, punk aesthetics well.
There's also a small assortment of licensed music, which doesn't really make itself prominent other than when you're listening to a car radio or over the speakers of an enemy base.
There's also a small assortment of licensed music, which doesn't really make itself prominent other than when you're listening to a car radio or over the speakers of an enemy base.
Summary
I enjoyed my return to Hope County, while it didn't quite blow me away like FC5 did, it's not something I expected it to do. After all, it's a continuation to the same areas and story. The new gameplay ideas and vibrant visual approach help give it a much needed breath of fresh air and a clearer departure from it's predecessor. It finds it's own identity nicely.
It's not the longest of FC games and should be regarded as a spin-off. I got at least 10-12 hours of gameplay out of it though and the asking price lower than a full priced title. Value for your money I'd say, considering you can spend hours just wandering about exploring and doing your own thing in the lush and detailed open world
Recommended for fans of FC5, wanting a continuation with a different game, set in the same world. I guess you could jump straight into this game if you prefer the visual style and crazy approach, but I'd recommend personally to play FC5 first. Solid release, nothing groundbreaking or mind blowing, but a fun and pretty playthrough for a nice price.
It's not the longest of FC games and should be regarded as a spin-off. I got at least 10-12 hours of gameplay out of it though and the asking price lower than a full priced title. Value for your money I'd say, considering you can spend hours just wandering about exploring and doing your own thing in the lush and detailed open world
Recommended for fans of FC5, wanting a continuation with a different game, set in the same world. I guess you could jump straight into this game if you prefer the visual style and crazy approach, but I'd recommend personally to play FC5 first. Solid release, nothing groundbreaking or mind blowing, but a fun and pretty playthrough for a nice price.
