We’ve seen the end of the world countless times in video games, most often in the form of some kind of nuclear apocalypse or other. Whether in Fallout, Metro, or any number of other titles, the result is usually the same – a ravaged, brown, oppressive world filled with horrific creatures mutated into being by the radioactive fallout.
Doesn’t it get a bit boring after a while? Aren’t we getting apocalypse burnout? Seen one wasteland, seen them all? These were the questions driving creative director Jean-Sébastien Decant during the development of Far Cry New Dawn, the standalone sequel to last year’s open-world epic Far Cry 5.
“The post-apocalyptic genre in general is very crowded, and those images have been created in the brains of people by movies, TV shows, games,” Decant says. “The first challenge when we started New Dawn was ‘How do we create our own space?’ We didn’t let ourselves be influenced too much by these other [apocalypses] – we looked back at what happened in the Far Cry 5 world and tried to model what could be the future in 20 years.”
At the closing of Far Cry 5, one possible ending involves a nuclear assault. New Dawn picks up 17 years later, where a scant few survivors are rebuilding their lives. The most striking thing players find is that, rather than emerging from underground bunkers into a ruined hellscape, the world has flourished in humanity’s absence. The land is green and wildlife abounds – a far cry, if you will, from the usual end of the world.
“The first thing we realised was that in a world that would have been drastically destroyed, with much less human presence, nature would take over,” Decant says. “We’d get to a place that would be super lush and full of animals, very inviting and beautiful. That was the starting point for our approach.”
Of course, running around a renewed Eden might not make for a terribly interesting game. Thankfully for players, this new world is terrorised by the Highwaymen, a gang of marauders led by sadistic sisters Mickey and Lou, Far Cry’s first major female villains. Set on taking resources for themselves, they target the burgeoning community of Prosperity, drawing you – players take on the role of a lieutenant working for Thomas Rush, an important figure travelling the remnants of the US trying to rebuild society – into the conflict to protect the town.
Ever since Far Cry 3 was fronted by the menacing Vaas, bad guys have been front and centre for the series. Given the player character is usually user-created and almost always unseen, the villains serve as the de facto main characters of each instalment. The Twins – as they’re known in New Dawn – aren’t just token female characters though; Decant says they present new storytelling possibilities.
“For a while, we’ve had those one-on-one moments with bad guys in Far Cry, so [we wanted to] change the formula, and create something that could be a bit unexpected,” he says. “Having to deal with two characters is a totally different world. Making them sisters is also super interesting because there is a familiarity between siblings, and in the moments with them, it’s like peeking into their world. All those were interesting nuggets I wanted to explore.”
Mechanically, Far Cry New Dawn doesn’t stray too far from the formula that has made previous entries in the series so successful. At a glance, it may appear to be just another open-world adventure – especially since the majority of the action still takes place in Far Cry 5’s setting of Hope County, Montana – but there’s far more going on than just an aesthetic change to the map.
Exploring now has more hazards; despite the resurgence of nature, this is still a world recovering from nuclear conflict, and some areas are tainted by fallout. Stray too far into these without protective gear and you’ll start suffering the consequences, which forces you to plan out your travel routes a little more thoughtfully. There are also now more options for crafting makeshift weapons, and any outposts you liberate have to be continuously defended or are taken back by Highwaymen. Both the player character and enemies – plus the weapons and gear they use – have RPG-style ranks to indicate overall power.
One big change is the introduction of Expeditions – standalone missions that take you away from Prosperity and Hope County. Not only do these give little snapshots of how other parts of the world reacted to the bombs dropping, they serve as dungeon raids of a fashion, with specific challenges to overcome in order to find rare loot. Once unlocked – you’ll need to complete an early mission to restore and refuel a helicopter – these can be accessed at any point from the world map, and are perfect for shorter or more focussed bouts of Far Cry gameplay.
“The whole production was a balancing act between being the sequel to Far Cry 5 and being a post-apocalyptic Far Cry,” Decant says. Several characters return from the fifth game, and new ones are introduced as their children (notably Carmina Rye, whose birth you delivered in one of Far Cry 5’s missions). The nefarious Joseph Seed and his cult, which tormented Hope County, still have machinations on this new world.
Yet while returning players will undoubtedly get more from New Dawn, understanding nuanced plot points and recognising the returning figures, this game more than stands on its own merits. The focus on new villains and building a new society in a world teeming with life and, ultimately, hope, is on target to deliver something new not only for Far Cry, but post-apocalyptic games as a whole: a world worth fighting for.
Updated 24.01.19, 09:50 GMT: This article has been updated to reflect the fact that the sisters are the first main Far Cry antagonists to be women. Previous Far Cry villains include Citra Talugmai in Far Cry 3.
