Primal also allowed the player to scout locations with their owl companion and tag, attack or bomb enemies several feet away, a feature that could have easily been adapted to Far Cry 5 with a hawk or falcon. There were a wider variety of animals to tame, and they were easily recruited and dismissed in a way that makes Far Cry 5 seem laborious. While the new companion system of Far Cry 5 allows a certain degree of control over the hired help, the one in Far Cry Primal was more fun. In many ways it was the series’ most honest game, and with its focus on progress and survival made the most sense thematically. And in the case of rural American culture, it seems like such a missed opportunity.įollowing Far Cry Primal, it’s surprising that Ubisoft did not expand on what made their spin-off title so great. What makes Far Cry special has been repeated, but not improved upon. But despite their attempts with this installment to move away from some of its stale shooter conventions, it all feels the same. I’m from the West Coast, I grew up in a small wooded farmland not unlike Montana, and you’d think I’d be enthralled that one of my favorite series set its latest game so close to home. And it’s strange, given the game’s setting. For many years my Saturday mornings have been spent in quiet solitude, basking in the artificial but brilliant Dunia Engine sunlight and creeping through the dense flora, arrow on bow string and Hunter’s Instinct in-hand.Īs I play Far Cry 5, I struggle to recapture that feeling. With the beauty of Far Cry’s environments and its vast menagerie of exotic creatures, it provided endless hours of entertainment. There is nothing like the steady tension and anticipation of tracking an animal and waiting for just the right moment to take your prey. If there was anything I used to love about Far Cry, it was the hunting.

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