Far Cry New Dawn | REVIEW

This week we checked out Far Cry New Dawn, the standalone addon to Far Cry 5 where we return to Hope County, Montana, seventeen years after the ending events from Far Cry 5. You play the role of ‘The Security Captain’, or ‘Cap’ to make it a little easier to roll off the tongue. Your role must defend your group and defeat the Highwaymen for resources to rebuild the world. Is it worth revisiting the world after all this time? Find out in our review.

Core gameplay hasn’t really changed all that much so you know the basics of what you can expect. However, there are a few new additions to the mix, and outposts are reworked to work just a little differently, in favor of those who like a challenge. Ethanol is a precious resource, and when you defeat all the enemies at an outpost, you can liberate it to produce ethanol or scavenge it to produce a larger amount. If you scavenge it the Highwaymen will regain control and make the next fight tougher, and you can do this as many times as you’d like.

Out of the typical gunplay, vehicle customization, and hunting, New Dawn features weapon crafting and expeditions. Weapon crafting is self-explanatory, and besides having to have the necessary parts and supplies to create new weapons, you’ll need to have an accessible workbench which you’ll find at your home base in Prosperity or at any liberated outposts. To unlock more powerful weapon crafting, you’ll need to upgrade the weapons facility in your home base. It’s a bit of a grind to get the best stuff, but it’s worth doing if you want to feel like a real badass ‘Cap’.

Expeditions are the biggest new addition, and these allow players to travel outside of Hope County. Before you can access them, you’ll need to upgrade the helipad, but that shouldn’t take too long if you’re working on outposts. So, what’s the goal? Well you’ll take a chopper, head to a Highwaymen stronghold, break in and steal a special resource package, and then attempt to escape without getting killed. It’s all the intense action in expeditions, but if you want the best resources and large numbers without all the excessive searching, this is the best way. Like outposts, you can replay the expeditions afterward with increased challenge to reap greater rewards.

Let’s talk a little about the graphics. Weird, funky-looking, right? This is probably the feature that gets most people’s attention. Set in a post-apocalyptic world, New Dawn features a rather vibrant palette and the world is covered in pink, purple, and green. It’s daring to say at the very least, but it offers something different and really helps to make it feel like new world.  At times, it might become a little humdrum because you just want something new, but hey… nuclear aftermath, eh?

As for the soundtrack and everything else in the audio section. It’s more of what you’ve come to expect, great sound effects, and a solid soundtrack accompanied by rather generic voiceovers for the characters, we’re not looking for any Oscars here.

If you’re looking to really dive in and complete everything, I’d estimate there’s about 22 hours of content in New Dawn, and given the $39.99 USD launch price, that’s quite fair. I do think it’s worth the full price, but Ubisoft titles tend to drop somewhat quick so if you want to save a little bit more cash towards a true AAA experience, you could wait for a sale.  If you haven’t played Far Cry 5 yet, I’d really recommend you do that to come to understand what happened to create the world you’re helping to rebuild.

I feel like New Dawn is a enjoyable experience, but it’s not a “new” Far Cry game. It really is just an expansion or addon, despite the standalone playability. Yes, it’s worth $40, but it would be a fantastic deal at $20. A funky new style, with the challenging expeditions and outposts, along with the new weapon crafting system definitely offer enough fun for the masses, and you should give this one a look.

Special thanks to Ubisoft for providing a Uplay key to review Far Cry New Dawn

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