As a player, I was more affected by attacking than I have been in a long time.Īn extra dimension to this was the beast mastery summons. There’s a massive difference between shooting someone with an automatic rifle and impaling them through the skull with a tree-branch-sized spear. I’ve taken down hundreds of thousands if not millions of bad guys in video games, and I can attest that Primal’s no-guns content offered one of the most visceral experiences. Without these, Primal’s replay value is shockingly low, which is probably why they filled it to the brim with so many secondary missions and collectables.ĭespite all this aggravation, Far Cry Primal does some things incredibly well, the most impressive of which is the combat. Missing from the similarities are several things that I actually really enjoyed from Primal’s predecessor: the arena, and the ability to re-take outposts in order to finish it undetected. The majority of the creatures are exactly the same as before-dholes, wolves, bitefish, bears, birds-and the scenery is fairly similar as well. In Far Cry 4you ride an elephant, in Primal a Mammoth.
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From every angle, Far Cry Primal felt like someone threw caveman skin over Far Cry 4, and forgot to hide any exposed edges. Why does my tribe’s survival depend on my cave being fully upgraded? The pop-up only tells me that the construction delivers 3000xp, not the fate of my village.Īs a fan of the series, there was one thing I couldn’t get past, and that was the feeling that I had seen all of this before. Sadly, gathering resources and finishing side missions just doesn’t feel important. The grind in Primal is real, and upgrading that hut can be a lot of work for those without the learned skills.
For me, the fate of the Wenja was revealed after a very anti-climactic upgrading of a hut. Discerning which missions deliver the “main” storyline is simple, but seeing the final cutscene will require much more than just accomplishing those. Frustratingly, most missions are completely isolated narratively from each other, making Primal’s epic into less of a cohesive story and more of a gathering of tales. I can deal with that model-many games have similar ones-if I had only felt like I was working towards something. This turns any sense of wonder as to what happens next into a less-than-fulfilling interactive checklist with a monotony that I’ve never felt in the series. But by revealing some of the only things players can discover-all the characters that can join your village, all of the creatures you can tame, etc- Primal unintentionally takes away any narrative surprises. It seems like they were hoping for players to feel like Takkar, exploring Oros and finding the tales that make you legend. They opted to ditch the more linear storylines that Far Cry has been known for, instead going with a more open-world design. The frustrating thing is you can tell that Ubisoft felt they were delivering more discovery (this is from the caveman mindset). While it’s nice to be able to plan out your build, the transparency here-and in many other parts of the game-took away a sense of discovery that Primal could have benefited from. Unfortunately, this means that within minutes of starting the game, from a menu page, I knew nearly the entire possible cast of the game. For example, by proving your worth to Jayma-a seasoned huntress-you gain access to skills like “Tag Enemies,” or by friending the warrior Karoosh, you can learn brutal shard takedown maneuvers.įrom the start, you can see all of the trees along with who you need to acquire to open each branch. Primal’s spin on this requires you to add new members to the tribe in order to unlock different trees.
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In your way are the cannibalistic Udam, the sun-worshipping Izila, and more than an arkful of prehistoric creatures.Īs in previous Far Cry games, you level up through a series of skill trees. Filling the loincloth of Takkar, you must unite the people of Oros to ensure the survival of the Wenja tribe. Primal fits the established Far Cry action-adventure vibe, dropping the player into a wondrous and foreign world. The battle between creating a Far Cry game and delivering the “caveman” experience is at the heart of this identity crisis, and the two philosophies often worked against each other, dulling sharp ideas and crippling brand tenets.
I sat down, ready to be immersed in Far Cry Primal’s world-surely an epic to be painted upon cavern walls-but instead found Ubisoft’s newest release to be confusing and conflicted.