Far Cry 4 Review

Let’s be honest – the grand speeches about Far Cry 4 didn’t impress us at all. Mainly because under the colorful shell, there was nothing that we hadn’t seen two years ago in the tropical expanses of Rook Island. The familiar scheme with some adjustments was presented as a new game – very much in the style of modern Ubisoft. In reality, everything turned out the same: they tweaked here, added there, patched up some things, but didn’t start from scratch. And it worked, damn it.

The significant difference turned out to be – surprisingly – the plot. Far Cry 3 could be endlessly criticized for its vulgar and unremarkable tale of pirate-drug addicts and the abundance of senseless cruelty. In the new game, the script, to our great joy, turned out to be noticeably more prominent and coherent.

Kyrat is a fictional country, lost somewhere in the Himalayas. Our protagonist, Ajay Ghale, returns to his historical homeland to scatter the ashes of his deceased mother. However, his plans for the evening are disrupted by a civil war raging in the region: a group of rebels openly opposes the bloody regime of the self-proclaimed Pagan Min, quickly recognizing in the newcomer the descendant of their great leader. Taking advantage of the opportunity and grandiose slogans, they involve Ajay in the struggle for a just cause, and he has nowhere else to go – it seems that he himself, being a king, is already sharpening his teeth on the son of an old enemy.

However, there is no need to be deceived. The plotline, although it has become more streamlined, does not aim for excessive depth. Thanks to this, the serious faces of the rebels easily coexist with drug-induced euphoria, tons of black humor, and characters like the eccentric radio DJ. And in essence, any twists and turns of the story exist more to justify game design discoveries. Do you think that the split among the rebels raises a strong theme of the conflict between tradition and innovation? It looks more like an excuse for non-linearity, so that you can support one comrade’s plan – and then listen from another how foolish you are.

But not as a single campaign. Like before, Far Cry 4 offers a great variety of activities in an open world. You can ignore the resistance right from the beginning of the game and go, for example, hunting rhinos, conquering Ubisoft’s signature towers, performing dangerous stunts for the local film studio, or simply exploring cultural landmarks. The map is filled with missions of all sorts, and random events constantly occur along the way, so there is no shortage of action.

You eagerly take on additional tasks thanks to the new gameplay features. There are enough details to make the game enjoyable with its diversity and freedom. Impregnable outposts can be stormed from the air on a gyrocopter, steep cliffs can be conquered with the help of a grappling hook, and annoying pursuers can be shot right from the car’s cabin. The application of these innovations is immediate, and it’s hard to imagine how one could play Far Cry 3 without the ability to ride an elephant or soar in a wingsuit.

It is also pleasant that artificial intelligence has become, um, smarter. No, enemies still enthusiastically roll each other on the asphalt and may not notice a crawling hero half a meter away, but more often they behave purposefully, fueling interest in shootouts and stealth stages equally.

Advice for extreme sports enthusiasts: try turning off the interface in the game. Completely. Without a map and health indicator, it may be unusual at first, but believe me, immersion and challenge are at their limit.

The change of setting also benefited the game. The previous part tried to show the worn-out tropics from an unusual perspective, but did not get rid of the triviality of the decorations. Kyrat is the complete opposite. The unique Nepalese-Tibetan flavor of the area mixes with the irony typical of the series and pours into a crazy cocktail of Indian remixes and booby-trapped monkeys. Do you often come across something like this?

In addition to everything, the technical execution in Far Cry 4 is simply wonderful. Not only do the vast Himalayan landscapes look impeccable, but the optimization is also commendable. When a system that barely meets the official minimum requirements can handle maximum settings and honest 1080p, you can’t help but remember the much-troubled Assassin’s Creed: Unity from the same developers. That’s where the contrast between stability and performance lies.

Network affairs

Like all the improvements in FC3, the multiplayer has also been enhanced. The competitive mode, in general, still exists only for those who are not satisfied with single-player games – but cooperative mode has been brought to the proper level. Chopped missions are a thing of the past, giving way to a full-fledged “sandbox” for two: at any moment, your version of Kyrat can be visited by a friend, with whom clearing outposts will become easier, and exploring the world – more fun. It’s a shame that you can’t run through the story mode in co-op, but there’s plenty of other things to do.

One way or another, you can’t scold the supposedly new project for being unoriginal. Even in continuous fun, you notice that the formula hasn’t changed a bit. It’s not so much about continuity within the franchise, but about Ubisoft games in general – searching for another blade of grass for another upgrade and climbing the nearby vantage points, of course, it’s fun, but it’s starting to get boring. It’s time for the studios to move forward.

Furthermore, the newly introduced villain on the cover is a complete disappointment. The infamous Vaas, if you remember, was a contradictory but bright character. But Pagan Min lacks that spark, no matter how hard he tries. Some of his henchmen even evoke more interest, and the cruel dictator – well, he’s there, and that’s okay. And the script doesn’t often bring him out from behind the scenes so he doesn’t shine too much.

When describing Far Cry 4, one often wants to say, “Well, like in the third part, only better.” Ubisoft practically quotes themselves verbatim, but they do so knowingly. The authors took only the good from the exotic adventures and made it excellent. Having rid itself of many of the predecessor’s shortcomings, the mountain shooter has come alive with new colors and made every effort to make us interested again, and never want to return to Far Cry 3.