Far Cry is a franchise that has become synonymous with the term ‘weird’ and I mean that in the most positive way possible. Be it from close calls with Yetis to psychedelic drug-induced trips, this series has a knack of combining the estranged to grounded-reality. At times, it’s almost humorous as to how natural it is for a Far Cry game to throw in all sorts of kooky themes and set pieces, yet still act as if it’s just normal occurrences in the narrative. In many ways, that’s why the Far Cry series is so heavily commended. So how does its latest addition to the series measure up to both its predecessors and current standards of gaming? Pretty damn well.
The story of Primal is set during the Mesolithic era, taking place in the dense valley of Oros, and it follows the trials and tribulations of Takkar – a member of the bedeviled Wenja tribe. The story centers around Takkar and his journey to create a home in Oros for his tribe, while at the same time battling other formidable tribes as well nature itself. The game outdoes itself in terms of creating an organic social environment – the tribes behave and interact in ways that are realistic. This culminates to creating an environment that feels homely to the player especially given the fact that the game always puts you on edge since anything beyond the threshold of your home base can either rip you to shreds and eat you alive. This is one of the highlights of the game – its immersion is surreal, it draws you in a world that isn’t deterred by boring binary AI interactions but rather the complete opposite.
So, aesthetically speaking, it is great to see your tribe dance and frolic with joy around a fire on a quiet night or to see a bear encroach onto an enemy campfire and maul everyone there in mere seconds, but what about the gameplay? After all, the Far Cry series does pride itself primarily in that. The gameplay is solid! To those familiar with the series, especially Far Cry 3 and 4, the base mechanics are similar. You hunt and gather materials in order to upgrade your resources, you unlock more areas on your map by lighting bonfires (which is this game’s version of the ‘radio tower’ trope) or taking control of enemy outposts and, most importantly, you have a bow and quiver. For what Far Cry game isn’t complete without the standard issue bow and quiver. However, this time around the bow and arrow fits into the settings as opposed to its predecessors where it was merely a way of channeling our inner Rambo. Now that we have the familiars out of the way, it is time to shine light on the biggest departure this video game audaciously tried its hand at and, oddly enough, succeeded. I’m referring to survival.
“Aesthetically speaking, it is great to see your tribe dance and frolic with joy around a fire on a quiet night or to see a bear encroach onto an enemy campfire and maul everyone there in mere seconds.”
In the previous Far Cry games you were given control of uber-protagonists, as scary as the beast-infested lands of the previous games were, their roars could be reduced to whimpers with the help of your trusty rocket launcher or flamethrower. Especially in Far Cry 3 and 4, I would find myself sprinting through dense foliage with momentary halts just so that I could bullet-riddle the tiger that was sneaking up behind me. However, Primal plays by the rules of its game’s time era, thus, you don’t have the companion of a shotgun to protect you at every turn. This time around you have to rely on wit and tactics to make it through the game. I found myself more times than not pacing every step as I made my way through the woods to my next objective, for one bad turn can lead you into a territory that is inhabited by wolves, sabertooths, bears, or things that generally are carnivorous, have sharp teeth and view you as a decent meal. Thankfully, you are given Hunter’s Vision, which is the games equivalent of detective mode. Basically, it highlights items of interest, such as plants that can be scavenged, or even shows if any animals are nearby through scent trails. Hunter’s vision is mainly useful when hunting for particular animals in an area or even roaming unknown territory.
As scary as whatever roams amongst the bushes and stalks the shadows may be, it doesn’t necessarily have to be your enemy. This is where Beast Mastery comes in. As tricky as the concept may elude to be, it’s quite easy. All it requires you to do is throw some bait near the animal you wish to put under your control, approach it while it is busy consuming the bait and then hold down a button while Takkar tries to soothe the beast with his magic jazz hands. However easy the process is, it pays off in the dozens. Having the likes of a bear or a jaguar accompany you as your traverse the land of Oros can be quite badass as well as calming. As mentioned earlier, Oros is a dangerous place and practically everything wants to eat you, so having a beast companion can take the edge off and overtime you even start to grow very fond of their presence. The beasts don’t just serve as your walking companion but even play crucial roles when hunting and fighting enemies. Many a times, I found a battle being turned in my favor due to the aid of the beasts. And it goes without saying that all the beasts you tame aren’t made equal, each one has an ability that differs it from the rest. Such as having a wolf accompany you will help in stealth gameplays, or if you’re more of the run-into-the-middle-of-the-battle sort of player, then the bear is the perfect companion as it can take the most damage and because it can be ridden. Oh right, did I tell you that you can ride some beasts in this game?
“Oros is a dangerous place and practically everything wants to eat you”
This review is merely scratching the surface of what Primal has to offer. It’s a complex amalgam of immersive gameplay with an even greater immersive environment. Everything about this game feels brutal, with the focus this time being more on melee combat, which makes sense as it is reflective of the time period it is set in. My biggest qualms with the earlier games was that the character progression of the protagonists made no sense; developing from an innocent bystander into this uber-survivalist with a knack for showing enemies what the sharp end of knife feels like did not make sense to me. But that same theme flows perfectly into the settings of Primal. At some point, I forgot I was playing a Far Cry game! It goes without saying that this game has its flaws – the story is predictable at times and the other characters don’t draw you in so much. Even some of the mechanics are faulty, especially given the fact that the Hunter’s Vision only works for few seconds and then switches off, this can be annoying especially when tracking animals. Also, there were a handful of times in which Hunter’s Vision failed to show me all the animals in the area, and thus I would find myself receiving the most painful back-rub from a 7-foot bear.
Far Cry Primal does what it does best – creating an immersive survival experience but at the same time being able to still retain its commendable formulaic style. Simply put – if the thought of riding a sabretooth into an enemy camp while holding a flaming spear and being accompanied by a bear and a white wolf does not pique your interest, then you wasted your time reading this review.
