Sunday, February 17, 2019

"Far Cry: New Dawn" Review


What happens when a doomsday cult's dire predictions turn out to be right? That's the post-apocalyptic, "Fallout"-like question that "Far Cry: New Dawn" tackles.

The discount follow-up to last year's "Far Cry 5" is set 17 years after nuclear war has ravaged society, leaving pockets of survivors to coble together the pieces. The chaos blossoms amid a "superbloom," in which a burst of flora and fauna begins to thrive amid the rubble, painting the world with bright, wild brush strokes.

Hope County, Montana is at the epicenter of the power vacuum. "Far Cry: New Dawn" tasks you to lead a loosely-knit confederacy of survivors as they scrounge for resources and territory.

True to the "Far Cry" tradition, crafting, hunting and armed capturing and control of strategic epicenters shapes your experience along the way, setting up an evolving, back-and-forth metagame as you advance through the campaign.

Expertly constructed on the solid bones of "Far Cry 5," the experience of "New Dawn" echoes the events of the last game, while also striking off in brave new directions. The reshaped American West opens up as a dark, hyperviolent reimagining of 1800s frontier lawlessness, with more than a few echoes of "Red Dead Redemption 2" coming into play in a society robbed of technology.

Bolstered with involving RPG elements, "Far Cry: New Dawn" emerges as a single-player sandbox with layers of exploration, emergent discoveries and tense, thrilling encounters. While the story elements may not quite live up to the brooding, mind-control obsessions of "Far Cry 5," what we get is a resonant sequel that does the last game proud.

It may not be quite a new dawn for the "Far Cry" brand, but there are enough twists and advancements on the established formula to keep the franchise feeling fresh and vital.

Publisher provided review code.

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