When Technicolor corpses litter the floor of every reclaimed settlement and I’m holstering my neon green rocket launcher with a tamed wild hog named Horatio at my side, parables ring pretty hollow. If Ubisoft had entirely committed to the dystopian free-for-all it created in all but name, I can’t help but feel the final product would have been stronger. New Dawn’s emphasis on over-the-top spectacle against a bright neon backdrop makes this dissonance impossible to ignore, cheapening its narrative beats and any attempts at drawing a firm line between good and evil. Far Cry’s obsession with self-serious story has always run antithetical to the havoc you can wreak in-game. No matter how many lines NPCs feed me about justice, it’s hard for me to believe I have the moral high ground.

If anything, I feel a little gross when I recall that New Dawn’s narrative frames my exploits as that of the wasteland’s righteous savior. While all that mayhem is fun in the moment, it doesn’t exactly leave me feeling much of anything when I step away from the game. I can dress up as a unicorn while I run around launching buzzsaws into people’s faces, or I can use god powers to kill a bear in a single punch (more on that later). Its extensive array of weapons, vehicles, and explosives facilitates mowing down enemies and retaking outposts in any number of combinations. It’s only really interested in being a playground for carnage.Īnd as far as violent playgrounds go, New Dawn’s excels, embodying the maniacal freedom of Grand Theft Auto in an anarchic, Fallout-esque setting with the vibrancy cranked to 11. It doesn’t really afford the chance to solve or make problems. Far Cry New Dawn practically mechanizes its indifference. Past Far Cry games repeatedly flirted with these kinds of moral gray areas, but none have been especially diligent about unpacking the intangible space between right and wrong. Then again, at least I’m not the one speared on the end of that bison’s horn.

A few hours later, I suspect I’m neither, as I’m frantically fleeing a lichen-covered bison with a monstrous amount of health, leading it toward an outpost filled with civilians who, if I’m lucky, promise to divert its attention. “Are you a problem solver, or a problem maker?” The Far Cry series’ newest standout villains - twins Mickey and Lou - raise this question in the opening scene of Far Cry New Dawn.

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