Why Far Cry Is Undoubtedly Ubisoft’s Best Franchise
I’ve been a fan of Ubisoft’s games for some time, now and while I’ve not played every single game ever made by them, I’ve dabbled enough to have some thoughts.
For a while now I noticed their design philosophy suffers from an inherent problem. One that of copy and paste. Many gameplay mechanics introduced in one franchise, or one’s that worked well in established ones, would oftentimes end up making their way into others.
Assassin’s Creed’s sync points became towers to be liberated in the Far Cry games, for instance. then, Assassin’s Creed in turn borrowed from Far Cry, as hiding in the bushes and liberating outposts in a vast open world became the new norm for stealth in Assassin’s Creed: Origins.
So, why do I believe Far Cry is their best franchise? And more importantly, why am I still hanging around trying out Ubisoft games, when I should by this logic not be bothered with them to begin with?
Well, their formula may be perhaps lacking that originality most of the time, but they did manage to make it all work when it comes to this particular IP. Far Cry, you see, is free of a couple of things that plague the other titles Ubisoft develops.
It’s not an RPG.
Yeah, so easy, so simple. But don’t get me wrong, there is more to delve into than just that blanket statement, so bear with me here.
Far Cry also manages to make every single activity in a huge and often cluttered map, feel like a seamless, organic experience when players pick up their controllers.
I was playing Far Cry 5 earlier today, and I realized that the amount of side activities complimenting the main story here is mind boggling, and obviously was at risk of quickly becoming headache inducing. But, I quickly realized that by taking the time to explore the world, I would run into those side activities naturally, and since gaining XP from completing them was subconsciously put into my brain, I’d wanna clear off as much of those as I could if and when I’d come across ’em.
There’s a silo in the distance. I chuck a dynamite at it, blow the whole gosh darn thing up. I get some XP. I move ahead and find some civilians that inform me of a prepper’s stash nearby. Wanting to stock up on gear, money and perks, I head in, engage in a lil puzzle solving of sorts. It’s fun, I get my stuff, and head out.
Heading out, I notice some folks are busy fighting off an animal hopped up on a drug called Bliss. It’s a doozy, but I save ’em. I see a truck carrying supplies for the Peggies, the game’s enemies, and I shoot the driver and loot the supplies for myself.
All this, on my way to the main objective that’ll advance the story, which we’re all here for. It was well within this moment that it clicked with me. It’s not the world that’s the problem, it’s the immersion. For me, Assassin’s Creed: Origins for instance, never quite clicked in the same way. It had it’s own way to get things done, obviously, and being an RPG instead of a stealth action game, didn’t quite help with that, though RPG’s usually lend themselves to immersion a bit more.
But here, the illusion of being the star of your very own 80’s action movie adventure, ramped up with a bunch of these activities to pass the time with and hone your skills so you get better at the game the more you play? Genius. And FC 5 is perhaps the best attempt at it I’ve seen yet. Even past titles, all the way back to Far Cry 2, have demonstrated this well, though in my opinion, 3 was really the title that refined these features, laying down the ground work of the formula for Ubisoft’s future titles.
Sure, it can get a bit repetitive in it’s approach. It’s always about some place disconnected from the rest of the world, with a crazy and eccentric villain who is over the top in his/her lunacy, and is up close and personal with you all the time. Then there’s the underlying theme of exploring humanity and the darkest parts of it to consider, too.
I quite enjoyed the questions Far Cry 3 asked about what it means to not only grow up and take control, but what would really happen to the psyche of a person out there in a lawless land. Would it engulf him entirely, leaving him with no soul whatsoever? Or, would he somehow be able to conquer that side of himself and retain his humanity?
Deep stuff, for a game that offers stunt work challenges on a timer as one of the side activities, for sure. Ubisoft seems to have gotten this whole thing down, though, as each title while formulaic, always delivered on these themes.
What’s better still is with each title, they got darker in terms of exploring the choices the player’s character had in the matter. With Jason Brody’s ending, one of it involved him leaving with his friends, the other involved him dying.
Ajay Ghale’s story didn’t quite end the same way, as with whomsoever it is you side with, they ultimately stab you in the back. Leaving you with the lesson that nothing is ever as black and white as you’d like it to be, the game then ends, as you sit down to ponder what you’ve just experienced.
5 brings that whole thing to a head, so naturally when all the killing, blowing stuff up and maiming has ended, you’ll be prevented with a choice. What will you choose? Will it be worth it in the end? Was there ever a meaningful choice to begin with?
All good stuff, and thankfully because the core gameplay loop here is fantastic and accentuates your desire to play the game more as you explore the map and surroundings you find yourself in, you can appreciate the hard work they’ve put into this.