And, if I'm honest, even the best ones don't really make them as good as a dog. I had a shotgun guy whose buckshot would occasionally ignite the scenery, causing understandable panic.Īnd after another six learning murders, they get another perk! My RPG guy can revive dogs! Sniper lady lets me carry more ammo! Hunter man prevents me from being tracked through long grass! That one is not useful in itself - he still sucks at stealth - but it helped because I didn't know enemies could track me through long grass in the first place. Others frighten enemies with their shots. Some will re-loot bodies you've looted to find you stuff you missed. After six cultist kills - the standard unit of knowledge in this universe - they unlock a random perk.
The reason I love these generated nobodies is that they can level up. But wait! There's an upside! They also have no useful abilities. They're kinda generic, they do speak, and they can break your stealth. Because the same system extends to most of the locals you meet: you can recruit them, order them around, and save or be saved by them. Incredibly, though, Far Cry 5's companion system includes something more compelling than a dog.
He never speaks, a big plus in a world where almost everything anyone says makes you like them less. He never alerts enemies if I'm being stealthy.ģ. But I don't really care about eight of those, and I only care about the ninth because he is a dog, which gives him three key advantages:Ģ. Nine of the companions available are starring characters: people or creatures you meet and recruit through main story missions with backstories and (when human) dialogue. It's a crossbreed of Far Cry Primal's pets - you can summon them and direct their attacks at will and Far Cry 2's buddies - they can revive you if you get taken down. If you’ve invested significant time in Far Cry 3 or 4, you’ll find your enjoyment of Primal dampened by its deep-rooted similarity to those games.What Works And Why is a monthly column where Gunpoint and Heat Signature designer Tom Francis digs into the design of a game or mechanic and analyses what makes it good.įar Cry 5 is a mixed bag, but one of the bigger, shinier objects in that bag is its companions system. But as much as I love Oros as a setting and all the animal-based tomfoolery, I can’t shake the feeling of déjà vu. It’s Far Cry, basically, but in the Stone Age. You brutally kill thousands of animals to craft gear and weapon upgrades you light bonfires to reveal more of the map you attack enemy outposts you have trippy dream sequences you complete story missions that steadily unlock more stuff. It’s such a powerful tool that I hope all future Far Cry games feature it, even if they have a modern setting.
Later, with upgrades, you can use the owl to drop bombs, attack enemies, and free angry animals from their cages. Rather than being stuck in one place you can fly around freely as you scout the area and tag enemies. Instead of binoculars, you have an owl, and this is an example of a system being improved on.
Attacking an enemy camp with a mammoth by your side, a flaming club, and a pocket full of irate bees is hugely entertaining. I also love their attempts to make prehistoric versions of modern weapons, like the sting bomb ‘grenade’, which is basically just a small bag filled with angry bees. Tossing a spear and hearing it thud into an unfortunate cannibal’s chest has a gruesomely satisfying weight to it. Occasionally I yearned for the deadly rattle of an assault rifle, but the new weapons, while comparatively limited, are fun to use. Your arsenal is comprised of Stone Age favourites like clubs and spears, as well as the staple Far Cry bow and arrow. It’s an enjoyably silly idea, and one of the few ways in which Primal feels distinct from its predecessors. Early on you’ll be limited to smaller creatures like wolves, but later you can tame (and ride) mammoths and saber-tooths. Toss some bait near whichever beast you want to tame and you can creep up on it while it’s distracted and magically make it your friend. Perhaps to make up for the lack of guns, animals can fight alongside you. Takkar’s particular field of expertise is taming animals. Your allies are a cast of oddballs including Tensay the shaman, Jayma the hunter, and Karoosh the warrior, who must be located and convinced to join the tribe. Two rival tribes, the cannibalistic Udam and the fire-worshipping Izlia, are your antagonists.
Motion blur and post FX can be disabled if your FPS is low. Settings Textures, shadows, geometry, terrain, and water are all adjustable, and you can choose between FXAA or SMAA anti-aliasing. Performance With a GTX 970, 16GB of RAM, and an i5 CPU clocked at 3.40GHz I got a steady 60FPS at 1440p on max settings, with the occasional dip to 40-50 when things got really busy.