And the answer to that question is far more nuanced than a simple yes or no. What we can walk away with here is that Ubisoft has once again delivered a fun and chaotic experience as their blueprint calls for, but is it now a formula we're simply too familiar with?

Here's a snippet from our review:

I wanted to make a joke about this just being Far Cry New Skin, because it is. But it isn’t. Well, it is because the game is quintessentially Far Cry 5 just fast-forwarded in time with pretend RPG mechanics tied to it -- numerical value hit points on enemies an RPG proper, does not make. Missions and distractions are also the same. Trucks with ethanol are randomly parading about the map, and you need to collect these. Highwaymen, the new Eden’s Gate Hope County bullies, appear at random and in recognisable gear. Animals are Far Cry angry, you liberate, you collect treasures, you find loot. So much fucking loot. And solve minor puzzles for entry to various interiors. Vehicles lie in wait for you to abscond with, despite the key ingredient in the game each of game-world’s denizens is crying out for, is fuel.


And it’s that last point that gets us back to the point about arcade. You see, Far Cry 5’s setup was scary and almost too on-the-contemporary-political-and-societal-nose. It still is. And how it ended, even with all of the loose silly stuff in between, remains a concept people are weary of. Now, New Dawn which is set 15 years later takes that threat; that scary notion, and runs with ‘what if?’. But the what if is built around a greater sense of fun. Nothing in this new game-world actually really makes any sense, and Ubisoft Montreal isn’t afraid to take that to a level we can all bite into, without really ever having any attachment to it.

Click here for our full Far Cry New Dawn review.