Ubisoft sends you back to Hope County in Far Cry New Dawn, which desperately needs your help because the world we knew no longer exists. Seventeen years after a nuclear catastrophe, people are trying to repopulate the area, but the so-called Highway Men are destroying everything they see. High time to restore law and order in Montana.

Live long and prosper

Like a small Gallic village, the community Prosperity tries to defy all obstacles and create normality. You start the game in this base and you have to improve it as the game progresses – on the one hand by hiring specialists, such as doctors, or expanding with resources, such as ethanol. Personally, I’m a big fan of using a created game world in multiple parts and retelling a story this way. So I was especially happy when I arrived fresh in Prosperity and saw the familiar face of Kim Rye. I can only go too well with the mission from Far Cry 5Remember, in which I drove the pregnant Kim to her confinement. And her daughter Carmina is now as “help on call” vigorously in the fight against the Highway Men to the side. In terms of storytelling, this is a big plus point for me, since it’s all about helping familiar people right from the start, and so I’m even deeper into the game. The main and side quests are very similar to the familiar from the predecessors game principle. The quest givers are mostly funny characters and it’s nice when a game does not take itself so seriously and makes you laugh.

Hands up!

For the first time in the history of the series, you have to compete against two opponents, the crazy twin sisters Mickey and Lou. Their followers, the Highway Men, are devastating and a major threat to Hope County’s rebuilding. The control and menu guidance are hardly different from the predecessor, so you can immediately bang loose without problems. In addition, you have a survival guide at your disposal, where you can find out about expansion and crafting. Yes, you read that right – in Far Cry New DawnDo you now have the opportunity to craft! In the game world, you will find the required materials, which you can barely overlook by their oversized presentation. With the help of bobbins and springs, you can now produce your own weapons or vehicles in the typical post-apocalyptic look. To bring in a bit of pep and RPG flair, the strength of your opponent is now represented by different bars. So you know if you can attack right away or if you would rather return later with better skills and weapons. It is essential to building your base to get better equipment in the fight against the Highway Men.

A true country flower waltz

For the past 17 years, Hope County has also changed visually – due to the absence of people on the surface, it has come to a super bloom. This gives the whole area a fairytale look. Lilac flowers cover the lush green meadows and in the clear blue sky, northern lights – or rather radiation – can be seen in the middle of the day. But as beautiful as the natural world looks on the ground, especially the wide forests and flower seas, it was the view up, which let me falter, because the entire sky is unfortunately covered with a strong conspicuous granulation filter. Far Cry New Dawn is definitely the opposite of colorless and sometimes even glaring – which stylistically fits well with the radiation and the setting of the game. Should you feel like chasing something other than the Highway-Men, you have the possibility to go hunting in nature. But not only tame bunnies and deer lurk here, but also a few animals that are not very well fed with radioactivity. This recognizes her easily by their special appearance, but watch out, because the fighting is quite demanding in comparison to the remaining confrontations. You can trade animals for hides in the shop for materials and thus provide a lucrative opportunity to raise money.

Is excursion pleasing?

A new addition is the expedition mode, where you can make excursions by helicopter to other areas. On unfamiliar terrain, you will accomplish relatively simple missions, such as obtaining a backpack from an enemy base and then escaping again. The mode is fun and makes for a quick change of scenery in between. To capture the various impressions of the game, as in the predecessor, a photo mode is available. This was not only improved by the handling, but also extended by the feature to put your figure in different poses now. There are also some allusions to other titles from Ubisoft, such as the leap of faith from the Assassin’s Creed series, If you like taking virtual pictures, you will really enjoy them here.

Cultic meetings

At Far Cry 5, I was especially fascinated by the story surrounding John Seed’s cult and, of course, I was particularly curious about what happened to New Eden. And so much is revealed without a spoiler – a reunion with the cult will be! In general, while roaming around Hope County, you will meet familiar faces that are already familiar to you from the predecessor. Although it can logically after 17 years no reunion with Montana’s best dog Boomer, was provided for equally helpful and cuddly replacement. The on-demand help feature has also been subtly improved, as your companions are now more accurate than before. If your companion blesses the time, you have to revive it in the menu using herbs – another innovation and a step towards RPG.Far Cry series will evolve. Anyone who wants to can play all missions online in co-op with friends and work together to rebuild Hope County. The game progress is hereby, as already with the direct predecessor, unfortunately only stored at the host of the game.

Double Lottchen

The two antagonists are in my opinion a bit weak. As heads of an army of nuts, they were a bit too tame and harmless to me – so I just could not quite remove the role from them. Which was by no means the soundtrack – at least the English version. With German dubbing I have my problems in general, often the text is rattled down completely without emotion and is on top of that still spongy translated. Also on Far Cry New Dawnis the German voice output passable, but not a highlight. The soundtrack is a colorful mix, from techno sounds to hip-hop and matching the glare of the game. From a technical point of view, there were no game-disturbing bugs or picture jammers during my testing phase, just a few funny demises of opponents, which does not spoil the fun.

CONCLUSION

In the run-up, much discussion has been going on why New Dawn does not appear as a DLC on Far Cry 5, but I think it’s a good idea to release the title as a standalone. The story continues with great attention to detail. Although there are some RPG elements such as the crafting system and exploration mode, it basically remains the same game. Fans of the Far Cry series will be satisfied, although I can imagine that for one or the other is already too much RPG in the shooter. Of course, New Dawn is more fun, if you know the history, but also newcomers will have their joy with the latest offshoot. For me a title that is a lot of fun.

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