Ubisoft’s Far Cry franchise contains some of the best games the company has ever developed. Though the series is overshadowed by the more popular Assassin’s Creed franchise, Far Cry isn’t short of a few gems as well. Its games are known for their lost castaway narratives, their unique and compelling villains, and survival-based gameplay.
The most notable element of a Far Cry game is being an open-world game complimented by a restricted first-person perspective. This immerses the players into the world and adds to the survival gameplay. However, it is unclear if all the Far Cry games follow a linear narrative, or if they all take place in the same universe. That being said, here are all the Far Cry games ranked from worst to best.
7 Far Cry
Far Cry is the first game of the series and has quite amazing graphics for a game in 2004. The game follows protagonist Jack Carver in a generic plot to foil a generic bad guy’s generic evil plans. The main villain is Dr. Krieger, a bioengineer whose serum is supposed to enhance physical human abilities. Instead, it ends up creating horribly deformed monstrosities. Enemies in the game include the normal mercenaries and the superhuman trigens which are the genetically modified beasts. Despite the lackluster plot, the gameplay is immersive due to the absence of a tagging system in a jungle setting. As a result, players resort to survival tactics to get through game levels. The variety of enemies also give players a challenge to overcome. There is a saying that the original is always the best, but with this game, it is a far cry from the best title in the series.
6 Far Cry New Dawn
Far Cry New Dawn is the series’ most recent title with very different mechanics from the rest of the franchise. For one, enemies work more similar to RPG-type oppositions. They have more health, their health bars are visible, and higher-level enemies can’t be taken down easily. This makes boss fights more engaging. Also, New Dawn experimented with some heightened abilities to give to players as opposed to just being the lost survivor kind of protagonist. The gameplay is really fun and is a breath of fresh air from the previous games. However, with the short plot and the lack of content, the game felt more like a Far Cry 5 DLC than a standalone title.
5 Far Cry Primal
Far Cry Primal removes the guns, technology, and even the advanced civilization. Taking place in stone age 10,000 BCE, Takkar, the main protagonist, leads the Wenja tribe against their enemies: the cannibalistic Udam and the sun-worshipping Izila clan. The players are taken into the neolithic era, an era when agriculture was just invented. Combat is also limited to primitive weapons such as clubs and spears, allowing for more aggressive, less tactical approaches.
Additionally, in an age where beasts roam the untamed world, the player has imbued beast-taming abilities that allow him to use the various animals to his advantage. Considering that the absence of guns and metal would be a big challenge to integrate into gameplay, Ubisoft was able to pull it off. On the other hand, the story could be longer.
4 Far Cry 2
The second installment to the Far Cry franchise is a huge leap, gameplay, and graphics wise, from the first game. Like the first one, the game has very nice visuals for its time. The main protagonist is tasked to assassinate the notorious arms dealer, ‘The Jackal’ but learns sooner that there are bigger things of concern. Enemies aren’t the only ones the players have to worry about in this game. Far Cry 2 steps up its survival elements from the first game. There’s the added gun jamming system that renders weapons unusable, and also the main antagonist has contracted Malaria which requires the constant intake of pills. These elements that deepen the state of helplessness, together with the murky visuals, is what the true Far Cry game was about.
3 Far Cry 5
Far Cry 5 has an interesting plot, and some of the most unique villains in a Far Cry game. The prophetic Joseph Seed, together with his lunatic band of henchmen, has taken the locals of Hope County, Montana by force into a religious cult. The gameplay is a change from the previous games. Though Ubisoft removed some survival elements, they have added some arcade-like shooter mechanics into the open-world game.
The weapons are insanely satisfying to use (i.e. throwing a melee weapon like a spear), the vehicles range vastly from weaponized trucks to dogfighting planes, and the companions provide some much-needed versatility to combat. On top of that, the whole story can be played with two players. Though it is far from the original formula of the franchise, Ubisoft managed to experiment well with this game.
2 Far Cry 4
Far Cry 4 takes place in the Nepal-inspired country of Kyrat. Ajay Ghale, the main protagonist, is immediately thrown in the heat of conflict between The Golden Path and The Royal Army. The game also has one of the most entertaining villains in the franchise, Pagan Min. Progressing through the game, the players unfold a beautiful narrative underneath the main story, along with a secret ending.
Far Cry 4 encourages hunting animals and plant picking for crafting upgrades and combat buffs. This subtle addition of survival elements is a nice touch to an open-world shooter game; immersing the player even more into the third world. The world is also filled with mountain ranges optimal for wingsuit and skydiving. Far Cry 4 follows Ubisoft’s formula of liberating outposts and climbing radio towers to uncover more areas of the map, making for some fun side content. As well-crafted as this game is, the next entry on this list just does things better.
1 Far Cry 3
Far Cry 3 is arguably the best game in the franchise. It sticks to the roots of the lost, hopeless survivor formula Far Cry is known for and has quite the narrative. The story follows a gang on vacation whose trip takes a turn for the worse as they are abducted by pirates. Jason Brody, the main protagonist, and his friends must survive and find a way off the island. As they do, Jason slowly hungers for power as he grows more in tune with the forest, thus distancing himself from his home and his friends.
This character progression marries well with the survival and shooter elements of the game. This is a perfect example of story and gameplay synthesis. The game also has its share of iconic moments courtesy of main villain Vaas Montenegro. His insane character together with his spiking performances gives the players a huge sense of conflict with Vaas. Moments like Vaas’ insanity speech are the grand cherry on top of an already amazing game.
NEXT: Every Far Cry 6 Rumor and Leak So Far
