Far Cry Primal

It's almost hard to believe that a first-person shooter set 9,000 years before the invention of gunpowder could be this enjoyable.

It may sound trite, but there actually was something primal about Far Cry Primal in terms of how it handled genre identity. It dispenses with any notions of gritty realism, noir storytelling, or military heroism, and boils things down to brutal violence and plain-old silliness. I found this refreshing.

What shined in the story were the tribes’ cultures. It was great to see how Ubisoft created unique, fictional tribes and still made them feel natural and real within the game.

Which brings us to the key point: is it worth the price of admission? Absolutely. As previously mentioned, it’s a complete, standalone experience and breaks the mold enough that, despite having many familiar gameplay traits, is still a new adventure.

Don’t let the lack of a number fool you: This is a full Far Cry experience, with top-notch production and another massive open world to explore.

While this is a different direction for the Far Cry series, Far Cry Primal is an excellent entry into the franchise. While it might not be the best introduction to the franchise, it’s certainly one the fans of Far Cry should definitely check out and those interested in the series will find something incredibly unique, action-packed, and a lot of fun.

With a wealth of new ideas, including taming and controlling animals, a non-linear story and an upgradable village hub, Far Cry Primal isn’t just Far Cry 4 with cavemen. Much of the gameplay will feel familiar, but the additions are just about enough to keep it fresh.

The most realistic prehistoric representation that we have seen, but it lacks a little bit of depth in its gameplay mechanics to become an excellent game.

Despite some repetitiveness and a bland story, Far Cry Primal feels fresh, exciting and unique. Hopefully this will entice other AAA studios to shake things up a bit.

Primal is not just a brilliant game, it dramatically and triumphantly reinvigorates the Far Cry franchise.

Far Cry Primal is far from perfect but thanks to its historical setting it is a breath of fresh air for the franchise.

Although it's light on story and can get a bit tedious due to an emphasis on hunting and crafting, there's a lot to like about Far Cry: Primal. A beautiful game through and through, it's as immersive as it is nice-looking, and presents a rich world that is easy to get lost in.

I like Primal the most when it's many systems interact in interesting ways and when it forces me to think of new ways to deal with a powerful predator or a powerful group of enemies, but there are also moments when the entire experience feels to close to both Far Cry 4 and 3.

While the time period itself may be a far cry from the rest of the series, the game still manages to feel like a natural progression with some core gameplay elements intact, while also adding plenty of content that makes Far Cry Primal feel likes it own distinct experience.

Far Cry Primal is a perfect example of taking what works, implementing enhancements, and not subtracting from the formula. With scenes of absolute beauty, visceral brutality, and touching emotional notes, Primal does some interesting things and ultimately proves itself a valid and welcome offshoot to the series. Much in the vein of Blood Dragon before (albeit a very different game), Far Cry Primal is a solid all-around and fleshed out addition to the franchise. Although it doesn’t necessarily leap the series to incredible new heights, it does everything it does so well that you’ll just have fun hunting, fighting, and building your Wenja destiny.

There's a fine balance between tension and fun that elevates the whole experience.

Far Cry: Primal adds some interesting and more survival-oriented new mechanics to the usual franchise formula, but the main storyline revealed itself to be quite dull while the environments and gameplay result in a bit too repetitive experience. It remains however an advised buy to open world games lovers, despite its flaws.

The lack of mission variety and combat tools hold the game back from being something truly groundbreaking.

It’s beautiful to look at, and the idea it’s based on is pretty interesting. Unfortunately the magnificent game world and the interesting beast taming mechanics are not enough to cushion the repetitiveness of the main campaign. An uninspired storyline is the last nail in the coffin, for a game that, while still having solid mechanics, is just not as fun as its predecessors.

Longtime Far Cry fans might feel that the prehistoric setting is a re-skinning of the previous titles, but despite any déjà vu, Far Cry Primal remains an enjoyable, highly playable title.

Despite the exotic setting, there’s still a pervasive sense of familiarity about Primal. Liberating outposts, saving allies from enemy attacks, swinging on grappling hooks, going on hallucinogenic drug trips, hunting specific critters to unlock upgrades, gathering plants to make ability-boosting concoctions... Hell, Far Cry 4 had us riding elephants and commanding a tiger to shred enemies, so even those experiences aren’t entirely fresh here. Sometimes Primal feels like a brilliant 10-hour Far Cry spinoff that got stretched out into a 25-hour, full-priced game.

While this tale had promise, the lack of a central villain means that the story also lacks focus and is relegated to the sidelines while the side missions take pride of place.

Lacking a map-editor, co-op, and charismatic central villain, Primal sacrifices its forebears' 'big event' status, but this back-to-basics approach makes for an all-natural off-the-reservation romp.

Far Cry has gone the way of Assassin’s Creed, another source of income that’s been left to stagnate so everything that worked can be borrowed by the inevitable sequel.

If only Ubisoft Montreal had felt more confident in its wild gambit – if only it had gone further with the Stone Age concept – and we could have been looking at something special. Instead, we have a Far Cry game that feels fun in its familiarity, but is sadly lacking in many integral ways.