Far Cry Primal

Pros

• - Beautiful setting.
• - Animal taming is unique.
• - Visceral combat.

Cons

• - Largely a retread of older games.
• - Empty world.
• - Meaningless story.

Far Cry Primal is an action/adventure open-world game set in the ancient past, putting players in the role of a primal caveman who must reunite his tribe and destroy the enemies who put his world in danger. It is the latest game in the Far Cry series and is largely built on the same engine as Far Cry 4.

There's no denying that Primal is a beautiful game. It has visuals like nothing else on the market, and it's very easy to get sucked into the world. A lot of this comes down to the sound design - you'll never hear a word of English in the game, and every sound is meant to activate your primal fear centers. Combat is up-close, bloody, and has a great deal of weight. Every animal you encounter is a real danger, and you will feel like the king of beasts when you train one to be your sidekick. In terms of experience, there's nothing quite like it out there.

Unfortunately, the game falls apart after a few hours. Once you've done an activity once, you've experienced all it has to offer. You'll do the same tasks over and over again, and you'll grow to realize that the beautiful world around you isn't quite as alive as it seems. This could be forgiven with a good story, but what you get instead is by the numbers and is frankly disappointing for the series.

Far Cry Primal isn't quite a misstep, but it's not a masterpiece. There are good things to be found in the game, but it's not a classic. It's an ultimately repetitive and empty experience, but that doesn't mean it isn't worth examining. There's fun to be found in the game but only if you make it yourself.

Pros

• - Beautiful setting.
• - Animal taming is unique.
• - Visceral combat.

Cons

• - Largely a retread of older games.
• - Empty world.
• - Meaningless story.