043PREVIEW
Lou, these armour-clad enemies tag-team with
scarcity as the key threats that your home base –
dubbed Prosperity – faces. Creative Director Jean-
Sébastien Decant reflects on how Far Cry’s villains
grace each game’s box and says they are characters
that “you’re going to love to hate.” After the likes of
Joseph Seed, Pagan Min, and Vaas Montenegro, the
twins have big boots to fill.
“It’s super-interesting to try and find new, fresh
takes each time,” Decant says, “and it’s been a
while that we were toying with the idea of having
a female villain. And at the same time, on my end,
after [working on a number of Far Cry games] I was
really looking for a way to change the dynamic of
the moments you spend with the villain,” he tells us.
“We had a lot of [one-on-one encounters] so could
we have something where there are two characters
that are straight in your face? And the idea of two
siblings, you know? They have their own world and
you get into that world [...] That was the initial
starting point.”OUT & ABOUT
The twins aren’t the only figures you’ll need to
keep an eye out for, as we spot the all-too-familiar
silhouette of a particular cult leader, suggesting
Joseph Seed returns, and has his own designs on
Prosperity. It was too much to hope he’d
be blasted by his own bombs, we suppose.
Still, the Survivors aren’t at the mercy of
the sinister preacher, nor that of Mickey
and Lou’s Highwaymen. Your Guns and
Fangs For Hire return – among the latter
are furry allies Timber the akita and
Horatio the boar. A friendly human face
shows up in the form of Carmina, the
young running-and-gunning daughter of
Nick and Kim Rye from Far Cry 5. All she’s
known is the world after the bombs fell,
giving her something of a unique outlook.
Someone with a view of the bigger picture
is Nana, the gunslinging granny whose
speciality is sniping.
Ubisoft brings Nana along when we’re
shown one of New Dawn’s Expeditions, which
show the situation beyond Hope County. Ubisoft
teases missions taking place in a verdant bayou,
an abandoned theme park, and a rocky canyon.
Expeditions are aimed at being played co-op, though
you can definitely play them alone, especially if
you’ve got Nana tagging along and taking potshots
at any threats that hove into view. We wreak havoc
on the local Highwaymen chapter, then need to
leg it to a waiting helicopter. Waiting for Nana, we
witness the surprisingly sprightly sniper sneak up
and deck someone from behind on her way out like
they swiped the last Werther’s Original in post-
apocalyptic Montana. From the cockpit, we continue
to pelt lead at any enemies unlucky enough to still
be on the ground.
Expeditions boast three different levels of
difficulty, making them worth revisiting. Liberating
outposts is a similar story. If you leave an outpost
alone for too long as you hunt down nuggets of story
via treasure hunts, the Highwaymen may well retake
it. Every time you return, the difficulty escalates
with switched-up security. But as you can see, this
standalone sequel switches up far more than that,
and we know we’ll discover more surprises when
New Dawn drops in mid-February.FACTRICK
Unfortunately, while the
helpful pup had a good
innings, Boomer did not
survive into the New Dawn.- DOG DAYS
The team looked to film
for villainous inspiration
but found few examples
centring on female twins.- IN TWO MINDS
As we reported last issue,
Eden’s Gate leader Joseph
Seed will return. From bad
Seed to bad penny...- SOWING SEEDS
Above Granny’s got your back. Sniper Nana can not only revive you and repair
vehicles but also shoot through cover.
Above Hit ’em where it hurts! Which, if you’re using this
sawblade-shooting crossbow, is likely to be everywhere.
Above The post-apocalypse looks so good, boasting neon-pink
superbloom and graffiti scrawlings wherever you turn.
“GUNS AND FANGS
FOR HIRE RETURN –
GUNSLINGING
GRANNY NANA’S
SPECIALITY IS SNIPING.”