Every Far Cry game ranked from worst to best
Far Cry helped to define open-world games and is now one of the elite franchises in the world for the genre. So here are the main games in the franchise ranked from worst to best.
After Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry is probably Ubisoft’s leading AAA franchise, with the open-world phenomenon spanning 15 years and multiple award-winning entries. Far Cry has set the standard in sprawling, exotic stretches of land for players to explore and fight in.
Each game has tried to leave its mark of originality whether it was a different setting or an instantly memorable villain. We’ve broken down the main games in the storied franchise and ranked the Far Cry games from worst to best.
7. Far Cry New Dawn
After the rip-roaring ending to Far Cry 5, Ubisoft decided we needed to go one more round with Hope County, albeit a much brighter one. The problem with Far Cry New Dawn is that it highlights much of the franchise’s later problems, feeling too samey.
Given that there’s only one year between the release of Far Cry 5 and New Dawn, and it’s basically the same map, you can’t help but feel this is glorified DLC. If you missed out on Far Cry 5, then it might be worth a blast.
6. Far Cry Primal
The obvious outlier in the series, Primal was an almost shallow attempt to appear much different, without actually doing it. The time period was wound back several thousand years, yet the game still somehow managed to feel like the standard Far Cry game we’d become accustomed to.
Given that it’s 10,000 BC, your character has to use sticks and stones to break bones, and it certainly gets points for at least trying to feel like a fresh concept.
5. Far Cry
If you get a chance to play Far Cry Classic – an upscaling of the 2004 original – then you get a game that can match up to the graphical quality of many present-day games – it looks that good.
Taking you to a tropical island, the first game in the franchise was probably a bit too linear and held your hand a bit too much to be in the running for best game. As the starting point of a new franchise, it’s certainly a great game.
4. Far Cry 2
This felt like a step up in almost every department from the first game, and its tropical island was another gorgeous setting for an epic RPG.
The only problem is that its attempts to be realistic proved to be a bit excessive in the end. Gun jamming was infuriating and far too frequent, repairing vehicles was a chore, and whilst Malaria was a nice touch, it would interfere with what you were doing much too regularly.
3. Far Cry 5
We didn’t find there to be too much wrong with Far Cry 5, it’s just that it does little to make itself stand out as a unique entry. It does manage to carry on the trend of having a recognizable, hated main villain with psychopathic tendencies at least.
It does get rid of viewpoint climbing and other repetitive trends, but it’s overshadowed by the alleged freedom to how you can approach the story. This is evidenced by the forced abductions that make you do main missions, even if you’re already preoccupied with something else.
2. Far Cry 4
If it’s not broken, don’t fix it. That’s the formula and ideology that Ubisoft slapped on Far Cry 4 to ensure the series’ renaissance continued. The fictional country of Kyrat and its civil war made for an appealing host, and Pagan Min was captivating, albeit brief.
Overall it still carried that aura of trying to placate its audience by retaining pretty much the same formula of Far Cry 3 and mostly reskinning it.
1. Far Cry 3
The impact that Far Cry 3 had on the open-world genre feels tantamount to the seismic shift that Grand Theft Auto III caused. It stripped back the overbearing realism of Far Cry 2 and created something wholesome and endlessly fun.
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The game’s sub-villain Vaas Montenegro is regarded as an all-time great, the game looks incredible, the gameplay feels amazing, and hunting is a joy. It could perhaps have finished off its story a bit better, but that can be forgiven for its superb mission design, particularly burning drugs in a huge field to thumping dubstep.
That concludes our ranking of the Far Cry games. Each game will have something different for everyone, and your thoughts may differ from ours.
Be sure to let us know what your favorite Far Cry game was.
Image credits: Ubisoft