The Far Cry franchise is a complicated one. Most people will have very fond memories of playing Far Cry 3, which was released just over a decade ago in 2012. It featured Jason Brody as he took on the various dangers of the Rook Isles. These ranged from the local wildlife to the iconic villain Vaas. However, since this, the series has seen a steady decline in quality with every subsequent release.
By the time the Far Cry 7 release date rocks around, there’s no doubt that many fans will have low expectations. Ubisoft took note of what was successful in Far Cry 3 and proceeded to paste it into every game afterwards. So what is a list of things that we’d love to see changed when Far Cry 7 comes out?
Elsewhere, check out everything we know about Portal 3 and Dark Souls 4 for two other much-rumoured sequels. We've also got a look at the Starfield Game Pass release date, with Bethesda's latest effort due to land in 2023.
Far Cry 7 news
While there may be no official news on a Far Cry 7 release date, that doesn't mean we can't think about what we'd love to see in the new game. We'll make sure to update you as soon as anything is announced.
What we'd love to see in Far Cry 7
A believable, compelling villain
When people think of great Far Cry villains, they will likely think of Vaas first, and then Pagan Min second. This is because they had the most impact on the protagonist and players alike. Vaas was a genuine threat to Jason multiple times, even killing his brother in front of him at the beginning of the game. In comparison, Far Cry 5 went for a more group of villains approach, where Joseph Seed was surrounded by powerful people that you had to take on before you got to him.
By the time Far Cry 6 released, fans were exhausted by a lack of motive to take down the villain. Castillo came close: he was truly hateable and gave the protagonist a number of reasons to get their revenge on him. But Ubisoft can do better.
It’s time that fans got a new bad guy; one that can carry the weight of being the face of the series. They need to have a prominent personality that isn’t just being evil. Pagan Min genuinely respected the protagonist, and Vaas was likeable and had his own life going on outside of trying to kill you. If Ubisoft wants Far Cry 7 to succeed, then they have to get the villain right first.
Fewer allies that we care about more
Far Cry 5 was keen on the idea of giving you companions to take with you while you explored, who would help you take out enemies. So keen, in fact, that they give you nine different options for you to pick from. Each of them had a different speciality that can be used to clear outposts and fight wild animals. However, this means that you never get the chance to bond with one properly. They’re shallow caricatures that never get enough depth for you to care about.
When Far Cry 6 was released, fans were even more confused when they met the companions in that game. The entire ally system had been scrapped and reduced to collecting pets around the island. There was almost no room for situational storytelling, which was a sore loss in a series that used to pride itself on this.
For Far Cry 7 to have more of an impact, it needs to have NPCs that the players care about. The stories of Jason Brody's friends still resonate with fans years later because they were carefully crafted, and had genuine consequences. Ubisoft needs to limit the allies down to a number that is more manageable. It’s better to have a few characters that have a genuine impact on the player and story, than bloating the story with meaningless interactions.
A change to the Radio Tower mechanic
For many years, Ubisoft games relied heavily on the mechanic of scaling tall towers in order to reveal large segments of the map. They became known as radio towers in the Far Cry franchise. While they were well received in Far Cry 3, they quickly outstayed their welcome in subsequent releases. The latest game, Far Cry 6, made big changes to this. In order to reveal the map, you would physically have to travel to that area in order to clear the fog of war. The missions were written around this mechanic, meaning that the locations were revealed to you organically as you progressed through the story.
However, the map in Far Cry 6 was almost 100km squared, which meant that travelling around it took time and effort. It wasn’t the most well-received change, as many felt that it limited their experience. In earlier games, when characters unlocked a radio tower, it would reveal areas of interest on the map that gave players an incentive to explore that area.
Far Cry 7 needs to find a balance between the two of these. There needs to be a way to reveal large sections of the map, but without making players climb landmarks in order to do so.
Player choices that matter
At the end of Far Cry 6, you got one of the possible different endings, depending on what choices you made during the game. However, these were limited as the game was generally expected to be played as an on-rails linear experience. While the series has never been particularly known for its extensive player choices, there is always a first time for everything.
For Far Cry 7 to pump new life into the series, it needs to try something new. Ubisoft has made steps to make the setting more interesting in recent years, taking on a deep American cult and a Cuban revolution respectively. It shouldn’t stop there though. Ubisoft should keep raising the stakes but let the player actually influence the direction of the story. A revolution is no fun if you have no say in what happens.
A rework to the outposts gameplay
The outposts in the Far Cry series are another core mechanic that have returned in every game. They typically revolve around the same set-up each time: there’s an open-air base, an alarm that can be used to call in backup, and sometimes even some animals in cages. In Far Cry 6, they had FND military bases, which functioned almost identically to outposts in every way other than the name.
This is the last stale mechanic that should be changed for the new Far Cry 7 game. By this point it has become predictable, boring, and even draining. Since Far Cry 3, there have been over 100 outposts for players to liberate in the main games alone. There are so many ways that developers can create an interesting way to make fast travel points, and it might be time to either drastically rework the outpost mechanic, or leave it behind completely.
If you're checking out Far Cry 6 for the first time, make sure to check out our beginner's guide to the game for a bunch of tips and tricks! We also have a guide on easter eggs and secrets in Far Cry 6, as well as the best things to do outside of the main story.