New Dawn feels like an expansion to Far Cry 5 and if you play the both games back to back its great way to experience the entire story ..it's a little weird they needed two separated games to do so but i guess it's good for business. I didn't have big expectations from this game but with time it changed my opinion, what at first seemed to be just a clone it ended up being something better ..a more polished version of the original Far Cry 5.

Set in the same location the map is a post-apocalyptic version ,following the nuclear ending in FC5 the wildlife changed the landscape drastically ..with new species of plants giving the game a pink-purple look which can be appealing for some but i think they over did it. It's not just visuals because this nuclear event also mutated some of the animals and made hunting a little more challenging especially if we talk of the legendary animals.

https://steamproxy.net/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3455495976

In terms of gameplay New Dawn brings a lot of changes and this is where it feels like a whole new game. If in both games we have core Far Cry mechanics like open world exploration and outpost liberation ,New dawn shines with the addition of RPG elements (Home building upgrades or gear upgrades to name a few) and the new expedition missions in single player. The rpg aspect ensures the game will stay relevant through it's entirety ,scavenging a liberated outpost will bring in a new tier of enemies ..also the new extraction missions can be completed in different tiers of difficulty.

Even if this game is shorter the story is more focused and the progression path feels more natural. With less side missions and fewer random events in the world New Dawn feels more enjoyable. I don't know if it just me but the main missions were a lot better,the hunting had a purpose because the hides could be exchanged for materials and a few used for gear upgrades.

https://steamproxy.net/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3456168972

Joseph Seed was iconic as a preacher and i was pleased to see his return but this time as one of the main story characters rather than a villain. His journey and transformation was great ..but to get there you have to defeat the twins Mickey and Lou. Survivors with no religion and a hunger for power, they're more grounded and focused on their goals, a very dangerous duo which i hated from the start ( that's how great villains should be). Showcasing cruelty and violence they were so annoying that my thirst for revenge increased every mission to the point i couldn't care about their path or past so in that ending scene i didn't feel any remorse or guilt.

Depending on your taste New Dawn can also be seen as short and more linear, the new neon look is not for everyone and the new rpg elements can be seen as a con. For example enemies have health bars and dumping half a clip into a enemy before he dies can break immersion especially for the players used with old Far Cry titles.

https://steamproxy.net/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3457313517

In conclusion if you want the whole story and you played Far Cry 5 don't miss this one!

I only played Far Cry 5 and Far Cry New Dawn from Ubisoft, but I kinda understand now why people hate Ubisoft. I liked both of them, but they at most are mediocre games. Don't expect much from them. I see it as an expansion for Far Cry 5 but a bit bigger, but still 100% and doing everything on the checklist took me 30 hours. The game had tons of flaws, so I will list them, but I will then list the good things about it (which I think are way fewer). I recommend the game at the current price because you get three games (Far Cry 5 + Far Cry 3 + Far Cry New Dawn) for 15$ (some regions have the bundle for 7$), but don't expect much from it.

● Performance Issues: I don't know why the game kept running at 30 fps the whole time. My laptop isn't weak, and Ubisoft games aren't even demanding (especially Far Cry). I kept changing the settings from Ultra to low and always got the same 25 to 30 fps. One time, I opened Ubisoft Connect, and the game was playing at 60 fps! The experience was much smoother, but when I restarted the game, it returned to 30 fps again. I had a problem with Ubisoft Connect that kept me two whole days from running games and had to do a lot of fixes until it worked. The problem was with Ubisoft Connect, not the games or my laptop.

● Glitches: Being thrown under the map while driving a vehicle happened I think two to three times. Being killed out of nowhere. I have a problem with the damaging system in both Far Cry 5 and New Dawn. Enemies are damaging you, and you don't know from where and you get damaged so fast even if you upgrade your health to max.

● Resources issues and Microtransactions: Both this point and the next are affecting each other. Microtransactions in single-player games have to be one of the worst things that this industry ever had. You have to design the game to be profitable through those microtransactions so "Make the game more grinder!". By the end of the game, you will have tons of resources, but you have to grind for them A LOT. You will have to grind a lot of expedtions and outposts to get appropriate gear. It's related to the next point, but at the end of the game, I found it sooo hard to make medkits. Barely had resources for them and barely found any, and you can't buy them by the game currency. At least provide them even if they are more expensive than crafting them.

● Upgrade and damaging System: Unlike Far Cry 5, the game kinda of has enemies' levels from 1 to 4. It's a ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ mess. When you start the game, the enemies are a bit weak and aren't that strong, but when they are level two, things start to be harder. So you have to grind for resources to make better weapons (or uhhh buy them with the MICROTRANSACTIONS currency so things become easier). I went through 105 checkpoints through the whole map, did a lot of expeditions and still found it hard to find resources at the beginning of the game. BUT when you are at the end of the game you have so ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ powerful weapons that you are sometimes a killing machine. Elite enemies die with some bullets with the high weapons.

● uhhh, AI of the enemies: I know all Ubisoft game has bad AI designs for enemies and for partners, but this is a mess. I don't know why enemies in New Dawn are worse than Far Cry 5. They both are the same game in mostly all of things. I will be moving in front of enemies, and they won't even notice. And sometimes I'm hiding and they see me what the hell is this!

But overall, besides the flaws of the game, it was a kinda OK experience. I liked it, but I didn't expect much from it (that's why I finished it). I don't think I expect anything from Ubisoft games, especially now that Tencent is taking control of them (Those 25% will be 100%; it's just a matter of time). They even censored some of Far Cry 4 content after more than 10 years, so Ubisoft end is very near, and a new Ubisoft controlled by Tencent will be here.

Whatever made Far Cry special is gone in this entry. While the world looks fine and I actually somewhat enjoyed the story and the ending, this game is completely bare bones with barely anything to do and fails to provide an experience that justifies the price tag of 45 bucks. It only took me 16 hours to get all of the achievements and do most of what this game offers and what little it does offer is both underwhelming and something that has been done before in previous games and executed a lot better than it was here. Skip even when in sale.

3/10