The heart of every Far Cry game is the immersion into an exotic and savage setting coupled with the freedom to approach every situation in any way you like. Far Cry: Primal brings us to a time when humans were not at the top of the food chain. Far Cry: Primal focuses on the dawn of humanity, where survival hinged only on one’s hunting skills. Welcome to Oros.

Meet Takkar

You control Takkar, a member of the ancient Wenja tribe. Takkar and his company of friends were on a hunting trip to bring down a small Mammoth when destiny struck. A Saber Tooth Tiger attacked the party and Takkar lost everyone he once loved in minutes. Left alone in the big open world, filled with deadly creatures, Takkar needs to find a way to survive. Remember that you don’t have weapons in the world of Oros but the world around you will provide everything you need. Takkar managed to craft his first bow and club rather fast in the game.

After spending his first hours alone in the wild, he meets up with Sayla. Together with Sayla, he finds a place to stay, a peaceful place that provides sufficient food and resources to call it their home. Just like Takkar, a lot of other Wenja roam the world of Oros, trying to survive from the deadly wildlife and rivaling tribes. It’s up to Takkar to help those Wenja in need and gather them all together in the town. The more Wenja you ‘add’ to your town, the better they’re able to help to fight off enemies and gather resources. The story of Takkar is a story filled with mysteries and sacrifices. It’s a story about a small man becoming the leader of the whole pack.

You shape the story 

The way you play the game is entirely up to you. Previous Far Cry games already gave us a lot of freedom but never did we find the amount of freedom this Primal version has to offer. Just like the previous games, you’re completely free on how you would like to solve a mission. Take a hunting party for example. Will you hunt down your prey using your Hunter’s Vision (read Eagle Eye), or will you find it roaming around in the wild. Same goes for attacks on camps of the rivaling tribes. How you take care of things is your decision and it’s great to have this kind of freedom in an impressive setting like this. Far Cry: Primal pushes this freedom even further.

Learn to survive, become a leader

The developers moved away from a linear story and opened up several storylines. Of course, there’s one story that forms the main heart of the game but you’re never forced to play it. The game offers a lot of colorful characters that all offer their own missions. Some will ask you to improve the village while others will ask you to hunt a certain animal or tribe member. You’re free to go where you like and free to talk to anybody that’s of any interest. It’s fascinating that the game offers this kind of freedom and manages to stay interesting until the end. It really fits the primitive atmosphere a lot better than a linear story ever would.

True immersion

Before we discuss the actual gameplay mechanisms in the game, let me first tell you more about the world of Oros. It’s been a long time but Far Cry: Primal really delivered a true immersion. The setting is something new since we haven’t seen that many primitive settings before. The way you learn to survive is different from any other game. In other Far Cry games you could always count on your vehicles and weapons to get things done, but Far Cry: Primal goes back to the roots of immersion. You’re alone in a giant world filled with creepy animals and deadly tribe members. You’re never at ease in the giant forest and you always hear scary noises in the background. The game creates a certain feeling of solitude and danger so you’re always aware of your surroundings. You’re not playing a game; you’re surviving the wilderness and image how brutal life was before civilization. Thanks to the impressive graphics and brilliant soundtrack, Far Cry: Primal truly offers a virtual world you’ll never forget. It’s the world where you crafted your first weapon, the world where you killed your first animal, the world that showed you how brutal humans can be.

Master of the beast 

Rather soon in the story, you’ll meet Tensay, the Shaman. Tensay is a mysterious character that forces you to drink the blood of your enemies for the sake of an impressive vision. Without spoiling too much of the story, these visions offer some of the most impressive alternative universes a game ever offered. After your first vision, you learn to domesticate the wild animals. It starts with small animals like wolves but the more you advance and improve your skills, the bigger your pets can become. Ever wanted a mammoth as a personal pet? Well, it’s possible in Far Cry: Primal. Takkar is called the Beast Master for these skills and he can use them anytime he wants.

First of all, right after you learn these skills, you’ll get an owl as a friend. You can call in the help of the own anytime you want. After you call it, you’ll control it. The owl is the perfect tool for exploration of your environment. If you need to attack a base for example, it’s smart to send your owl ahead. The owl can mark enemies or drop small weapons to cause distractions. The owl is a very powerful tool that you’ll use a lot in the game. Besides the owl, there a wide variety of animals you can tame. A domesticated animal will follow you everywhere you go (except the town) and can attack enemies if you give the commando. You heal these animals the same way you domesticate them, with the help of fresh meat.

Having an animal on your side is very important for the way you enjoy the game. No longer are you alone in the wild; you have a loyal pet that stays loyal to its master and scares away some of the other dangerous animals at the same time. You’ll bond with your animal in seconds and will be glad it’s always by your side for sure! The game offers a lot of animals, even animals that went extinct, you can read more about those here.

Classic Far Cry elements

Thanks to all those new elements, you would almost forget that you’re still playing a Far Cry game. There are some elements however that will remind you’re still playing the Ubisoft franchise. First of all, the watchtowers of Far Cry 4 are transformed into giant bonfires. If you manage to lit that bonfire, you’ll claim the territory. Opening up a new fast-travel point and access point to your primal storage unit filled with resources you’ve gained from completing quests. The Udam tribe protects some of these bonfires so you’ll need to kill them first. Besides bonfires, the Udam clan also has several outposts, like in many other Far Cry games. Defeating all enemies in outposts gives you control over it, leading in again, a new fast-travel point and more Wenja in your villages.

So when it comes to exploration and opening new spaces on the map, Far Cry: Primal follows the same path its predecessors did. Same goes for the skill system. Based on the level of difficulty, you’ll gain skill points to improve some of your needed skills. Your skill tree is divided based on a specialist in town. If you want to see the resources appear on your map, for example, you’ll need to give Sayla some of your skill points. If you want to control bigger animals, you’ll need to give Tensay some of your point. There are more specialists in the game so your skill tree is rather big. Just like before, mastering all skills is a lot of fun and really gives you an advantage in the harder missions later on.

Full of surprises 

Although the game still remains a Far Cry game, it’s full of surprises. It isn’t a spin-off like Blood Dragon but it’s a true Far Cry experience set in a brilliant setting. The primitive world isn’t something we see a lot in our modern games and it’s incredible how Far Cry: Primal is able to translate the feeling of isolation and fear into their game. You don’t just control Takkar in the game, you truly become the character. The story is great and it’s filled with little twists or unexpected missions to keep things fresh. It’s not that long if you only go for the main missions but that’s not the way it’s meant to be played. If you want to enjoy Far Cry: Primal, you’ll need to look for every small object or location the game has to offer. It gives the player a lot of freedom but it’s definitely worth checking out the gorgeous world. It’s not a safe world but it’s a world filled with surprises.

Conclusion: 

Far Cry: Primal offers something new, it offers a very primitive setting and a lot of freedom. You can go wherever you want and do what you like but be aware of the brutal nature around you. Far Cry: Primal offers a story of survival and becoming a leader. It’s one of those games that truly allow immersion into the virtual world it created. If you’re looking for a new open world game filled with mysteries, this is the one you need to own. Don’t be scared and establish yourself as a leader in the gorgeous world of Oros.

9/10