The Far Cry series is a set of First Person Shooter games which mostly follow the idea of taking down some sort of dictator like villain.

I remember when I was quite young, I watched my dad play the first Far Cry on the original Xbox. Back then it looked really cool and unique, unless I’m mistaking it for something else I think he could actually turn into an animal-man. The point is that the first one laid the groundwork for everything after. At some point my sister bought me an Xbox with Far Cry Instincts installed which I had a go of but it couldn’t compete with whatever I had on modern consoles at the time.

There was Far Cry 2 on the Xbox 360 which brought with it a malaria mechanic which just made the game awkward to play as the character constantly had disease attacks that interrupted gameplay. Add in weapon jamming and enemy bases that were filled with men minutes after clearing them and it led to a game my dad hated. I had a proper try of this one on his copy and somehow later gained a digital copy of my own but it left us both with a poor opinion of the series.

So what came next was a cheap copy of Far Cry 4, probably as part of a deal or something. A series which we hadn’t tried for years but we’d heard good things about how the series moved forward after 2. An exciting open; a slightly campy, strangely cruel villain who was actually a good guy in the end; tower climbing; meaningful animal hunting; decent base takeover design. We were blown away by how good 4 was, even going as far as getting a second copy so we could play together. It got play your own way right with my dad being a silent sniper and me setting the world on fire. Whatever sequels were added to the wish list.

Far Cry Primal, a bit of a turn for the worst. Same Far Cry ideas but you hit with sticks instead of guns. It was brave of the developers to try something new but my dad abandoned it instantly where I found it an easy one for Xbox Achievements. It just felt weak as a combat game and as a Far Cry.

But Far Cry 5 was another main series title, surely that would be good. It was, but it wasn’t great like 4. Far Cry had peaked and they were throwing in wild ideas but other than adding Only You to my music playlists there was nothing truly standout about the game. We enjoyed it enough to keep going with the series by The Father and his Seeds weren’t too interesting for us.

Far Cry New Dawn came as another spin-off title. I saw how it resolved 5’s story and abandoned it. I just wasn’t interested anymore. I think my dad got through it but it was because there was nothing better to do.

We eventually saw Far Cry 3 on the digital store going cheap so buying a copy of that made sense, it was the one with a great reputation. Personally, I found Vaas a bit boring after the other villains. He just came across as a crazy savage man which wasn’t that interesting or inspiring. It was more of the same in gameplay formula (I’m aware this set up the style but it was late in my view of the series). I lost interest quickly again.

At some point Xbox gave away Trials Of The Blood Dragon and Far Cry Blood Dragon. The Blood Dragon game was a futuristic looking shooter that I couldn’t get into, but Trials as a 2D motorcycle platformer was a fun breath of fresh air. I wouldn’t usually go for a driving focused game but Trials was a great use of the Far Cry name which going through was a lot of fun.

The latest one, Far Cry 6 is back to being disappointing for me. I play it for achievements for Xbox rewards or when I want something easy and brainless. It was one that I wasn’t willing to pay for after New Dawn. Mechanically it’s the same recycled ideas and is fine, but the series has lost its lustre.

So what next, I don’t have high hopes for 7 if there is one, and only the Pagan Min DLC for 6 interests me. It seems like 4 will always be my favourite and from now on the Far Cry series isn’t high on my wish list.

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If I get any more Far Cry games then I could expand on this in future.

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