Far Cry actually has achieved all of it: a two-decade-long span of sequels set the world over, a variety of spin-offs, and a film adaptation. The franchise even dove into the realm of anime final 12 months, with Captain Laserhawk: A Blood Dragon Remix bringing the neon-tinged, tongue-in-cheek world of Far Cry: Blood Dragon to Netflix. As proven within the trailer video above, we are able to now rejoice 20 years of Far Cry, revisiting the journey from Far Cry 1 in 2004 to Far Cry 6 in 2021.
The Far Cry sequence has turn out to be a fixture of Ubisoft’s lineup, rapidly accumulating an extended lineage of video games for gamers to dig by way of. Beneath, we’ll carve by way of this prolonged historical past, itemizing each sport in launch order and providing newcomers a advice of the very best place to begin.
How Many Far Cry Video games Are There?
Excluding remasters and ports, there are 13 Far Cry video games – 12 on dwelling console/PC and one on cell gadgets. Far Cry VR: Dive Into Madness can also be excluded given its lack of accessibility — it can’t be performed at dwelling, solely at Zero Latency VR places.
The place’s the Finest Place to Begin?
Due to loads of ports on trendy consoles, Far Cry is a sequence with a ton of viable jumping-off factors. Far Cry 3, 4, 5 and 6 can all be bought on PlayStation 5, Xbox Collection X|S, and PC, and contemplating every of those video games are very comparable in mechanics and design, they need to offer you style of Far Cry’s strategy to open-world gameplay.
That being mentioned, Far Cry 3 and 4 are largely thought-about the strongest of the bunch and are nice entry factors for these trying to sink their enamel into the sequence. Both possibility will present a glimpse of Far Cry at its greatest.
Each Far Cry Sport in Launch Order
These blurbs include delicate spoilers for every sport, together with characters, settings, and story beats.
1. Far Cry (2004)
The beginning of the sequence, and the one entry developed by Crytek, Far Cry hit PC in 2004 and later made its strategy to Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Slotting gamers into the boots of former particular forces operative Jack Carver, Far Cry takes place on a gaggle of distant tropical islands swarming with trigger-happy mercenaries.
Trapped on the sunny locale’s shores after his boat is met with artillery strikes, Jack is pressured to face his pursuers and embark on an journey throughout the danger-filled archipelago, trying to find a journalist he was escorting who mysteriously disappeared. Very similar to later video games within the sequence, Far Cry targeted largely on tense gun fights, stealth, and utilizing open-ended environments to get the drop on enemies.
2. Far Cry: Instincts (2005)
In 2005, Ubisoft Montreal took over growth duties on Far Cry, releasing a remake of the unique sport titled Far Cry: Instincts. It was unique to Xbox and adopted the identical story as the unique, albeit with a contemporary coat of paint and a handful of recent mechanics.
Included was a lure system, which allowed gamers to booby lure objects to catch enemies unexpectedly, in addition to new Feral Skills, which gave Jack thermal imaginative and prescient, a strong melee assault, elevated working pace, and a number of other different game-changing perks.
3. Far Cry Instincts: Evolution (2006)
A 12 months later, Ubisoft launched the primary Far Cry sequel, Far Cry Instincts: Evolution. A direct follow-up to the story of Far Cry: Instincts, Evolution resumes the story of Jack Carver, who finds himself as soon as once more stranded on a tropical island after an arms deal gone flawed.
Framed for a homicide he didn’t commit, Jack finds himself on a mission to clear his identify, going up in opposition to a mysterious native chieftain and his band of fierce rebels. Alongside its contemporary marketing campaign, Evolution added extra weapons and automobiles, in addition to a brand new slate of multiplayer maps and level-editor objects.
4. Far Cry Vengeance (2006)
In December 2006, Ubisoft launched its first Far Cry sport on the Wii. Titled Far Cry Vengeance, it was one thing of a reimagining of Far Cry Instincts: Evolution, telling an identical however barely altered story by which protagonist Jack Carver is arrested earlier than he could make his strategy to the aforementioned arms deal.
The largest distinction, nonetheless, isFar Cry Vengeance supplied a full suite of movement controls. Utilizing the Wiimote, gamers may intention weapons and carry out melee assaults. The sport additionally featured a split-screen versus mode, though Evolution’s on-line multiplayer and degree editor didn’t make the minimize.
5. Far Cry 2
Two years later, Ubisoft Montreal shifted the Far Cry sequence away from its supernatural origins, choosing a grittier, extra grounded Far Cry 2. The sequel took the franchise to an unspecified nation in Africa, casting gamers as a gun-for-hire despatched to search out and kill an arms seller often called the Jackal.
Arriving throughout an ongoing civil struggle, the protagonist rapidly realizes catching the Jackal would require enjoying each side of the battle, prompting them to take advantage of the ability battle to shut in on their goal. Far Cry 2 was a serious change of tempo for the franchise, specializing in brutal fight and difficult ethical selections inside a completely open world. Among the many new mechanics was a buddy system, the place gamers may workforce with AI companions who would help them on missions.
6. Far Cry 2 Cell (2008)
A tie-in to the console launch of the sequel, developer Gameloft launched a cell adaptation of Far Cry 2 within the months following the bottom sport’s launch. It was a free retelling of the occasions reframed as a top-down, 2D shooter.
Very similar to the unique sport, gamers arrive in Africa to take down the Jackal, happening missions and teaming with AI companions. Attributable to technical restraints, the cell port of Far Cry 2 doesn’t function an open world, specializing in linear ranges and hubs you may discover between contracts.
7. Far Cry 3 (2012)
4 years after Far Cry 2, Ubisoft returned for the franchise’s most defining entry up to now: Far Cry 3. Following new protagonist Jason Brody, the sport begins with a vacation from hell, as Jason and his group of mates’ skydiving journey lands them on a distant island occupied by a military of pirates.
Kidnapped by their chief, the eccentric however ruthless Vaas (performed by Higher Name Saul’s Michael Mando), Jason manages to flee and be a part of up with an area insurgent militia opposing Vaas and his males. Along with his mates nonetheless captured, Jason begins an journey to search out them and escape the island in a single piece, all of the whereas being relentlessly pursued by Vaas.
Far Cry 3 was, in a variety of methods, a turning level for the franchise, introducing a number of parts that went on to turn out to be staples of the sequence. From radio towers that reveal the map and enemy outposts the participant can liberate, to the introduction of a sinister lead villain that lives to chew the surroundings, Far Cry 3 was the inspiration of the Far Cry components as we all know it at this time.
8. Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon (2013)
A 12 months on from the discharge of Far Cry 3, Ubisoft launched a standalone spin-off titled Blood Dragon. Taking the sequence in a brand new, neon-infused course, Blood Dragon was a tongue-in-cheek parody of tacky ‘80s sci-fi motion flicks, casting gamers as a one-liner spitting cyborg badass often called Sergeant Rex Colt.
Despatched on a revenge mission to kill his former commander, Colonel Sloan, the sport drops Colt into an open-world dystopian future, the place he makes use of his arsenal of futuristic weaponry to carve a struggle path by way of cyborgs, robotic sharks, and dragons that may shoot lasers from their eyes. Blood Dragon was the primary of a number of Far Cry spin-offs which took the sequence to imaginative new settings. It even went on to encourage an anime sequence referred to as Captain Laserhawk: A Blood Dragon Remix.
9. Far Cry 4 (2014)
A 12 months after Blood Dragon, Ubisoft launched Far Cry 4, the subsequent main installment within the franchise. Set within the snowy Himalayan mountains, gamers are forged as Ajay. Touring to the fictional nation of Kyrat to scatter his mom’s ashes, Ajay’s journey is minimize quick after his bus is raided by Pagan Min, a ruthless however immaculately dressed dictator who has a particular curiosity in Ajay and his mission.
Returning to Pagan Min’s palace, Ajay manages to flee, fleeing into the countryside of Kyrat and becoming a member of the rebels in preventing again in opposition to their oppressor. As his battle in opposition to Pagan Min rages on, Ajay uncovers extra about his heritage, slowly studying his mom’s previous may very well be instantly linked to the struggle that devastates the nation.
Far Cry 4 largely constructed off the inspiration established in Far Cry 3, including marketing campaign co-op, rideable elephants, a grappling hook, and a helicopter that may very well be used to lift hell from above.
10. Far Cry Primal (2016)
A spin-off from the mainline video games, Far Cry Primal adopted within the footsteps of Blood Dragon and reframed Far Cry in a wildly totally different setting, taking gamers to the prehistoric age. Centring on a hunter named Takkar, the story begins with the protagonist’s looking celebration being worn out by a sabertooth tiger, leaving him to stroll the valley alone.
Decided to reunite with the opposite members of his clan, he units forth on a dangerous journey, clashing with two rival tribes in search of to eradicate Takkar and his allies. Taking away the fashionable expertise of earlier Far Cry video games and limiting gamers to golf equipment, bows, and different primitive weaponry, Far Cry Primal pressured gamers to survive lethal animals, hazardous environments, and fierce rival tribes.
11. Far Cry 5 (2018)
With Primal within the rearview mirror, Ubisoft moved on to the subsequent mainline entry within the Far Cry sequence, Far Cry 5. Transferring the franchise to rural Montana, the franchise’s fifth entry unleashed gamers within the fictional wilderness of Hope County, enjoying as a anonymous police deputy monitoring an extremist cult often called Eden’s Gate.
Starting with a participant and a small squad of sheriffs making an attempt to arrest the cult’s chief – the sadistic zealot Joseph Seed – their mission descends into chaos after Seed’s followers free him and go away the participant stranded within the wilderness. Vowing to rescue their allies and convey Seed and his lieutenants to justice, the gamers start a journey throughout Hope County, slowly studying extra concerning the cult’s leaders and the sinister, world-ending plot they’re concocting.
Far Cry 5 launched a number of new concepts to the Far Cry components, with gamers now capable of totally customise their character, full a non-linear fundamental marketing campaign, and, most significantly, recruit a pleasant grizzly bear named Cheeseburger.
12. Far Cry New Daybreak (2019)
A direct sequel to Far Cry 5, New Daybreak hit consoles in 2019, envisioning an apocalyptic model of Hope County after it was struck by nuclear bombs throughout the earlier sport’s climax. Set seventeen years later, the sport follows a player-created captain who, alongside different Hope County survivors, belongs to a settlement often called Prosperity.
As New Daybreak begins, Prosperity finds its existence threatened by a gaggle often called the Freeway Males, who search to take over Hope County and eradicate its numerous factions. Trying to find a method to battle again in opposition to their new enemies, the captain ventures throughout Hope County, ultimately making contact with a strong hidden settlement led by the person who destroyed the world: Joseph Seed.
Very similar to Blood Dragon and Primal, New Daybreak was a reframing of Far Cry’s components, this time dropping the sport right into a post-apocalyptic setting. It included new, mutated foes; the addition of supernatural talents; and a mode referred to as Expeditions, which allowed gamers to move to different components of the U.S. to finish contracts.
13. Far Cry 6 (2021)
Two years later, Ubisoft moved away from the post-apocalypse and returned for a extra conventional mainline entry in Far Cry 6. Taking the franchise to the fictional Caribbean Island of Yara, gamers assume the function of Dani, a civilian making an attempt to flee the nation as a consequence of a fierce civil struggle ravaging its shores.
Securing an escape route with their household by way of boat, Dani’s plans are thwarted after the ship is boarded by ruthless dictator Anton Castillo (performed by Breaking Unhealthy’s Giancaro Esposito), who’s trying to find his teenage son, Diego, among the many refugees. Enraged at his son’s defiance, Anton sinks the ship, killing Dani’s household and setting the protagonist on a struggle path. Enlisting with the resistance and preventing in opposition to Anton’s regime, Dani joins the struggle, conquering Anton’s forces in a bid to confront the person himself.
Very similar to earlier video games, Far Cry 6 constructed on the Far Cry basis, including customizable automobiles, DIY tremendous weapons, a brand new gear system, and again mounted rocket launchers.
What’s Subsequent For Far Cry?
As for what’s subsequent for Far Cry, there are presently no future initiatives confirmed. And, in Nov 2023, Far Cry 6 formally obtained its final patch after Ubisoft introduced it might not be updating the sport. Nonetheless, early rumors recommend extra Far Cry is probably going on the best way. In early 2023, two new Far Cry initiatives had been reportedly in growth, based on Insider Gaming and Kotaku: a regular sequel and a multiplayer spin-off. That being mentioned, Ubisoft has but to disclose something official, so till the writer is prepared, we’ll have to attend and see the place Far Cry heads subsequent.
For extra lists like this, take a look at Murderer’s Creed Video games in Order, Wolfenstein Video games in Order, GTA Video games in Order and rather more.
Callum Williams is a freelance media author with years of expertise as a sport critic, information reporter, guides author and options author.