For gamers who are new to Ubisoft's FPS Far Cry series, there are three "best" games to dive into the franchise with. Originally one of the first FPS games to use an open-world model, Far Cry now spans eighteen years, six mainline titles and nine spin-off games. The flagship Far Cry released in March 2004 and was developed by Crytek, but every title in the series has since been developed by Ubisoft. The most recent game, Far Cry 6, released in October 2021. The Far Cry series is relatively popular, with fifty million sales compared to Skyrim's thirty million or the franchise of Halo at sixty-five million.
Every Far Cry doesn't shift in a different direction and is formulaic, there's nothing wrong with a formula that players legitimately enjoy.
Each Far Cry title is a stand-alone game (though they are all based in the same universe with a few minor characters making reappearances across games), so there is no chronological order to play them in aside from the order they were released in. Based on reviews and the fact that Far Cry essentially recycles the same theme, there are three recommended Far Cry titles to begin a foray into this typically frenetic and ridiculous game universe.
Far Cry 3 Is The Game That Made The Franchise
Far Cry 3 was released in November 2012 on Windows, the PS3 and Xbox 360. The game is set in a fictional archipelago in the tropics, on the Rook Islands, and Far Cry 3's Vaas Montengero is the manically eloquent and vile leader of a gang of pirates who kidnap people to sell into slavery. Jason Brody (the protagonist) is an average American tourist who must learn how to survive both the jungle and the bloodthirsty pirates in order to rescue his kidnapped friends. Far Cry 3 allows players to go in guns blazing or opt for a more stealthy approach to their objective. In addition, it introduces skill trees and experience points that level up play style mechanics that the player favors.
This game was nominated for Game of the Year and Best Shooter in 2012, but Far Cry 3 is a good choice for Far Cry newbies because it is often touted as the best entry in the franchise (although that invites debate), and is memorable among fans of the series mainly for Far Cry 3's main villain, Vaas. It is also considered to be the game that cemented the Far Cry formula.
Far Cry 4 Is A Perfect Blend Of Memorable & Absurd
Far Cry 4 released in November 2014 on Windows, the PS3, Xbox 360, PS4, and Xbox One. This title is set in a fictional country somewhere in the Himalayan mountains, called Kyrat, and the main protagonist is a young man of American-Kyrati descent who travels there to spread his mother's ashes. He finds himself mixed up in a civil war between the despotic monarchy and a rebellion known as the Golden Path. The main villain of Far Cry 4 is Pagan Min, who became king of Kyrat through betraying and murdering the royal heir that he aligned with, and then cut down all opposition within the faction that he took over. This game has branching skill trees, side quests, a map editor, and cooperative and competitive multiplayer modes. Stealth can be used here, too; players can hide bodies and take cover for discrete forays into enemy territory.
Far Cry 4 is a good choice for newcomers to start the Far Cry franchise with because it has the most impressive environment, and fleshed out characters that drive the narrative. The main villain is considered to be one of the best in the franchise, and the map one of the most enjoyable to explore. Far Cry 4's competitive multiplayer was a main point of criticism, and its story-telling received hugely mixed reviews. It is worth noting that players can ride war elephants into battle in Kyrat in Far Cry 4, and that it might be a tad broken in of power.
Far Cry 6 Is The Latest & Greatest
Far Cry 6 released in October 2021 on Windows, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox X/S, Stadia and Amazon Luna. Far Cry returns to the tropics in this game, placing the player and events on the fictional island of Yara, somewhere in the Caribbean. The dictator Antón Castillo is the main antagonist, whose regime is exploiting the people. The protagonist is Dani Rojas, a resistance fighter who can be played either as a male or a female with fully voiced lines for either choice. This game scales in difficulty with the player's level and rank, and introduces a reputation grade mechanic that can cause a player that has achieved notorious status to be hunted by NPCs for a time. Unlike previous Far Cry games, Far Cry 6 does not include human companions; it swapped those out for animal Amigos, instead.
Far Cry 6 is a good place to start because it is the latest title in the franchise, and as such it has the best graphics and updated game mechanics, making it a good way to see how Far Cry has been evolving (or not quite evolving) as a series. This is the no-brainer choice for players who prefer the latest gen console games and can't be bothered with graphics that are outdated by even a single generation. It does have a few references to previous games in the series, but that will not hamper the player's understanding of the narrative, or the gameplay. It was criticized for not being innovative and coming across as stale, which will likely be less of an issue for people without any series experience, and if nothing else, that means it holds true to the Far Cry formula. Giancarlo Esposito's voice performance of Antón Castillo, the main antagonist of Far Cry 6, was especially praised.
While Far Cry 3, Far Cry 4, and Far Cry 6 are true blue, Far Cry formula games, there are a few other games worthy of honorable mentions for first-timers interested in seeing the range of the franchise. Far Cry Primal took the series in a drastically different direction; although it has the same concept of conquering enemy camps, it swaps rifles and explosions for spears and saber tooth tigers, and adds in the fact that humans are at the bottom of the food chain. Far Cry 3's Blood Dragon DLC, which leans heavily into the zaniness of the franchise, forsook the concept of seriousness entirely in favor of just being as ridiculously fun as possible. Whichever game a newcomer chooses to begin their foray into Far Cry with, they should be aware that the franchise see-saws unevenly between serious topics and absurd combat.