I’m only a few hours into Far Cry New Dawn, but as it stands, it might just be the most average game I’ve played in a very long time.  Mind you, there’s still room for this game to either blow me away, or just blow it in general, but from what I’ve seen so far it doesn’t deviate too far from the Far Cry formula.

As all Far Cry games are, Far Cry New Dawn is a looker.  It’s delightfully colorful while managing to capture the natural beauty of what I imagine Montana to look like.  New Dawn uses the same map from Far Cry 5, but mixes in their vision of the post-apocalypse which in this case is very colorful and psychedelic.  It’s a good look.

It’s also just fun to play.  Far Cry has always been a fun series to me that’s controlled well and offered a satisfying, albeit repetitive gameplay loop, and New Dawn is no different in that regard.  Being built on the bones of Far Cry 5, New Dawn is basically identical in terms of progression and mechanics.

What isn’t grabbing me right off the bat is basically everything else.  Maybe it’s because Far Cry as a series is starting to feel stale, and in my opinion, has been on a slightly downward slope since Far Cry 4 was released.  I don’t think the games are bad, but I do think they need a more meaningful shakeup than what Far Cry 5 introduced to the series.  That stagnation is represented here as well.

Far Cry New Dawn feels like it’s just more of the same except with a more colorful makeover.  That isn’t necessarily a bad thing considering this a $40 release, but I genuinely believe that if Ubisoft tries to release a full priced Far Cry game without making some more dramatic changes, they’re going to have some serious problems.

At the moment, I’m enjoying Far Cry New Dawn and not expecting it to surprise me in any real way.  It’s basically gaming junk food in that it’s a fun indulgence, but probably wont leave you satisfied at all.