Far Cry New Dawn is a 2019 first-person shooter video game created by Ubisoft Montreal and published by Ubisoft. It is a follow-up game and a new version of Far Cry 5, making it the 11th game in the Far Cry series. The game takes place 17 years after one of the endings of Far Cry 5, in which the fictional Hope County, Montana, was destroyed by a nuclear event called "the Collapse." The story follows a group of survivors trying to rebuild their community and fight against a group of violent bandits. Players control an unnamed security captain, similar to Far Cry 5's deputy sheriff, who does not speak and can be customized in many ways. Far Cry New Dawn includes many gameplay features from earlier games in the series, such as a large open world, capturing outposts, and using AI helpers or co-op partners. It also adds elements from role-playing games, like an upgradeable home base and a focus on creating tools from limited resources.
The game was released worldwide for PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One on February 15, 2019. It received mixed reviews, with some praise for its gameplay and criticism for its story and similarities to Far Cry 5. Sales of the game were lower than those of Far Cry 5 and Far Cry Primal.
Gameplay
Far Cry New Dawn is an action-adventure first-person shooter game that takes place in an open world environment. Players can explore the world on foot or by using different types of vehicles. The game is set in a fictional area called Hope County, Montana, which is based on the map from Far Cry 5. A nuclear war shown in Far Cry 5 has changed the landscape, creating new areas for exploration while making others unavailable. The plants and animals in Hope County have also changed, with bright flowers covering the land and mutated animals living there. The sky above Hope County now has a permanent aurora, which suggests a major change to Earth’s magnetic field.
Players control a new character whose gender and ethnicity can be chosen. Systems from Far Cry 5, such as "Guns for Hire" and "Fangs for Hire," return, allowing players to recruit human survivors and animals for help in battles. The game also includes characters from Far Cry 5 and introduces new specialists with unique missions, abilities, and storylines that help players repair weapons. New weapons, such as a "Saw Launcher" that shoots circular saw blades, are added. Players can collect and upgrade weapons and attachments through crafting and completing missions. Vehicles can also be built by players.
Players can complete treasure hunts and capture enemy camps and outposts. Once captured, these locations become fast travel points, helping players move around the world quickly. These outposts can be used to make ethanol fuel or raided for resources, which may allow enemy groups called the Highwaymen to reclaim them. This lets players revisit outposts on harder difficulty levels. A home base called Prosperity can be upgraded and grows larger as players progress. The game includes a mode called "Expeditions," where players can travel to other parts of the United States, such as Louisiana, to find resources and packages. These areas are smaller and outside the main map, allowing the game developers to create more detailed environments. Expedition missions can be played with other players.
Synopsis
The story takes place seventeen years after one possible ending of Far Cry 5. After a nuclear event called "the Collapse" destroyed the world, survivors in Hope County work to rebuild their community. They create a new town called Prosperity on the site of John Seed's old ranch. However, the survivors face threats from the Highwaymen, a group of organized bandits who travel across the area. The Highwaymen are divided into chapters, with the local group led by twin sisters named Mickey and Lou. These sisters and their group force survivors to obey them and take resources from communities before moving on.
The remnants of the Project at Eden's Gate, the main villains from Far Cry 5, have formed a new community called New Eden. They live in the northern part of Hope County and have stopped using most modern technology. Despite following Joseph Seed's teachings, New Eden struggles with disagreements that began after Joseph disappeared. The game also includes Joseph Seed, the main antagonist from Far Cry 5, and the Judge, who was the Deputy in the previous game. The player controls a new character called the "Security Captain," who helps other survivor groups across the country.
Far Cry New Dawn uses a smaller version of the Hope County map from Far Cry 5. Large parts of the northern and eastern areas are unsafe due to radiation. Some northern regions become accessible during the story. Many locations from Far Cry 5 have been changed, either overgrown by nature or taken over by the Highwaymen. New areas, such as caves and bunkers, are now available for exploration.
In 2035, after a nuclear war destroyed the world, survivors who lived underground begin to come out and rebuild society. The survivors in Hope County find a settlement called Prosperity, but they are soon attacked by the Highwaymen. Carmina Rye, the daughter of Nick and Kim Rye, asks Thomas Rush, a leader helping rebuild communities, for help. Rush and the Security Captain are attacked by the Highwaymen and captured by Mickey and Lou. Carmina saves the Captain and tells them that Rush has been taken.
Carmina and the Captain go to Hope County to speak with Kim, who advises them to unite other survivors and strengthen Prosperity. The Captain gathers supplies and rescues Rush. The Highwaymen attack Prosperity again, causing damage and loss of life. Rush suggests forming an alliance with New Eden, led by Joseph Seed. Kim is unsure about trusting Joseph, but Carmina believes he has changed.
The Captain travels to New Eden and retrieves Joseph's personal Bible, which they give to Ethan, New Eden's leader and Joseph's son. Ethan reveals that Joseph disappeared long ago and is angry about being abandoned. He agrees to help Prosperity only if the Captain proves Joseph is dead. The Captain finds Joseph living alone in the wilderness. Joseph welcomes the Captain as a prophesied savior and shares that he has tried to make amends for his past actions. Joseph gives the Captain an apple from a sacred tree, which causes a vision where the Captain battles a beast representing their own soul. After defeating the beast, the Captain returns to New Eden with Joseph and gains new abilities called "Eden's Gift." Joseph appoints the Captain as New Eden's leader, and they join forces with the Judge, who hides their identity due to guilt over past events, to fight the Highwaymen.
Meanwhile, Rush is captured again by the Highwaymen, but the Twins kill him. This activates "Eden's Gift," giving the Captain superhuman strength to defeat the Twins before being knocked out by a shotgun. Believing the Captain is dead, the Twins investigate New Eden. The Captain recovers Rush's body and buries him at Prosperity. To learn the Highwaymen's next move, the Captain spies on a meeting and discovers Ethan plans to betray New Eden by giving the Twins the location of a sacred fruit in exchange for destroying New Eden. The Captain confronts the Twins at New Eden and defeats them, leading to Lou's death and Mickey's possible execution or freedom. Ethan ignores Joseph's warnings and eats a sacred apple, causing a transformation that forces the Captain to kill him. Joseph, realizing his actions cause destruction, burns the sacred tree and asks the Captain to kill him. The Captain may choose to do so, causing the tree to collapse, or leave Joseph to suffer.
Returning to Prosperity, the Captain celebrates with Carmina at Rush's grave. Carmina says, despite the hardships and losses, there is hope for the future.
Development
New Dawn is created by Ubisoft Montreal with help from Ubisoft Kyiv, Ubisoft Bucharest, and Ubisoft Shanghai. Art director Issac Papismado said the team wanted to make a post-apocalyptic game in the Far Cry series for a long time. The team chose not to use a dark and bleak tone because they believed it would be overused. Instead, they made a world that looks lively. The game is set seventeen years after Far Cry 5, during a time called a "super bloom" when nature takes over and makes the world colorful. To give the game a unique look, the team asked Montreal artist Zilon to design the art and graffiti. Like Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon and Far Cry Primal, New Dawn is a smaller project compared to other main games in the series. This is shown by its lower price when it was first released. The game uses the Dunia 2 engine.
New Dawn was announced at The Game Awards 2018 and was released for PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One on February 15, 2019.
In February 2025, an update was released for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions. This update improved performance and allowed the game to run at 60 frames per second on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S.
Reception
Far Cry New Dawn received "mixed or average" reviews for the PlayStation 4 and PC versions and "generally favorable reviews" for the Xbox One version, according to Metacritic. Another review site, OpenCritic, reported that 54% of critics recommended the game, calling it fair approval.
PC Gamer's reviewer noted that the game’s combat is similar to previous Far Cry games, especially Far Cry 5, but on a smaller scale. VG247’s reviewer also mentioned the reuse of Far Cry 5 content but said the game includes enough new ideas and missions to be worth playing. IGN’s Daemon Hatfield gave the game a 7.5/10 score, stating that while Ubisoft could have improved the game’s setting, it still offers fun and chaotic gameplay. Polygon’s Alyse Stanley pointed out issues with the game’s story but praised its gameplay and random events, calling them "hilarious."
In Japan, 26,285 physical copies of the game were sold during its first week of release. It was the top-selling retail game in the UK during its release week, though its sales were much lower than those of Far Cry 5 and Far Cry Primal. It was also the second best-selling retail game in Switzerland during its release week.
The game was nominated for the Tin Pan Alley Award for Best Music in a Game at the New York Game Awards. It was also nominated for "Original Dramatic Score, Franchise" and "Performance in a Drama, Lead" with Cara Ricketts at the NAVGTR Awards.