REVIEW: Prehistoric gaming with Far Cry Primal

Become the Beastmaster.

Who knew 10,000 B.C could be so much craic? Whether it's riding a woolly mammoth, sneaking up on cavemen or taming a sabretooth tiger, Far Cry Primal always has something to offer. While it may not be a huge departure from previous games, the fantastic setting and fun gameplay gave me more than enough to dig my teeth into. The new Far Cry lets you play as Takkar, who's trying to find the lost members of his beloved Wenja tribe and build them a new home. Not helping are those cannibalistic Udam bastards from the neighbouring tribe, who are trying to get all up in your grill and eat you. Luckily for Takkar, a dodgy shaman gave him a magic potion and now he can tame wild animals. Animals that he can then use as vicious sidekicks. Handy. The game's imaginary prehistoric setting of Oros provides the real wow factor here. The beautiful open-world landscape sets a standard for other games as to how to create a convincing environment. The different forests, jungles and snowy mountains all add to the overall atmosphere, so you're gripped throughout. The map is huge (about the same size as Far Cry 4) and it's packed full of quests, collectables and animals. It's got to be one of the most immersive environments I've seen in a game. The day/night cycle adds a genuinely frightening aspect to the game. More than once I found myself stuck out in the wild as the sun went down, and had to fend for myself until I could peg it back to the nearest campfire. You'll feel properly intimidated by nature in this game. The characterisation and plotline is basic, and the villains won't be staying long in your memory. In fairness it was the Stone Age, so lads weren't bashing out much Shakespeare. To their credit, Ubisoft actually researched and developed their own language for the game so the subtitled cut-scenes work seamlessly. There aren't many surprises here for fans of the Far Cry franchise, and that's both the game's strength and weakness. The crafting system, upgrades and the capturing of outposts will be familiar to any fans of the series. This means that before you even delve into the wilderness, you're already going to be familiar with the type of game your playing. Check out our video preview below for some gameplay footage and our thoughts on the game. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RX6WOdvO1U4

Far Cry Primal is out now for Xbox One and Playstation 4. The PC version is out on March 1.