I’ve always been a fan of survival games, especially when you start off with nothing, and you must gather any available resources to survive. I think that’s why Far Cry: Primal–the outlier prehistoric entry in the otherwise modern-day Far Cry series–keeps calling me back. It’s the only game in the series that has that ‘survival’ feel, taking the template back to where spears and arrows were used instead of guns, and people rode sabertooth tigers instead of cars (ok, they probably didn’t, but you’ve gotta love the idea!).
This was great from a storyteller’s perspective. Our main player character is named Takkar, a caveman who hails from a prehistoric tribe called the Wenja. In this universe, the Wenja are the (well, relatively) civilized folk who just wish to survive in peace. Opposing them are two antagonistic groups: the Udam, who prioritize cannibalism and warfare, and the fire-obsessed Isila, a cult that burns Wenja victims to appease their goddess Suxli.
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I’m a big fan of stealth-oriented games, and Far Cry has tons of that, but none of it felt as rewarding as Primal did. There are no sniper rifles or silencer attachments to allow for a safe, long-range option to take down enemies. Yes, there is a long bow, but even that requires you to be close enough for the arrow to reach your target. Everything is way more up-close-and-personal in this entry–you see the enraged faces of your enemies as they charge you down, before you block them, and counter them over their thick skulls with your club. No other game in the series felt soraw.
Take for instance, clearing out an enemy camp. This is a staple of the series, tasking you with clearing out all enemies in the area so you can capture it for yourself to expand your influence and expand resources. While this usually involves bursting into the camp and blasting everything that moves, in Primal, since there are no rocket launchers or machine guns that allow you to wholesale take down your opponents, you have to show restraint and approach the camp slowly.
This is where Primal kicks into high gear. Similar to The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim, you have to aim your arrows or spears slightly above your target, taking into account the projectile’s arc as it flies forth; each shot, each spear throw needs to be meticulous and precise, because there’s no such thing as ‘spray and pray’ here. It slows combat down into something way more personal. It’s less ‘zany’ than other Far Cry games, but the very fact that you’re stomping around in the stone age with clubs and spears brings its own, trulyunique, kind of zaniness.
As you start your journey, you are tasked with boosting your numbers, such as finding more Wenja and increasing the resources of your tribe. Ubisoft has gotten a bad rep for its egregious use of microtransactions in its games, as was the case withAssassin’s Creed: Odyssey, as well as a general lack of soul when it comes to game content, but Primal is one of the last Ubisoft games that didn’t succumb to this model.
A ton of effort went into realising this primitive world, with the Wenja (and other tribes) even speaking their own unique dialect. As you progress into the story, Takkar gains the ability to control animals, which opens the game up to more inventive ways to play. From being able to stealthily take down heavy enemy types instantly, to utilizing your owl to drop live bee clusters that act as this game universe’s equivalent to grenades.
By taking the series and stripping it all the way back to the spear-throwing, rock-clobbering days of cavemen, Primal is the most unique game in the series, smashing up the series’ template to offer something that we haven’t quite seen before, or since.
