Summary
Ubisoft’s 2016 entry in its flagship FPS franchise,Far Cry Primal, marked a notable break from some of its long-established elements. While its gameplay and other designs still drew closely from prior titles,Far Cry Primal’s story and setting shifted to the height of the Stone Age rather than contemporary exotic locales.Primaloffered a nice change of pace in a number of ways, and displayed that the developer was willing to take some significant risks to shake up the familiar formula.
While Ubisoft hasn’t given much official word since 2021’sFar Cry 6about what it might be planning next for the series,Far Cry Primalis still generally well-liked, and there remains much untapped potential in the ideas and mechanics introduced in it. And if the studio ever does consider a sequel, it could lean on some of the other more outlandish elements seen throughout the series to create anotherFar Cry Primalthat goes even further with its unique use of animals.
A Potential Far Cry Primal 2 Could One-Up its Predecessor’s Use of Animals by Taking Fans Further Into the Past
Far Cry Primal Was a Great Experiment with More to Give
Even beforePrimal,Far Cry’s worlds were full of wildlifeand its in-game ecosystems were highly immersive and reactive. The fourth mainline entry featured for the first time the ability for players to have elephants as mounts during Ajay Ghale’s campaign against Kyrat’s dictator Pagan Min. A few years later, Far Cry Primalgreatly expanded on this idea.
While it was more or less grounded in reality, albeit with a few liberties taken here and there,Far Cry Primalfeatured prehistoric animalsthat would have historically existed alongside protagonist Takkar and the Wenja tribe he belonged to.Primalgave players the ability to tame and ride a variety of these beasts, which included the likes of saber-tooth tigers, bears, and wooly mammoths. It was one of the more satisfying and fun parts ofPrimal, and showed that the series still had the chops to iterate on solid mechanics. With this in mind, there’s one big way a possible sequel could take this a step beyond and present a new twist.
How a Hypothetical Far Cry Primal 2 Could Take Place During the Age of Dinosaurs
Far Cryis also no stranger to including sci-fi and other fantastical elements. For example, fans might recallFar Cry 5’s Lost on Mars DLC. Perhaps the most enduring of these, though, is thepopular spin-off,Far Cry: Blood Dragon, that took players on an 80s-inspired futuristic action adventure. The demand for aBlood Dragonsequel has persisted even though it seems less likely as time passed. Still, by taking cues from both it andFar Cry Primal,Ubisoftcould produce another entry that combines the best of both into a fresh experience.
Far Cry Primalcontained an Easter egg referencingBlood Dragon,suggesting they are part of the same wider world.
The titular blood dragons were basically genetically engineered cybernetically-enhanced dinosaurs, and they were its apex predators. To tie this aspect together withFar Cry Primal, a sequel to the latter could use thepremise of time-travelto bring another tribal human, or even a modern protagonist, far into the past when the reptiles ruled the Earth, and set them on a journey where they must survive in such a setting.
This direction could have players encountering and fighting iconic dinosaurs like T-Rexes and Triceratops, and having to craft weapons capable of tackling them. Relatedly, it could also then bring back animal taming, letting fans fulfill the fantasy of riding velociraptors or similar ones into battle against other species. It would be a great path to aFar Cry Primalsequelthat captures the most recognizable and liked parts of both games while evolving them in cool and enjoyable ways.
