If survival mode slows the pace of the game down, and you’re not fast travelling (?)… that’s going to be one heck of a long game.
Ok I bought this game and have only played survival mode on hard difficulty right from the start (though not with permadeath). I must say that it’s actually pretty good. I think by slowing down the pace, and dropping the mini-map, it really allows the atmosphere to come through. The mini-map is a critical change, makes me think the prior games were actually just 8-bit Atari games with an interactive movie-shooter in the background. The Stamina works well, night is suitably scary (I turned down the gamma so that night / caves are very dark, graphics are awesome.
Main complaint is hunter vision - Ubi loves to give us players a total crutch and it makes the exploration and crafting aspect of the game too easy. It would be much better if it just gave a tiny brief flash on a timer instead of allowing us to permanently highlight every object of interest in the vicinity. Other than stalking animals at night, you can almost leave it in permanent hunter vision.
So I have to force myself to play without it, but other than that i’m finding it quite the experience. Only a few hours in but so far it is recommended by me.
This or Tomb Raider survival-equiv mode is my next. This pretty good? I hate t be corralled into that weird vision – is it necessary?
Sorry for the thred necro - I finally got my hands on this game last night and I don’t think I’ve ever been happier about losing 3h of progress. I started on Survival with 2nd chance and Expert difficulty right off the bat and it has been an amazing experience. First of all, no minimap is a game changer. In any game that has a minimap I will subconsciously glue my eyes to it instead of observing the surroundings so having that problem solve itself was excellent. Second, the difficulty - the beasts are actually dangerous. My run ended because I tackled with a particularly big deer - at least I think it was a deer, might have been a moose, I’m not sure. But what I do know is that even 5 or 6 arrows didn’t bring it down and I died after I got cornered. And all manners of beasts come out at night - listening to sound, having low visibility and being unable to spot the predators that are sneaking up on you is amazing. And finally, second chance mode is genius. It provides tension with just enough safety net to make it a lot more appealing than 1 life permadeath mode.
I can’t wait to dive in again and hopefully make it further than the first bonfire this time.
Survival is where the fun game is! Its really an incredible experience as you say, and Second Chance is THE way to play the game. Every single decision you make, has to much more consequence. Hell, even the three tribal enemies that appear right at the beginning when you are making your way back to the camp can make for a terrifying experience.
And yes, nighttime is wonderful like, and the fact that the world isn’t completely overrun by thousands of animals in survival mode as well, making game more scarce, and more deadly. Love it!
I really think this is the solution to the staleness that usually occurs a couple hours into pretty much every open world game. It’s crazy how many mechanics that I’d otherwise dismiss as shallow or unnecessary suddenly become very important. I hope that this trend continues, if not with the next Ubisoft game then with the next Bethesda title.
Death #2, quite a few hours into the game. This one hurt a little because I died during a hostage rescue mission and the idiots I just rescued aggroed the entire camp. Rip.
This game really feels like something they wanted to make from the start when they made Far Cry 3. The setting is a much better fit to the Ubisoft’s Far Cry formula, the way they present the story and the way their characters are written and acted just work a lot better in a prehistoric setting rather than in a mushroom fueled dudebro’s island adventure.
So, uh, if I can get Far Cry Primal + DLC and Assassin’s Creed Rogue + DLC for the equivalent of US$ 15 or so, would you recommend that? :)
Haven’t played Rogue (although I did really like Black Flag, I hear they’re similar?) but Primal is a proper game, especially on survival. I’d recommend it for that alone because it offers an experience that’s not often seen in games of this type.
$15 for both? Heck, yes. That’s a great deal.
Where does someone find this wonderful deal?
Sorry, Brazil only. It’s a sale on a local digital store. Actual price for both is around R$ 40, but the keys only work for Brazil (maybe South America, not sure).
Rogue is Black Flag 2, but with a lower budget. I liked it a lot, but it isn’t a main AC game. It’s the story bridge between AC3, AC4 and Unity.
Great deal in my opinion. Far Cry does lose a little in removing shooting, but it has character all the same. I loved Rogue. It’s very like the other naval ACs, so if you liked Black Flag…
On the contrary, I think the game systems are a much better fit for the type of game that Primal ended up being. Stealth really takes a backseat if you can snipe enemies from 300m away, but it’s a whole different matter if you have to get within range to toss the spears at them or initiate takedowns. And when you factor in the 2nd chance system it gets even better.
Hunting animals is also much more dangerous when you can only carry a few spears or have to line up a (slow firing) bow after every shot.
Don’t forget the pets which were awesome. Having a saber tooth or a big ass bear to just sick on enemies never gets old.
I just realized I’ve been posting in Tom’s review thread and not the official thread!
I have to say they knocked it out of the park with the 3 different Biomes. Love the transition when I am walking north, from green to brown to white. I just crafted the 2nd level winter outfit so no worries about keeping warm now, maxed out my spear, and club. Unlocked the double arrow bow also.
My last mission I got captured picking some yellow flowers, so that was interesting.
I still see 1 person in the upgrade tree I haven’t brought back to the village, far down south, I’ll head that way next I guess. I also saw that the witchdoctor’s hut looks like it has another vision waiting for me, but I will hold off till I get the rest of my gear leveled up.
I need to get back to this one, especially after finishing Horizon Zero Dawn. I think I had made pretty good progress when I first played this but it has been so long I’ll need to start over.
Did this ever get a PS4 Pro enhanced patch?