Please note that this review does not cover any aspects of the DLCs as I've yet to purchase it and focuses solely on the singleplayer campaign of the game.

Welcome to Kyrat! Ubisoft has really outdone themselves in the visuals department because this game looks ABSOLUTELY STUNNING! The world of Far Cry 4 is massive and beautiful in every corner, not to mention very alive and dangerous. From the tenacious Royal Army to the merciless predators of the wild (those effing eagles, man..), Far Cry 4 will keep you on your toes... Well, at least in the first 10 hours or so.

Standard AAA games praising aside, Far Cry 4 is definitely not that far cry from it's previous predecessor. In fact, players from the previous game (which is excellent FYI) will notice from the start how Kyrat is very similar to Rook Island in a way, just with different settings and a lot more snow. There's the standard takedown moves, radio towers (bell towers, in this case) to climb, outposts to liberate and standard treasure hunting for collectibles. Don't get me wrong, it's fun doing those but it does get boring when you're doing the same thing for hours.

Compared to Far Cry 3, the story here is mediocre at best and plus, the ending is absolutely anticlimatic, i.e. HORRIBLE, but I do prefer Ajay more rather than Jason since he's not that whiny. The plot starts with Ajay Ghale, first time in Kyrat, to fulfill his mother's final wish that is to spread her ashes at "Lakshmana", wherever or whatever that is. Of course, nothing goes smoothly in the harsh world of Kyrat, he founds himself captured by the story main antagonist, Pagan Min. After a few explosive scenes later, Ajay founds himself fighting for the rebel group, Golden Path, to free Kyrat.

I think the biggest problem in Far Cry 4 for me is that there's just "too much of a good thing that it's bad". There's plenty of things to do in Kyrat but mostly it's the same thing over and over again. The collectibles are also not that impressive and only serves to explain a little bit about Kyrat's history and counts toward the 100% completion rate.

• KYRAT IS ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS! Seriously, it's worth it just to go through the story just to see what Kyrat has to offer. The world is full of details and the character models are finely animated. There's plenty of interesting places to see, for example, a few side missions requires you to go up to the Himalayas and one of the story mission brings you to the mountainside prison. Not to mention the amazing Shangri-La!
  
• The game is greatly optimized in PC. I'm not sure how the game fares early on but it runs fine on my ancient rig now. I even managed to run it on Ultra, which is extremely rare for games nowadays! Bugs and Uplay issue aside, the game never crashed on me once.
  
• Extremely detailed character animation. That includes the acrobatic movement, gunplay, animals movement. Although I do have to mention that sometime when Ajay climbs up, his feet doesn't seem to "hit" the solid ground or rock that he's climbing up from. It's a little weird but nothing gamebreaking.
  
• Variety of weapons to cause chaos in Kyrat, more than the ones available in Far Cry 3. Some them even have the option for customization, albeit too simple (basically, suppressors, larger mags, sights) but it's there.
  
• Navigation is easy in the world. Plenty of fast travel points between outposts, extremely useful gyrocopters (limited by a vertical limit sigh) and even wingsuit can be unlocked early on.
  
• The characters are interesting enough to give the extra variety to Kyrat.
  
• Plenty of side quests to complete (perhaps too much?), which includes the excellent Shangri-La quest line! (Seriously, do not skip this one)
  
• The main campaign offers replayability since there's an option to choose in some of those missions which dictates how the story turns out.
  
• The game offers excellent level building editor and from what I've seen is pretty impressive. Either it's an extremely well made fortress to liberate or just a Pagan Min slaughterfest, there's plenty of fun to be had if you're willing to dig.
  
• Multiplayer modes are plenty although there's no one playing it anymore. Could be fun if you had a group of friends to play around.
  
• The whole world feels dynamic. There's always something going on, whether there's a firefight or just animals trying to chomp on someone (which includes you).

• The game can be too easy early on, even if you played on the Hard difficulty. Unlike Far Cry 3, advanced skills can be unlocked early on and by utilizing advance takedowns, you can basically romp through the story in a short while. Not to mention the Signature weapons that are also unlocked early on. Oh, did I mention elephants? Yes, elephants. Fun to ride but fricking OP.
  
• The amount of collectibles in this game is TOO DAMN HIGH!
  
• Exploration isn't that rewarding other than for screenshot hunting and collectibles. There is a backstory in some of the area but nothing impactful when you compared it to the likes of Skyrim or Fallout.
  
• The Arena is fun but, due to the lack of variety, gets extremely tedious to grind since you have to rank up to Level 10 to unlock the Bushman signature weapon (which counts towards 100% completion).
  
• Racing side quests aren't exactly racing, just another time attack mode, which isn't very different from the Survival mode. I'd enjoy it more if there's an actual racing.

• The game gets repetitive FAST! Even worse if you've played Far Cry 3.
  
• The game is a bug fest. Nothing gamebreaking but it sure is annoying when a guard gets a pathfinding bug and suddenly detects you out of nowhere or the wingsuit doesn't activate in air even after you've pressed Shift. I guess massive games like this can't help it when it comes to bugs, huh?
  
• Crafting is very uninspired, disappointingly similar to Far Cry 3's. Skin 3 dogs to upgrade your weapon sling. Okay, next, skin 4 yaks. Bah, boring. I have to mention that one of the final upgrades only unlocks after you've finished the main story line, which is idiotic in my opinion.
  
• Multiplayer mode is pretty much dead. I didn't try it because I can't since there's only either one or two lobby running at any time and both of them shows insanely high ping (probably played in the NA server). Same goes for the co-op mode in the campaign. It's a shame since there's plenty of game modes available and the co-op is one of the main attracting factor for me to buy the game in the first place. I guess I'm just too late for the party.
  
• Loots are unimpressive since they offer nothing other than to sell it for money. Although a few of them have some interesting description that refers to the previous game or other mainstream title.
  
• Storyline is forgettable. Even the main antagonist isn't that impressive!
  
• If you really don't mind about your progression rate and ignore the side quests, the main campaign is actually quite short. I guess you can finish it around the 15-20 hours mark?

Despite all the negative points I've listed for the game, Far Cry 4 is definitely an enjoyable experience as a whole, both in terms of gameplay and visuals. If you like Far Cry 3, then you're probably gonna enjoy this one as well. As for me, Far Cry 4 goes highly recommended!


I paid RM51 (~ $12) for the game and got my money's worth. Just keep in mind that you're probably buying the game just for the single player experience, unless you have friends that plays the game and are willing to dive back into the series.