Coming right off of Far Cry 4's excellent gaming experience for my first time playing a Far Cry game, I was hoping that Primal would be able to tell a equally compelling story set in a era that gaming has very rarely seen.
What Primal gets right is the feeling of being vulnerable to the wildlife, that the world (for a while) feels lethal, and utterly unforgiving to the smallest mistake. The wildlife was unrelenting and deadly, and again for the first few hours I really did get immersed in the feeling that I was no longer at the top of the food chain. It is also an extremely pretty game, even if some textures do get bit muddy up close. The gameplay is also mostly different from other FPS games, given that you are playing in a time where guns simply do not exist. Instead, you will rely primarily on your bow, as well as being able to select from clubs, spears and little clay pot fire and gas 'grenades'.
Another huge change is the fact that once you progress far enough in the game, you can tame the various predators of the game world and use them in combat, as well as ride certain animals. These have their own quest lines, but ultimately this mechanic leads into part of Primal's problems.
Even with the focus on the bow, I still felt like the gameplay was decently addictive. It felt very fluid and I did love the early stages of the game where night was a constant war against predators. All in all I think they did a great job with the limited scope of taking things back to the stone age.
But for all the gems, well, there's coal.
Starting from the top, the very first thing that I instantly disliked is that all the dialogue is spoken in a constructed language designed to emulate that of the primitive, stone age world. So to understand what anyone is saying, you have to read the subtitles. While I can see the whole aspect of being immersive, forcing the player to read the subtitles really took me out of the gameworld, not to mention if you don't have a large enough television you're going to have to choose between looking at the well done facial animation or figuring out what is going on in the story.
The story itself is extremely lacking, especially in comparison to the great characters of Far Cry 4. Basically there is no story aside from 'kill the Udam leader'. The Udam are a tribe of Neanderthals that come from frozen north and eat their dead and capture other humans to eat. You are Takkar, a Wenja (essentially baseline human) whose tribe has been scattered across the land of Oros (somewhere in Central Europe). Your objective is 'find and rebuild the Wenja village and take revenge on the Udam'. While the writers attempt to throw in some twists to make the Udam have some depth as the main enemies, aside from two central characters and some scattered lines of raspy, grunted dialogue in the primitive language, there's really nothing more to them as bad guys.
Instead, I found myself far more interested in the secondary antagonist tribe, the Izila, who are also baseline human but are completely obsessed with the sun. They love to set things and people on fire to appease their god, and the missions involving them are definitely the most interesting in the game, including a sequence that is comparable to the Shangri-La missions of Far Cry 4 (although much, much shorter). Though in the end, it boils down to 'kill the bad guy'.
These railroaded endings remove the ability to make 'moral' choices to kill or spare the antagonists that you could make in Far Cry 4, thus allowing you to shape Takkar a bit more. Instead, he is just the Beastmaster and chief of the Wenja.
Over the course of the game you have to gather certain characters to help make the Wenja stronger and gain access to new tools and quests, but aside from one interesting individual who is given minimal screentime, the rest of these characters are very one dimensional and forgettable. It is a really a shame that so little time is spent exploring these characters and their motivations, because I really enjoyed getting to know the characters in Far Cry 4, they had depth and honestly felt like people who could exist in the world today.
Far Cry Primal's characters feel about as real as museum exhibits.
And finally, bringing up the Beastmaster aspect, while it builds upon the ability of Far Cry 4 to use bait to make predators attack enemies, tamaing predators removes a large chunk of the difficulty from Far Cry Primal. It's inclusion as a gameplay mechanic in the beginning of the game is negligible, enemies being able to incapacitate your pet quickly without very little damage to themselves, while in the later game when you upgrade to the much stronger animals such as the Sabertooth tiger and cave bears, you almost do not have to participate in combat at all as these very powerful creatures (especially the questline specific ones) will be able to take down most enemies with very little effort.
All these problems keep Primal from reaching the same heights as Far Cry 4 (and Far Cry 3 before it, though I have yet to play it). Should you buy this game? I would say if you want something that really does differentiate itself from the rest of the FPS genre, then yes. I enjoyed my time in Primal from a gameplay perspective, but if you're expecting memorable characters or any kind of deep story, you're going to be very disappointed.
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From the manufacturer
Welcome to the Stone Age, a time of extreme danger and limitless adventure, when woolly mammoths and saber-toothed tigers ruled the Earth, and humanity is struggling to climb the food chain. As the last survivor of your hunting group, you will have to conquer the land of Oros and outsmart enemy tribes to become the apex predator.
Rise Above Extinction
Play as Takkar, a seasoned hunter. You have one goal: survive in a world where you are the prey.
A World Ruled by Giant Beasts
This is Earth before man laid claim to it, where deadly saber-toothed tigers and other predators ruled the world and woolly mammoths were king.
Conquer Mankind
Wild beasts are not your only concern, as the humans are just as predatory and brutal.
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Far Cry Primal Behind the Scenes with N3RDFUSION
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Far Cry Primal 101 Trailer
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Far Cry Primal Influencer Teaser Trailer
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Far Cry Primal - Beastmaster
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Having lots of fun playing this one. With the possibility of death around every corner it really keeps you on edge. I love using the club. Fire is rendered really well. And that creepy canible tribe can really freak you out if you're playing in a dark room late at night! I also enjoy my new girlfriend. Pic included!!!
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Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on August 20, 2016
Platform For Display: Xbox OneEdition: StandardVerified Purchase
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on July 7, 2016
Platform For Display: Xbox OneEdition: StandardVerified Purchase
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Pasable
Reviewed in Mexico 🇲🇽 on March 8, 2022Platform For Display: Xbox OneEdition: StandardVerified Purchase
Jacques JR Duteau
Super
Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on July 31, 2020Platform For Display: Xbox OneEdition: StandardVerified Purchase
Jeff
Great Game!!!
Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on May 31, 2022Platform For Display: Xbox OneEdition: StandardVerified Purchase
Nancy
Comme sur la photo
Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on November 11, 2020Platform For Display: Xbox OneEdition: StandardVerified Purchase
Lejulezz
Awesome
Reviewed in Mexico 🇲🇽 on January 21, 2017Platform For Display: Xbox OneEdition: StandardVerified Purchase
