Far Cry 5 was a great entry in the Far Cry series, divisive to some, but what it had was great and memorable villains in a tried-and-true formula. The season pass takes the engine and creates three very different experiences to the base game.
HOURS OF DARKNESS
A game taking inspiration from one of the greatest movies, Apocalypse Now, which was adapted from one of the greatest novellas, Heart of Darkness. The DLC is set during the Vietnam War with you playing an American soldier shot down in a helicopter. You and your squad mates have been captured and are situated throughout the map. It’s up to you, whether you rescue them or skip straight towards the extraction point. Saving your squad mates has them help alongside you to extraction.
The simplicity of the idea is appealing, however the execution is lacking fun and variety. To make it feel like Vietnam they have used a filter that makes the experience headache inducing, and cheap looking. The AI is bland and repetitive so there are never any surprises that really make you change your gameplay, while some areas lack any real number of enemies to worry about stealth. Playing through the first time on normal I attempted most of the side content which didn’t offer much aside from squad mates. On my second play through I did the Action Mode, almost an easy mode with extra bullets to be reminiscent of an 80’s action movie. Finally on Survivor Mode I headed straight to the end and completed the game within an hour.
If they made an entire game to the premise instead of a tongue in cheek title to a mediocre DLC outing we could have been given an exceptional game. Instead we have this completely fine experience to pad the season pass.
LOST ON MARS
If you took Tremors and Starship Troopers and made a B-style action game you would probably get something like this. The game begins with you being taken to Mars to fulfil a ridiculous promise to Hurt. The story does not take itself seriously for that 80’s action effect. I like it for that. When you get to Mars, Hurk is in nearly twenty pieces as part of a collectible, and to progress the story to its climax.
Lost on Mars is a meaty expansion. Unlike Hours of Darkness, there is an arsenal of new weapons, upgrades and gadgets that all make the gameplay more endearing and rewarding as you play through. The enemy variety is great considering these are all new enemies that were not in the base game. In the beginning the game feels tough as these enemies can overwhelm you quickly, and the Queen arachnids they have are extremely tough until you get better weapons and player upgrades. There are also objectives that take you on a drug fuelled dream into portions of Far Cry 5. A lot of bang for your buck in this experience.
DEAD LIVING ZOMBIES
This DLC is as bonkers as the last in the way that you are playing through seven zombie movie pitches. Unfortunately it’s your typical zombie mode where you need to clear an objective while having zombies chase you. Some are more entertaining as you are met with undead animals or nifty surprises. After completing each pitch you can replay it to challenge yourself by achieving a high score. In a gaming atmosphere where many zombie games are doing it much better, this one fails to stand out as anything more than an evening romp.
OVERALL
While the Far Cry 5 Season Pass contains three downloadable adventures you could be satisfied with just the Lost in Mars pack. At the time of writing this the season pass is often on sale for half price and is well worth the price. Personally, the season pass is worth it alone for Far Cry 3 Classic. Far Cry 3 was the game of the year by many outlets and rightfully so as every game in the franchise since has followed in its successful gameplay elements. Hours of Darkness could be more enticing with a friend in co-op but is wanting in single player. Lost on Mars is where the fun is at. Traversing a new terrain with a sense of accomplishment as you complete side objectives is the kind of experience you would hope to get from each DLC from the season pass. With that said the Dead Living Zombies would be a fun evening in co-op.
As a whole package Far Cry 5 and the season pass make for an action packed experience that will have you occupied for quite some time.
Robert Ring
KissTheGames 