While the Far Cry series has changed a bit over the years (what did ever happen to those superpowers?) some things stay the same - the open worlds, the exploration, turning around and finding EVERYTHING ON FIRE. Primal, however, is switching out one big feature for the first time: the hero isn't a newb.
In previous games the hero being new to everything was a key part of the experience - you turn up in a strange place, get thrown into a heap of trouble and work your way up from knowing nothing to boss of all you survey. For creative director Jean-Christophe Guyot however, that wasn't going to fly in Far Cry Primal's prehistoric setting.
"When we wanted to recreate the experience of living in the Stone Age, we really wanted to imagine what man - when he's naked, has no weapon, nothing - how does he face all these giant animals, all this danger, the very savage food chain?" For Jean-Christophe that's the core of the experience in this instalment, and for that reason the idea of a character with no knowledge of the world didn't make sense. Which is where Takkar comes in.
"We didn't want to make it feel like 'Oh, I don't know this world.' Takkar, he knows the rules, he's been born here. He knows how it works, he's proficient at it. So this is definitely not a 'fish out of water.'" That said, part of the journey in a Far Cry is mastering the world. So how do you add that when your hero's a pro? "At the beginning of the game you have very few tools at your disposal," explains Jean-Christophe. "You have to craft them, you have to find resources, you have to hunt, you have to do all these things."
So while Takkar isn't a passing tourist getting into trouble, he still has to learn. "You have all these aspects that are very survival-oriented, that are very present at the beginning of the game - and then slowly they fade out as you become more powerful [with] more tools and toys," Now that's something that sounds very Far Cry.
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