The weirdest Far Cry games are the best

The last numbered Far Cry I enjoyed was #2. It seemingly had an almost immersive-sim level of interactivity with the environment, at least for the time. It's quite possible that I was enthralled with the engine more than the actual game though.

Going forward, Blood Dragon and Primal both engaged me with their settings. Blood Dragon was perfect in every way, especially in the ways in which it was not like a 'normal' FC game (relatively short, no connection to present-day reality, kooky weapons and visual style), whereas Primal spoke to me on an almost, shall we way, 'primal' level given my life-long obsession with prehistoric life and related documentaries, plus the fact that they got linguists to make a proper-sounding fake language (as voiced by main character Adam Jensen!!!).

After that, sadly, nothing interesting has happened. I gave Far Cry 5 a chance when it was on a super sale recently, even going so far as to install a bunch of mods, but in the end I regretted ever setting foot in that world. New Dawn seems too similar to be anything worth trying.

I never had any hope that Far Cry 6 might scratch a similar itch to Blood Dragon and Primal, but I did reserve some amount of positivity that maybe the silly spin-off game might be good once again. However, with the DLC being focused on the 'crazy villains', that does not seem likely.

Does anyone have any suggestions for FPS games that are set in narratively-interesting, unique worlds (open-world not required)?

Zeno Clash.

I cant say its an amazing game but there is value in weirdness and the truly alien. The game is competent enough to allow you to enjoy said weirdness in my opinion.

At this point I'm convinced the people making the game have never met the folks telling the story, also FarCry seems to be inching closer to Just Cause with each iteration.

I played Prey (2017) last year on a whim and was very surprised at how interesting and compelling the story ended up being.

you have to be into that hard sci-fi / Even Horizon type of setting, but there is a lot of good story there.

I would love a second Blood Dragon game. It was just batshit crazy with rock-solid gameplay.

I guess I'll have to suggest The Darkness, though that's still only available on 360 and PS3 with no HD remasters (but at least the Xboxes are backwards compatible). Incredibly unique immersive sim-ish FPS with a world that really feels lived in.

I didn't like the sequel, but I think I'm in the minority there.

@fisk0: I don't ever post here, but I have to say I completely agree with you in regards to liking the original "The Darkness" as opposed to the sequel.

And I wish they'd remaster it.

I like them both but the first one had such a distinct atmosphere and style to it that I really missed in the second one. Don't get me wrong I liked four-arm frisbee'ing a car door through eight guys at once and then wishboning their bodies and eating their hearts, but there was something so physical and tangible about the mafia story they were telling in the first game. Mafia plus demons.

If you're gonna play one Far Cry game, make it the ONLY far cry game you play or else the formula loses its luster.

Singularity's world wasn't unique, but the time traveling mechanic between past and present gave it a definite spin. And of course, the Bioshock games are worth a look. The better Prey game has been mentioned, but the original Prey is a fascinating thing.

Kinda. The first 2 are fairly different from the rest of the series. From 3 to now, they all mush together.

I really like 2. I like the ambition, the systems and what can happen with them. They seed some chaos into it but it feels organic, rather than the crazy murder holiday the rest of the series has become. It's also Ubisoft figuring out the framework. There's side stuff but the map isn't covered in them. It makes it feel more focused.

Just here to say that the first Far Cry was the best Far Cry. I tried 2 and 3 and man, I just can't.