Summary

• Far Cry 7 rumors suggest a potential time limit, risking immersion and exploration.
• Past Far Cry games allowed open exploration across open-world maps.
• A time limit could hinder gameplay enjoyment and full exploration, similar to some Far Cry 5 frustrations.

Although Ubisoft has yet to officially announce Academy Award-winning actor Cillian Murphy could be involved - which was soon debunked - to reports it could be taking place in Korea. There's one rumor I really hope isn't true, however, and that's that the game may have a time limit.

Ever since CryTec's original Far Cry on PC, most of the mainline titles in the series have had open-world maps to explore that have taken the series across the globe, including the likes of Far Cry 2's depiction of Africa, Far Cry 4's Himilayan location, or the American state of Montana in Far Cry 5. As time went on, the games did feature more features that had become synonymous with Ubisoft's other open-world games, with Far Cry 3 having players climbing towers to unlock portions of the map, much as they'd have to in an Assassin's Creed title, but largely, there were plenty of side activities that made exploring these different locations feel worthwhile.

A Time Limit May Be Immersive, But It Kills Exploration

Open World Games Should Be Made To Be Explored

The Game Rant article that first brought the time limit rumor to my attention did point out that such a feature could make Far Cry 7 feel more immersive, adding a sense of urgency to the title. While I'd agree that such a mechanic was perfectly implemented in a series like Dead Rising where if a player didn't act quickly enough, characters would die because they'd become overwhelmed by zombie hordes - or in the case of Dead Rising 2, could become a zombie when not given the medicine Zombrex on time - this made me want to rush across the map to get to them in time, when presented with a vast open-world map, you want to explore it, not rush through it.

Even two of my favorite games, Batman: Arkham City and Cyberpunk 2077, which both had a sense of urgency to their stories with Arkham City's looming "Protocol 10" or V's deteriorating health in Cyberpunk 2077, had the good sense to put that aside and let players explore their open worlds at their own pace. Sure, occasionally, Hugo Strange would blare a countdown announcement over the speakers of Arkham City when exploring, or V would out at the end of a story mission and wake up to tell another character - usually Johnny Silverhand - how rough they were feeling, but these didn't actually impact the gameplay, and I quite happily took my time completing as many of the side missions as I wanted before taking on the next part of the story.

There was only one mission in Cyberpunk 2077, "Riders On The Storm," that had a time limit, as players must rescue the Aldecado leader Saul. If players don't answer the call to help do this within 24 in-game hours, it can lock them out of one of the game's questlines and endings.

The idea that Far Cry 7 could push players through its story feels bizarre to me because I would end a playthrough feeling like I'd only seen a fraction of what the game has to offer. New Game Plus and the option to replay the story could remedy this if there was some kind of RPG-esque mechanic where choices had meaning and could result in different outcomes, but I can't help but feel like if there's a time limit, the game will be pushing me into certain scenarios regardless and it would just be a loop of disappointment as once again I wonder what else there is out there that I could have done instead.

Also, a lot hinges on the story itself. If the story is disappointing, I'll likely put down the game after one playthrough and not bother to waste my time replaying it to see how much there is. Considering the price of gaming these days, especially with largely digital releases where we can't just trade in copies once we're done, that just feels like a waste.

A Time Limit Would Essentially Bring Back The Worst Part Of Far Cry 5

I Was Often Frustrated When I Was Forced By The Game To Continue The Story

A time limit would also bring back my least favorite part of Far Cry 5 but make it so much worse. To be clear, I enjoyed Far Cry 5 overall. Its atmosphere was impressively eerie, and its characters were engaging, and I genuinely wanted to explore more of its world. Unfortunately, on many occasions, as I'd be carrying out a task, the screen would fade to black suddenly, and I'd be confronted with one of the Seed family , forcing me into a story mission. While, yes, the idea was that I was in their territory and there was an intimidating feeling that the powerful cult could get their hands on my character at any time, I found myself groaning more often than not when this happened.

This was certainly the case if I was on my way to carry out a side activity because I wanted to get a specific kind of reward, like unlocking one of the companions, or if the marker was further away from a fast travel point and I knew I'd have to spend a while getting back to it once the obligatory mission was out of the way. Although, to be fair, as far as companions were concerned, once I got Cheeseburger the bear, I did tend to use them the most just because I enjoyed seeing the carnage of sending a bear into an enemy camp unfold. Peaches the mountain lion was a close second if I wanted a more stealthy approach, though.

Regardless, being pulled away from an activity I'd planned out was no less frustrating, especially when I realized the game was pushing me toward an ending before I'd had the chance to fully explore what it had to offer. Fortunately, Ubisoft seemed to leave this idea behind with Far Cry 5's direct sequel, the post-apocalyptic Far Cry: New Dawn, and the somewhat more grounded Far Cry 6, so I am hoping that the rumored time limit in Far Cry 7 - which I imagine would be like Far Cry 5's compulsory story missions but so much worse - doesn't come to fruition, so I can actually explore all of whatever land the series takes us to next.

Source: Game Rant