Ubisoft has a lot of plans for Far Cry 5 to make it one of the most unique offerings in the franchise, including the omission of towers and a mini-map. Now, Ubisoft has opened up about why it is making such significant changes to Far Cry 5.

Drew Holmes, the writer of Far Cry 5, provided some insight into the development team’s thinking for taking such a hard turn away from what gamers expect from the first person shooter adventure game. As Holmes puts it, the lack of a mini-map and towers will put give players more of an opportunity to truly explore the game world and rely on their experience and intuition when making decisions.

Holmes said:

“We really wanted to focus on exploration with a sense of, ‘I’m not sure what to do or where to go’. The removal of the mini map was so you’re not staring at a little corner of your screen saying, ‘what’s new in the world?’ You’ve got to actually pay attention to the world and the art side is doing a good job of making sure there are good landmarks to orient yourself. That it becomes more [or] less the game guiding you on where to go, and more of you saying, ‘where do I want to go, what do I want to do today?’”

While many gamers will certainly miss the benefits that come with the mini-map and towers in a Far Cry game, the removal of both features will make for a more immersive experience for players. Hopefully there will still be a way for players to access a map through the pause menu or by picking one up, just so there’s still a way to get their bearings in the vast open world of Montana.

This isn’t the only major departure from tradition that Ubisoft is taking with Far Cry 5. For instance, rather than sending gamers to exotic islands and environments, the company is throwing gamers into the dangerous, and apparently cult-like valleys and mountains of Montana. Additionally, gamers will get a chance to experience other new features, such as more customization for their characters, four main villains instead of one, and multiplayer co-op available throughout the Far Cry 5 campaign.

This more individualized, immersive experience seems to be Ubisoft’s main goal with this newest entry in the Far Cry franchise. Holmes continued his thoughts, adding that without a mini-map or towers, gamers will be forced to explore and discover more of the world and its people, which in turn should help improve the overall experience. Holmes said:

“I think when you set a game in a more familiar setting like Montana, we wanted to compare it to, ‘what would I do in this situation?’ I’d have to go and try and meet some locals, see if they’d do anything. Or go to a town and see if there’s anything to do around there. So the goal really was to get rid of the towers as a way of forcing me to interact with the people, pay attention to my surroundings. And sort of intuitively figure out, ‘well, if there’s a town here, there’s a gas station down the road,’ so everything sort of feels like a believable world.”

It’ll be interesting to see how gamers react to the changes once the game releases. Hopefully the effort to make the game more immersive than its predecessors won’t backfire and make the game less enjoyable than the Far Cry series has become known for.

Far Cry 5 is set to release on February 27, 2018 for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.

Source: GamingBolt