Rumble in the Prehistoric Jungle - Thoughts on Far Cry Primal

I recently finished playing Far Cry Primal, the placeholder installment between Far Cry 4: Himalayan Hysterics and the upcoming Far Cry 5: Hear the Far-Right Cry.

This installment on its own however, was a surprisingly good game (7/10 on Steam, 8/10 on GameSpot). The land of Oros, the prehistoric valley providing the setting, is incredibly pretty. From unforgiving jagged snow peaks with roaming packs of sabretooth tigers (there's always more than one!) and horrifying mammoth graveyards, to boggy swamp marshlands with roaming packs of bloodthirsty wolves, to open plains and rivers with roaming packs of bears, rhinos, elk, jaguars, crocodiles, cave-lions, and *shudder* badgers. The theme of the game is indeed, that you will be killed by roaming packs quite a bit, until you either level-up or learn to run AWAY from the stampeding mammoth herd. (Don't run into the water though, that's where the real toothy-death lies).

You play as chief manimal, Takkar, of the Wenja tribe, who has come to Oros to make colonizing the hip occupation of the late 10,000 B.C. But since sustainable co-habitation hasn't been invented yet, the Wenja are going toe to toe with two other tribes seeking prime real-estate domination: the cannibalistic Udam, and the fire-loving/hating Izila.

Apart from being probably the best pet simulator ("Tigers, Lions and Bears, oh my!" edition) that I have ever played, Primal captures the villains in a very interesting way. That is, they don't feel like villains.

"Who's my engine of death and destruction, who? It's you, yes you <3"

The Far Cry franchise historically has had very strong baddies, always more interesting than the very vanilla protagonists. The now iconic Far Cry 3: Drugs, Drugs, Drugs! villain, Vaas, exuded an evil aura with his calculated brutality and his interest in tumblresque philosophy. He also had a mohawk. However, the posited villains of Primal: the hulking Udam cheif Ull, and the Izila matriarch and god-queen Batari, are not out to sell drugs and corrupt the youth through questionable hairstyles.

Why.

Just like the protagonist's tribe, they also came to Oros escaping harsh conditions with dreams of settling down in a neighborhood where death by fauna wasn't as statistically rampant. The Udam, arriving in the north of Oros, suffer from a migraine epidemic, and chronic toxic flatulence (maybe from all the people eating).  The Izila seem to have been settled in Oros quite some time before the Wenja came, with organized religion, agriculture, battle-armor and a female leader (insert current political allegory here).

Sure, they are both out to cook and eat you (literally), but I can't really hold it against them. The tribes practice cruelty like its an art-form, but it doesn't necessarily feel evil. They are cruel because Oros itself is cruel and merciless. Go too north and you freeze to death, or die by toxic farts. Anywhere else and you get mauled, or drown, or fall down a cliff, or get food poisoning, or a cave-bear decides to invite you to dinner, followed by a badger putting you permanently to sleep. Danger and death roam free and wild in Oros, and it is those qualities that the residents inhabit to survive.

Ull, although a lover of bashing brains, is also a single-dad. Juggling parent-hood and leading a tribe of sick people-eaters definitely has its unique challenges and stresses (perhaps leading to more people-eating).

He has his father's lust for human flesh.

Batari, on the Izila side of things, is always getting her fashion-choices questioned, and not having her policies taken seriously (probably until she pushes the opposition into a pit of fire). It's not easy running a cultish flame flinging tribe of men, whose own houses are quite flammable.

Those eyes are aflame, with the bodies of her enemies.

As the protagonist, Takkar is no shining example of humanity either. Leaving a trail of corpses, both man and animal alike, in his bloody wake, he is no stranger to harnessing the cruel savagery of nature itself. Unleashing his menagerie of wild beasts on unsuspecting victims is Takkar's modus operandi. So is the Udam-signature brain bashing, the Izila-signature burning-you-alive, and Takkar's very own having-an-owl-bomb-drugs-on-you. So apart from the rampant murder, Takkar may be accused of cultural appropriation to boot.

The Far Cry protagonists have almost always been blank slates, into which the player may fill their own personality and character through their playstyle. It has been the villains who bring the flavor. The "villains" of Primal are as much a part of the landscape as the trees or the leopards. Because the most primal of human nature has always been about this: survival.

Image Credits: 
http://estookin.deviantart.com/art/DELIRIUM-Vaas-Montenegro-Far-Cry-3-453214055
https://assets.vg247.com/current//2015/12/far_cry_primal_Screen_Pet_Wolf_BeastMaster_Reveal_151204_5AM_CET-Copy.jpg
http://www.joshobrouwers.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/batari.jpg 

Why I quit multiplayer gaming

It’s another annoyingly arduous day at the office, but you’re finally done! You’re heading home, looking forward to the respite you’ve earned. You kick off your shoes, loosen the literal proverbial noose around your aching neck; plomp your weary behind onto your comfy chair, with mayhaps, a refreshing beverage in hand; and log onto the popular multiplayer game that has been your daily un-winder … to be immediately called a racial/homophobic/sexist/vegetable(?) slur by a promiscuous, pimple popping, snot splattered fourteen year old.  

And that’s when you realise, that yes, maybe you are getting too old for this shit.

Unfortunately, this scenario is a fairly frequent experience for those of us who partake in gaming and are relatively more mature than the stereotypical pre-pubescent gamer (see: above).

I know I know, this is just how multiplayer gaming is, infested with these monsters; and if we, more civilized, non-pimply, gamers wish to indulge, we have to on their terms. For the game-o-sphere is the dominion of these demons with bad grammar and lame insults aimed at your mother.

The easy fix is to not rely on matchmaking on the public servers, but play with your friends. Play in a controlled environment. Logistic nightmares aside of getting everyone together at the same time, this is a pretty solid solution. But it is inherently limiting yourself, because these games are designed to pit you against everyone else. With ranks and leagues, and rare loot, you are always incentivized to break away from your comfort gaming zone and try your hand at defeating the legions.

My experience with multiplayer gaming, and the horrors therein, stems mostly from MOBAs. Multiplayer Online Battle Arena games are arranged with 2 opposing teams of 5 players each, attempting to first destroy the opponent’s base, while defending their own. Attracting players and fans by the millions, international competitions in sold out football stadiums, and prize money bordering on the obscene, MOBAs are credited as the global phenomenon responsible for cementing gaming on the cultural map.

I sunk in about 1,400 hours in DOTA2. With over 7 million players at any given time, it’s arguably the premier in competitive multiplayer gaming. But with the hordes come the trash, and the toxicity eventually got to me so bad, that I never braved ranked mode, and one day simply quit. Cold turkey. After a while, I switched to Heroes of the Storm (HotS), with a much tinier, yet significant, fan following, in the hopes of a more amiable gaming experience. And for a while yes, it was much better. I aimed for rank, I’d watch YouTube play-throughs, tutorials, and really try to better my game. Run in with toxic gamers was often of course, but with less time invested per game, the effect wasn’t as severe. 

But, for me, the toxic environment isn’t the big problem. The mute button is a mighty weapon indeed. No, my great gripe with multiplayer gaming is that it’s a blackhole which sucks in your entire gaming drive. Always coming down to one more game, and with each game lasting a minimum of 40 minutes, you more often than not end up spending hours, usually getting your prosterior soundly handed to you. The fast pace and instant gratification provided by MOBAs pretty much removed all the satisfaction I’d get from playing other, usually single-player, games. 

Suddenly, wandering the frozen landscapes of Skyrim, or saving the galaxy from the Reapers, seemed tedious and meaningless. I mean, what was even the point of playing if it wouldn’t add yet another +1 to my stats? And eventually, because of this mindset, online multiplayer gaming became an addiction.

If I wasn’t playing, I was watching other people play. If I started playing, I wouldn’t stop until the sun rose up again, all other obligations be damned. When I would get some sleep, I’d be playing in my dreams. 

This behavior was unique to DOTA, and to a lesser extent HOTS. No other game, especially single player games had that effect on me. There was always an off switch, shutting the game down meant my brain logging off and moving on to other things and tasks. I think the instant gratification provided by DOTA and the incentives to keep on grinding, keep on playing, left its mark on me. The frankly ridiculous amount of time I was spending playing MOBAs finally hit me when I realized that I won’t be able to enjoy all the incredible new games being developed and published by talented teams all over the world. That feeling of missing out on exciting new stories and experiences pushed me to give up on this genre. 

And honestly, I have no regrets.

I’m really not writing this piece to extoll the evils of multiplayer gaming; I’m only describing my personal experiences. I have friends who derive genuine relaxation from MOBAs, and can discipline themselves to avoid excessive playing. 

But to these friends, and all fellow gamers, I will say this: there is a whole multiverse of experiences out there. Won’t you give them a shot?