Developer: Ubisoft Shanghai
Publisher: Ubisoft
Platforms: Xbox One, PC, PlayStation 4
Tested on: PlayStation 4
Far Cry 5: Dead Living Zombies DLC – Review
Zombies are everywhere. No, not as real life threats, but in every single form of media under the sun. So there’s really nothing original that can be done with the subject matter. The DLC to Far Cry 5 called: Dead Living Zombies, which is the last of three isn’t going to break new grounds. That shouldn’t stop the developer from trying right? Or the player from trying the developed content, right? Right?! If you want to read how much this piece of DLC is contrasted with the main game then you can click here.
Story
So the story of Far Cry 5: Dead Living Zombies is one of a movie director trying to make it big. An origin story of how ‘Guy Marvel’ goes zero to hero by throwing ideas at different movie directors to see what sticks. The setup to each scenario is the backbone. You play through it while the grating voice of ‘Guy Marvel’ narrates the events in each of them as they unfold. There’s no character development when it comes to him, he’s an annoying prick from start to end. Which can be funny at moments but falls flat most of the time. The interaction between the actual professional movie directors and the wannabe is interesting and fun.
Graphics
The cut scenes in the scenarios are all hand drawn like the previous DLC. The different scenarios have different settings and none of them can be seen as samey. There’s a scenario that gives a nod to ‘Dead Island’ by having the movie director exclaim how it’s original setting-wise, which is almost the same as the Dead Island games. These also take place on a tropical island resort. It comes to show that there aren’t any settings that haven’t been explored when it comes to the reanimated dead. The developers can’t be faulted for not finding an original setting.
Sound
The sounds of Far Cry 5: Dead Living Zombies are ok. They are just like the main game. The guns sound the same, but why fix what isn’t broke? The voice of ‘Guy Marvel’ makes him sound like a scumbag, which is really fitting. The voices of the professionals are diverse enough. The scepticism is high when they first meet him and as the story of each scenario progresses you hear them either becoming more and more dejected or more open to the idea. It’s ok writing and the voice actors do their best with it.
Gameplay
Far Cry 5: Dead Living Zombies is an action adventure first person shooter. Where the main game had a lot of content, the content seems to have been stripped piece by piece with every piece of DLC released. Up to the point where the latest DLC is trying to do what Call of Duty did by just being a shooter, rushing you through a corridor as you mow down vast swathes of the reanimated enemies.
The extra ways to murder the enemies are stripped from the game, there’s only two ways to kill them, and that’s shooting them through the head, or burning them down. So no stealth takedowns, no melee damage, no way of slowing them down by aiming at the limbs… It’s all so barebones it makes the game feel like a rush-job. Like the elevator pitch was the backbone of the story and they just went with what can be done with as little resources possible so the people who bought the season pass, or the gold edition of the game don’t feel left out. Zombies, sure. What do we need for Zombies? Guns, sure add those in, lift some assets from the main game, darken the scenery a bit or brighten it up some more and BAM, a DLC for the masses with masses of enemies in them and with no massive amount of effort needed.
The gameplay comes down to shooting, shooting and more shooting. Other games have done it and done it better. The gunplay in Far Cry 5 is just a tad too clunky to make it feel satisfying, like the turret that overheats in tense moments that should feel like power trips but feel more panicky because you are about to be overwhelmed and have to back away from said turret to take pot shots with your average boring, slow reloading pea shooter of choice.
Conclusion
As far as content goes, Far Cry 5: Dead Living Zombies is a bit like the tail end of a fart. It sputtered into existence then it leaves a vile stench. It’s there because it was promised; so thanks Ubisoft? You gave what was promised but it’s not up to par from what’s been released and that’s quite a big let-down.
Far Cry 5: Dead Living Zombies DLC - Review,
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