As I said in my review, Far Cry New Dawn is basically Far Cry 5 again, only on a smaller scale. There are a few changes to how things work, however, such as enemies, weapons, and outposts, plus new features like a home base you can upgrade and expeditions that take you outside of Montana's Hope County.

Here's a guide to help you handle everything the game throws your way.

Enemies and weapons now have ranks

Not all enemies in New Dawn are created equal, and neither are all weapons. There are different ranks of both now. Don't worry, you won't run into a level 30 baddie in Hope County like you might in Assassin's Creed: the ranks are limited to 1, 2, 3, and Elite. The higher the level of the enemy, the harder it is to hurt them, especially if your weapon has a lower rank than they do.

You can tell an enemy's rank at a distance simply by looking at them: the cooler their armor looks, the higher their rank. Plus, if you have all the UI options enabled, you'll see their segmented health bars and a little gold crown icon if they're Elite.

Your weapons have ranks, too, which determine how effective they are against the rank of your enemies. To unlock higher ranks of weapons, you'll need to upgrade your workbench in Prosperity and craft higher-tied weapons with the materials you've scavenged. More on upgrading Prosperity a bit further down.

Outposts can be immediately repopulated for tougher challenges and greater rewards

You don't have to wait to clear all the outposts to restaff them with enemies. The moment you liberate an outpost, you can head to the Scavenge table for a quick reward of additional ethanol (see below). Scavenging immediately turns the outpost back over to the Highwaymen, but each time you do it, it gets more challenging: higher ranked enemies, more alarms, and deadlier reinforcements. The rewards increase, too, especially the amount of ethanol. Just be prepared for a challenge.

Ethanol improves your base, and here's where to find it

To upgrade the various zones of your base, you'll need ethanol. A lot of ethanol. Most of this will come to you when you liberate outposts, especially when you then repopulate them with tougher bad guys.

But you can also find ethanol being driven around in big tanker trucks by the enemy. If you can take out the driver and any support vehicles without blowing up the truck itself, you can commandeer it and drive it to Prosperity or any other outpost you've liberated, where the supply will be added to your stockpile. In theory, at least. Remember the roads are packed with trigger-happy raiders and you're driving an enormous flammable gas tank. Unlock the repair perk so if the tanker does catch fire you can fix it before it blows.

You'll also encounter regular airdrops in New Dawn. This isn't battle royale, so the drops will always land near you. If you hear a plane overhead, just stop and wait for a minute. Highwaymen will show up to claim it (or act like they're trying to claim it, anyway), and once they're dealt with you can loot the drop for materials and extra ethanol.

Expeditions are like huge outposts with infinite enemies

Expeditions are new in Far Cry, and they'll take you out of Montana to other parts of the country like an aircraft carrier on the coast, Alcatraz Island in the San Francisco Bay, and an amusement park in Louisiana. You access expeditions via the chopper pilot at Prosperity or from your menu, and they serve as huge outposts you can raid for extra supplies. You're looking for a specific haul of loot somewhere in the outpost (though you can take whatever else you find, too). The catch is, the package you're after has a GPS attached to it, so once you've grabbed it, even if you've been completely undetected thus far, the bad guys will not only know you're there, but they'll be able to pinpoint your exact location.

The chopper will extract you a few minutes after you've collected the package, but an endless supply of enemies will follow the GPS to hunt you down, meaning you'll need to stay alive against waves of Highwaymen until the helicopter arrives. There's also a bit of randomization, so the package, enemies, and extraction zone won't always be in the same place on subsequent visits.

Where to find circuit boards

When I'm crafting stuff in New Dawn, the material I'm usually hard up for is circuit boards. Everything else (springs, gears, duct tape, and components) is extremely plentiful, and locations you find on the map will even display the type of components you'll find there, and how many there are. Circuit boards, though, are a bit harder to come by.

The best place to find circuit boards are on Expeditions, from airdrops, and by trading elite (and undamaged) animal skins either at your crafting bench or with any of the wandering traders. Titanium can also be a bit hard to find at times, but enemy supply trucks and locked safes are the best places to look.

The UI is super duper customizable

This is a Ubisoft game so there's tons of information on the screen, but there's also an amazing amount of UI options you can mess with in the menu. You can toggle just about everything on and off. Your reticle, enemy detection meters, health indicators, explosive warnings, the compass, object glow, damage numbers, icons for friends and enemies, objective markers, tutorial hints... pretty much any part of the UI can be tweaked either to give you less clutter or more of a challenge. And if you don't know what a particular interface option is, it shows you an example right in the menu. It's fantastic.

This woman knows everything

As you play you'll see the same woman popping up here and there all over the map. If you spot her (often at liberated outposts), drop what you're doing and talk to her. She's always got a tip on a treasure or bunker or a place of interest that's got loot and perk-point magazines and other valuable stuff. Seriously, I don't care if you're on fire at the time—if you see this woman with the cap and sunglasses, run up and chat with her and put out the flames later. She'll never steer you wrong.

Spend your first perk points on weapon slots

As soon as you begin playing you'll start receiving perk points from combat, challenges, bunker discoveries, rescuing prisoners, and other activities. I know it's tempting to immediately unlock the wingsuit or improved takedown skills, but you should start by unlocking weapon slots. You only have two to begin with, and that's simply not enough for a game like Far Cry. You'll want room for the sawblade-slinging crossbow, a good shotgun, a sniper rifle, and a pistol so you're ready for anything.

There's a great photo mode

Similar to the latest Assassin's Creed games, there's a photomode in New Dawn that lets you pause the game, fly the camera around in 3D space, add filters, change the time of day, and pose your character. This is the Ezio pose, if you couldn't tell. I added the Far Cry logo because I think this would make an excellent box cover or poster. Have fun!

Far Cry New Dawn is out today, and it takes place in a familiar setting: Hope County, Montana, the same location as Far Cry 5. New Dawn is set almost twenty years after the end of Far Cry 5, as the survivors of the nuclear war are attempting to rebuild their lives and society. As you explore the world of New Dawn, you'll run into a few familiar characters, the people you met and helped in Far Cry 5. They're older and grayer now, but still alive.

The biggest question is, what about your own character from Far Cry 5? What happened to the rookie deputy whose attempted arrest of creepy murder-cult leader Joseph Seed kicked off the chaos in Hope County? Last we saw, the nukes were going off and your rookie was dragged into a bunker with Seed. What happened next?

Some of the answers can be found in New Dawn. Obviously, there will be big spoilers for Far Cry New Dawn below, so stop reading if you don't want to know.

In an effort to combat the Highwaymen in New Dawn, a character in the friendly settlement of Prosperity will suggest enlisting the help of Eden's Gate, the remnants of Far Cry 5's cult. They're living off the land in seclusion far to the north, having essentially sworn off technology. They wear animal skins and hunt with bows and arrows. Basically, they've gone prehistoric. On your first attempt to talk with them, you're silently greeted by a masked figure who won't let you in.

Only later, after undertaking a quest to recover a book of Joseph Seed's writings will you be allowed in, again by the masked figure. Joseph Seed's son is running things in Eden's Gate, and later the masked figure, known as The Judge, will become one of your companions.

The Judge never speaks. Attempts to talk to them result in just vague hisses, as if they no longer have a tongue. And when you investigate the bunker on what's left of Dutch's Island, you'll find notes here and there, presumably written during the time your Far Cry 5 character spent with Joseph, trapped underground.

"God tells you," one note reads. "If I listen to you, it's good, and right, and I can help, and I can save people, and make it right, and everything will be okay. If I judge as your judge, the judgment is right and just, the judgment is God's Word. I see now. I am so sorry."

"Please give me a mask I am afraid."

"Thank you Joseph thank you Father."

Well, that's a huge bummer. I mean, sure, Joseph was right about the world ending, but he was still a complete creep and scumbag and murderer. But stuck in the bunker with him for perhaps years, it seems your character from Far Cry 5 eventually began to see things Joseph's way. The Judge is who your character became.

You'll find more evidence to support this. Bring The Judge with you to Roughneck's Crag, in the northwest corner of the map. Like the 8-Bit Pizza Bar from Far Cry 5, Roughneck's Crag is the spot your companions hang out together when they're not following you around. Spend a while there, and Pastor Jerome and Hurk will chat with The Judge (a one-sided conversation since The Judge doesn't talk). They'll talk about old times, and what's become of The Judge since then. Carmina Rye, Nick Rye's kid (who was born during Far Cry 5) will thank The Judge for helping her parents, and back in Prosperity Nick seems to know The Judge too.

So, that's what became of your character, the rookie, from Far Cry 5. Brainwashed by the endless droning of Joseph Seed, always wearing a mask, never speaking (I guess you never spoke in the game anyway, but I am convinced The Judge no longer has a tongue), and so opposed to technology they won't even get in a car anymore. We knew Far Cry 5 had a dark ending, but this just makes it bleaker still.

Your companions in Far Cry New Dawn can grow stronger just like you can. This happens in two ways: by upgrading the training grounds in your home base, and by keeping a companion with you for a long enough period of time, because they'll slowly gain new abilities while fighting by your side. This means you should have one of the eight companions with you everywhere you go, and without question that one companion is Horatio, the giant boar.

Leave everyone else behind. Yes, even the dog. I love dogs, but now I love a boar even more.

Why is Horatio so worthy of your constant company? Well.

He's a damn tank

Not one for stealth, Horatio will charge right in and begin knocking enemies down. Once down, he can stomp them for a kill. The third skill he learns is a sort of berserker rage where he'll blast right through a whole bunch of enemies, scattering them like sticks. And, as you see above, he can knock an entire damn truck onto its side. If you like hanging back and sniping, don't travel without Horatio the tank.

He loves rolling around in flowers

And yet Horatio is a gentle creature, too. When we get a breather from the action, he'll sometimes roll around in the flowers. I've seen him do it in the grass, too, and on dirt, but it's more blissful to see him flop to the ground and snort happily as he rolls in pink meadows. I bet he smells wonderful afterwards.

He takes out shielded enemies

My least favorite enemy type (not just in New Dawn but in general) is some dude with a big-ass shield. They deflect all your damage and block all your hits and then somehow they can still run right up and whomp on you! Unfair, if you ask me. Horatio isn't impressed with shields. If he goes after a shielded enemy, even from the front, that dude is losing his shield for good. Then you can pick up the shield and become a shield dude yourself.

It's fun to let him get the final kill in an outpost

When I'm down to one last baddie at an outpost, I'll usually just watch Horatio go ham on them. Sure, I could have finished off that biker with a saw blade, but Horatio is doing almost half the work, so it's fun to let him deliver the killing blow and unlock the outpost in slow-motion glory. He's humble, though. That little shake of the head. No bigs.

Sometimes he'll take a nap and snore a little

You'll have to turn the sound up on the gif above pretty high to hear it, but Horatio snores a bit. Sometimes during the rare quiet moments of New Dawn, he'll flop down on the ground for a bit of shuteye and have little piggie dreams, probably about eating earthworms or stomping Highwaymen to death. It's just adorable.

He'll revive you when you make a minor tactical error

Sure, all of the companions will revive you if they can reach you in time, but there's something about Horatio doing it, especially when you've made a minor error in judgement such as stepping directly in front of a speeding car to snipe the driver. It just feels better when you're saved from stupid death by a good-natured hog. I like how he doesn't seem to be in any particular rush, too. "Oh, look what this idiot human did. Again."

He makes dull conversations more fun

My reaction to most people talking in New Dawn is, "Yeah yeah yeah. Just put an icon on my map and I'll go brutally murder everyone standing near it." But I at least try to pay attention, and the nice thing about traveling with an enormous boar is they snort and snuffle and walk around in the background giving you something to look at. I'm not ignoring you, really, Pastor. I'm just enjoying the scenery.

He can self-revive and put out his own fires

Say you're a little bored so you're shooting at a tree with incendiary shotgun shells like a dumbass. And your favorite boar happens to be standing under the tree, and catches on fire. Unlike myself, Horatio is smart! If there's water nearby, he'll make a beeline (or a boarline) right to it and roll around to douse his poor burning body. You don't need to do anything but feel incredibly guilty.

Spend enough time with Horatio and he'll also learn to self-revive himself in battle, meaning you don't need to keep a close watch on him. If he goes down, he'll get back up without assistance, which is more than I can say for you.

He'll worry about you if you're out of his sight

Turn on the sound for this one. As I enter the house, Horatio loses sight of me and starts complaining. Freaking out, really. Kinda like if you leave your dog in the car and you go into a store for a minute, and your dog just stares at the door of the store until you come back? That's what Horatio does when you move out of his line of sight. It's touching! And noisy.

He'll follow you anywhere, no matter how stupid

Horatio can't ride in cars like the dog companion, but he'll follow alongside. In a chopper? He'll run along the ground. Jump off a cliff with the wingsuit and plow headfirst into the rocks because you forgot that you turn with the keyboard and not the mouse? He'll follow you then too. Loyal and non-judgmental.

He likes to swim around while you're fishing

Fishing remains an enjoyable pastime in the the Far Cry universe, when you can manage to do it without someone attacking you with a flamethrower. And it's even nicer with a hairy boar paddling around serenely in the beautiful water. I'm pretty sure Cheeseburger the bear did this in Far Cry 5, too, but boar beats bear, in my opinion.

Horatio can be found at Elsinore Farm, which is to the North East of Prosperity, right along the northern edge of the map. You might meet someone who tells you about him and marks his location, or you can just look for the farm yourself. 

You'd think a nuke being dropped on Montana would have changed it somewhat, but Far Cry New Dawn's post-apocalyptic version of Hope County is essentially the same one we know from Far Cry 5. Once again the locals are being terrorized by armed gangs speeding around in infinite trucks while furious bears and homicidal turkeys leap from the bushes to claw at anything that moves. New Dawn adds a couple new twists to the series' formula—at times you can leave Montana to visit other states—but nothing to make it feel like a wholly different game. This is Far Cry 5 again, just on a smaller scale and with more pink flowers.

It's years after the nukes fell at the end of Far Cry 5, and your nameless character has been traveling the country by rail, helping survivors rebuild the post-apocalyptic United States. A group of highwaymen (not that cleverly called the 'Highwaymen') derail your train and leave you stranded. After making your way to a small community called Prosperity, you venture out into the overgrown remains of Hope County, fighting the Highwaymen, conquering outposts, gathering resources for crafting, and enlisting a small cadre of colorful companions like an elderly sniper and an enormous, rampaging boar. This goes without saying, but never bring the sniper with you. Always bring the boar.

Cry, cry again

As you help out the locals you gain perk points that can be used to unlock skills in any order you wish, a nice and loose ability system that lets you focus on whatever is most important to your playstyle, be it melee damage, stealth kills, or traversal tools like the wingsuit (fun for sightseeing and bailing out of burning choppers) and grappling hook (mostly just for treasure-hunting in bunkers and caves) . A few perks, like how much ammo you can carry and how hard you punch, can be upgraded endlessly, giving you even more flexibility in your build. A set of five new skills introduced near the end of the game indulge a bit more ridiculousness, giving you fun powers like a double jump and limited-time berserker strength. 

Now when I swing my spiked baseball bat at a rampaging bear it sails comically through the air. The Far Cry games have always cast you as an army of one, but New Dawn turns you into a legit superhero. These powers are novel for a bit, but feel a little unnecessary when I'm already able to insta-kill with stealth takedowns and spawn an endless supply of helicopters.

Combat is the same frantic and fun gunplay as in the past few Far Cry games. Vehicles and barrels explode, fire spreads across grass and trees, enemies recklessly charge and scream and bombard you with mortars or light you up with flamethrowers, with the occasional wild animal or friendly citizen getting caught up in the chaos. Speaking of wild animals, my loyal boar Horatio compliments my ranged attacks as a tank, scattering screaming Highwaymen like bowling pins so I can more easily pick them off with my sniper rifle before running in to clean up with my shotgun or knife.

The longer a companion is with you, the more skills they develop, and midway through New Dawn my big pig (really the only companion I used) was even able to self-revive himself, meaning I could turn him loose without having to keep an eye him. Plus, Horatio has lots of personality, paddling around in the water while I'm fishing and sometimes falling asleep and snoring softly while I'm hanging out in Prosperity. You can co-op New Dawn with a friend, but seeing an enraged boar headbutt a truck onto its side is pretty priceless.

Your arsenal is meant to look like improvised, ramshackle weapons—silencers look like bottles, your sniper scope has a plumbing valve on it—but the post-apocalyptic vibe is only skin deep. Ammo and crafting resources are so plentiful you never feel like you're scavenging, just shopping. Cars may be rusty and covered with warpaint, but I never felt like Mad Max. You have a seriously OP crossbow that shoots rebounding circular saw blades that can take down several enemies at once, though I'm disappointed it doesn't shear off limbs or cut dudes in half. What's the point of flying saw blades if you're not detaching heads from bodies?

County lines

There are plenty of familiar landmarks on this smaller version of the map (radiation has closed off a portion of it) and several familiar (yet older) characters from the last game are still around. I think we're meant to feel a bit wistful about Hope County—a quest has you collecting old photographs to help you remember what the landscape looked like before the bombs—but it's hard to feel like there's much difference between the world's chaotic past and present, and Far Cry 5 was only just last year so it's not exactly a nostalgia trip. You can make a few expeditions out of Montana, raiding larger and more imaginative enemy outposts off the main map, like an aircraft carrier on the coast, a ruined amusement park in Louisiana, and even Alcatraz. 

These expeditions are much more challenging than outposts in that they spawn unlimited enemies until you escape via a timed chopper rescue, so they can't be taken down by stealth alone—the bad guys will find you. Plus, you can't just glide to safety in your wingsuit when things don't go your way: these are self-contained excursions that you either pass or fail. You can escape with loot or die and do the whole thing over, which gives expeditions a bit of tension.

The big bads of New Dawn, twin sisters Mickey and Lou, are so inconsequential I almost forgot to mention them. Unlike the Seed family in Far Cry 5, they aren't constantly subjecting you to long, drawn out speeches (thank you). The twins only appear a few times, and mostly just issue brief threats over the radio to remind you they exist. It's considerate of them to basically leave you alone while you completely dismantle their entire army, but it makes your final showdown with them just another bullet-sponge bossfight.

I completed the main story quest of Far Cry New Dawn in about a dozen hours, and spent a few more mopping up side-quests and exploring. It's brief compared to Far Cry 5, and completable without fully upgrading Prosperity to access the highest levels of gear and vehicles (though you'll definitely want to unlock the best weapons). While it's good fun at times, New Dawn is really just a quick trip back to Far Cry 5's Montana that hasn't changed much beyond a post-apocalyptic paint job.