Far Cry really has done it all: a two-decade-long span of sequels set across the world, a wide range of spin-offs, and a movie adaptation. The franchise even dove into the realm of anime last year, with Captain Laserhawk: A Blood Dragon Remix bringing the neon-tinged, tongue-in-cheek world of Far Cry: Blood Dragon to Netflix. As shown in the trailer video above, we can now celebrate 20 years of Far Cry, revisiting the journey from Far Cry 1 in 2004 to Far Cry 6 in 2021.

The Far Cry series has become a fixture of Ubisoft’s lineup, quickly accumulating a long lineage of games for players to dig through. Below, we’ll carve through this lengthy history, listing every game in release order and offering newcomers a recommendation of the best place to start.

Excluding remasters and ports, there are 13 Far Cry games – 12 on home console/PC and one on mobile devices. Far Cry VR: Dive Into Insanity is also excluded given its lack of accessibility — it cannot be played at home, only at Zero Latency VR locations.

Thanks to plenty of ports on modern consoles, Far Cry is a series with a ton of viable jumping-off points. Far Cry 3, 4, 5 and 6 can all be purchased on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC, and considering each of these games are very similar in mechanics and design, they should give you a good taste of Far Cry’s approach to open-world gameplay.

That being said, Far Cry 3 and 4 are largely considered the strongest of the bunch and are great entry points for those looking to sink their teeth into the series. Either option will provide a glimpse of Far Cry at its best.

These blurbs contain mild spoilers for each game, including characters, settings, and story beats.

The birth of the series, and the only entry developed by Crytek, Far Cry hit PC in 2004 and later made its way to Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Slotting players into the boots of former special forces operative Jack Carver, Far Cry takes place on a group of remote tropical islands swarming with trigger-happy mercenaries.

Trapped on the sunny locale’s shores after his boat is met with artillery strikes, Jack is forced to face his pursuers and embark on an adventure across the danger-filled archipelago, searching for a journalist he was escorting who mysteriously disappeared. Much like later games in the series, Far Cry focused largely on tense gun fights, stealth, and using open-ended environments to get the drop on enemies.

Platforms: PC, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3

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In 2005, Ubisoft Montreal took over development duties on Far Cry, releasing a remake of the original game titled Far Cry: Instincts. It was exclusive to Xbox and followed the same story as the original, albeit with a fresh coat of paint and a handful of new mechanics.

Included was a trap system, which allowed players to booby trap objects to catch enemies by surprise, as well as new Feral Abilities, which gave Jack thermal vision, a powerful melee attack, increased running speed, and several other game-changing perks.

Platforms: Xbox

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A year later, Ubisoft released the first Far Cry sequel, Far Cry Instincts: Evolution. A direct follow-up to the story of Far Cry: Instincts, Evolution resumes the story of Jack Carver, who finds himself once again stranded on a tropical island after an arms deal gone wrong.

Framed for a murder he didn’t commit, Jack finds himself on a mission to clear his name, going up against a mysterious native chieftain and his band of fierce rebels. Alongside its fresh campaign, Evolution added additional weapons and vehicles, as well as a new slate of multiplayer maps and level-editor items.

Platforms: Xbox

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In December 2006, Ubisoft released its first Far Cry game on the Wii. Titled Far Cry Vengeance, it was something of a reimagining of Far Cry Instincts: Evolution, telling a similar but slightly altered story in which protagonist Jack Carver is arrested before he can make his way to the aforementioned arms deal.

The biggest difference, however, isFar Cry Vengeance offered a full suite of motion controls. Using the Wiimote, players could aim guns and perform melee attacks. The game also featured a split-screen versus mode, although Evolution’s online multiplayer and level editor didn’t make the cut.

Platforms: Wii

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Two years later, Ubisoft Montreal shifted the Far Cry series away from its supernatural origins, opting for a grittier, more grounded Far Cry 2. The sequel took the franchise to an unspecified country in Africa, casting players as a gun-for-hire sent to find and kill an arms dealer known as the Jackal.

Arriving during an ongoing civil war, the protagonist quickly realizes catching the Jackal will require playing both sides of the conflict, prompting them to exploit the power struggle to close in on their target. Far Cry 2 was a major change of pace for the franchise, focusing on brutal combat and tough moral choices within a fully open world. Among the new mechanics was a buddy system, where players could team with AI companions who would assist them on missions.

Platforms: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC (2008)

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A tie-in to the console release of the sequel, developer Gameloft released a mobile adaptation of Far Cry 2 in the months following the base game’s launch. It was a loose retelling of the events reframed as a top-down, 2D shooter.

Much like the original game, players arrive in Africa to take down the Jackal, going on missions and teaming with AI partners. Due to technical restraints, the mobile port of Far Cry 2 doesn’t feature an open world, focusing on linear levels and hubs you can explore between contracts.

Platforms: Mobile

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Four years after Far Cry 2, Ubisoft returned for the franchise’s most defining entry to date: Far Cry 3. Following new protagonist Jason Brody, the game begins with a holiday from hell, as Jason and his group of friends’ skydiving trip lands them on a remote island occupied by an army of pirates.

Kidnapped by their leader, the eccentric but ruthless Vaas (played by Better Call Saul’s Michael Mando), Jason manages to escape and join up with a local rebel militia opposing Vaas and his men. With his friends still captured, Jason begins an adventure to find them and escape the island in one piece, all the while being relentlessly pursued by Vaas.

Far Cry 3 was, in a lot of ways, a turning point for the franchise, introducing several elements that went on to become staples of the series. From radio towers that reveal the map and enemy outposts the player can liberate, to the introduction of a sinister lead villain that lives to chew the scenery, Far Cry 3 was the foundation of the Far Cry formula as we know it today.

Platforms: Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PC

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A year on from the release of Far Cry 3, Ubisoft launched a standalone spin-off titled Blood Dragon. Taking the series in a new, neon-infused direction, Blood Dragon was a tongue-in-cheek parody of cheesy ‘80s sci-fi action flicks, casting players as a one-liner spitting cyborg badass known as Sergeant Rex Colt.

Sent on a revenge mission to kill his former commander, Colonel Sloan, the game drops Colt into an open-world dystopian future, where he uses his arsenal of futuristic weaponry to carve a war path through cyborgs, robot sharks, and dragons that can shoot lasers from their eyes. Blood Dragon was the first of several Far Cry spin-offs which took the series to imaginative new settings. It even went on to inspire an anime series called Captain Laserhawk: A Blood Dragon Remix.

Platforms: Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PC

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A year after Blood Dragon, Ubisoft released Far Cry 4, the next major installment in the franchise. Set in the snowy Himalayan mountains, players are cast as Ajay. Traveling to the fictional country of Kyrat to scatter his mother’s ashes, Ajay’s journey is cut short after his bus is raided by Pagan Min, a ruthless but immaculately dressed dictator who has a special interest in Ajay and his mission.

Returning to Pagan Min’s palace, Ajay manages to escape, fleeing into the countryside of Kyrat and joining the rebels in fighting back against their oppressor. As his battle against Pagan Min rages on, Ajay uncovers more about his heritage, slowly learning his mother’s past could be directly linked to the war that devastates the country.

Far Cry 4 largely built off the foundation established in Far Cry 3, adding campaign co-op, rideable elephants, a grappling hook, and a helicopter that could be used to raise hell from above.

Platforms: Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PC

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A spin-off from the mainline games, Far Cry Primal followed in the footsteps of Blood Dragon and reframed Far Cry in a wildly different setting, taking players to the prehistoric age. Centring on a hunter named Takkar, the story begins with the protagonist’s hunting party being wiped out by a sabertooth tiger, leaving him to walk the valley alone.

Determined to reunite with the other members of his clan, he sets forth on a perilous adventure, clashing with two rival tribes seeking to eradicate Takkar and his allies. Taking away the modern technology of previous Far Cry games and limiting players to clubs, bows, and other primitive weaponry, Far Cry Primal forced players to survive deadly animals, hazardous environments, and fierce rival tribes.

Platforms: Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC

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With Primal in the rearview mirror, Ubisoft moved on to the next mainline entry in the Far Cry series, Far Cry 5. Moving the franchise to rural Montana, the franchise’s fifth entry unleashed players in the fictional wilderness of Hope County, playing as a nameless police deputy tracking an extremist cult known as Eden’s Gate.

Beginning with a player and a small squad of sheriffs attempting to arrest the cult’s leader – the sadistic zealot Joseph Seed – their mission descends into chaos after Seed’s followers free him and leave the player stranded in the wilderness. Vowing to rescue their allies and bring Seed and his lieutenants to justice, the players begin a journey across Hope County, slowly learning more about the cult’s leaders and the sinister, world-ending plot they’re concocting.

Far Cry 5 introduced several new ideas to the Far Cry formula, with players now able to fully customize their character, complete a non-linear main campaign, and, most importantly, recruit a friendly grizzly bear named Cheeseburger.

Platforms: Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC

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A direct sequel to Far Cry 5, New Dawn hit consoles in 2019, envisioning an apocalyptic version of Hope County after it was struck by nuclear bombs during the previous game’s climax. Set seventeen years later, the game follows a player-created captain who, alongside other Hope County survivors, belongs to a settlement known as Prosperity.

As New Dawn begins, Prosperity finds its existence threatened by a group known as the Highway Men, who seek to take over Hope County and eradicate its various factions. Searching for a means to fight back against their new enemies, the captain ventures across Hope County, eventually making contact with a powerful hidden settlement led by the man who destroyed the world: Joseph Seed.

Much like Blood Dragon and Primal, New Dawn was a reframing of Far Cry’s formula, this time dropping the game into a post-apocalyptic setting. It included new, mutated foes; the addition of supernatural abilities; and a mode called Expeditions, which allowed players to head to other parts of the U.S. to complete contracts.

Platforms: Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC

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