Every Far Cry Game, Ranked By Map Size

Summary

• Far Cry games vary in map sizes, with some smaller like Blood Dragon, and bigger like Far Cry 6.
• Far Cry 3 offers a balanced map size, while New Dawn’s action is concentrated over a smaller area.
• Far Cry 5 and Far Cry 6 have large maps, but fan feedback may shape future map sizes.

When jumping into a brand-new Far Cry game, players can expect to explore a vast open world packed full of quests to complete, outposts to liberate, and of course, plenty of radio towers to climb. However, getting the perfect size of a map down can be easier said than done, considering Ubisoft, on occasion, has made some of their games a little exhausting and bloated when the map is too big for players to handle.

Thankfully, the Far Cry series tends to avoid this, at least most of the time, since while many entries feature massive explorable areas, they tend to be just the right size to keep players engaged without overwhelming them. Still, these sizes vary quite a bit for each entry, with a bigger map usually correlating to more overall content, so with that being said, it’s time to uncover which of the games in this beloved series gives players the most freedom through their maps. Before jumping in, this list will only consider the playable area rather than the map as a whole, since many parts are restricted from the player’s access.

8

Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon

Size: 4 Square Miles

Considering Blood Dragon was only designed to be a quirky standalone expansion to Far Cry 3, it makes sense why the map is the smallest in the series. Blood Dragon is more centered around chaotic gunplay rather than its open world, which is why players will spend most of a playthrough walking through small neon-lit corridors and blasting apart anyone who gets close with their wild assortment of weapons.

As a result, Blood Dragon has become somewhat of a refined taste, but so long as players going into it know that it’s not designed to be on the same scale as Far Cry 3, they won’t be disappointed, as it’s still a ton of fun to play, especially in short sessions.

7

Far Cry: New Dawn

Size: 5 Square Miles

While Far Cry: New Dawn is based on the aftermath of Far Cry 5, where Hope County was decimated by an atomic bomb blast, it doesn’t allow players to explore quite as much as the original game due to the lingering radiation. Instead, in order to feed into the game’s short story and fast-paced gameplay, the center of Hope County has been carved out, giving players a good amount of ground to cover, while removing some of the more agricultural areas like the mountains that were seen in the original game.

This essentially keeps all the action more concentrated in a single area, meaning players won’t be able to cruise around for more than a minute or two before coming up against some nasty raiders along their journey. For those who enjoy the chaotic action of Far Cry and aren’t as concerned with exploration, New Dawn’s map is the perfect size, but for others, it can end up being just a bit too cluttered.

6

Far Cry 3

Size: 19 Square Miles

The game that many credit for ushering Far Cry into the mainstream may seem to have a fairly small game map by today’s standards, but back in 2012, the Rook Islands felt like an endless stretch of land packed full of weapons, vehicles, and secrets to uncover. While Jason’s initial mission is to save his friends from captivity, Far Cry 3 encourages players to get ‘lost’ in the gorgeous jungles of the island, as the game toys with the idea that Jason begins losing his mind and starts becoming more of a ruthless killer the longer he explores.

Since this was the first time Ubisoft experimented with their now well-known open-world formula, it means they didn’t go too overboard with towers and outposts. Therefore, while a decent portion of the map is dedicated to these tasks, there’s also more than enough room for hunting, which is a huge part of the core gameplay loop.

5

Far Cry 2

Size: 19 Square Miles

In the first few hours of Far Cry 2, it can be easy to want to hop into a truck and go exploring the beautiful sun-drenched African environment, but because the protagonist catches Malaria pretty early on, it’s not quite as easy to go sightseeing. As players explore the fairly big map of Far Cry 2, grabbing diamonds and taking out rebel camps as they go, they will also need to seek out Malaria Pills to keep their condition in check.

This gives the gameplay a sense of tension where players feel like they must move on to the next area as quickly as possible. However, the dedication to immersion, such as with the in-game map being a physical item rather than a menu, for example, paired with the stunning visuals, still makes Far Cry 2’s world feel fully realized and memorable.

4

Far Cry: Primal

Size: 19 Square Miles

Because Far Cry Primal is based in the Stone Age where ravenous animals and tribes still ruled the land, it makes exploration quite a bit more difficult in this game than in many of the other entries. At first, players will have little more than a sharp spear to keep them protected out in the wilderness, but they will eventually be able to acquire companions and new abilities to keep the sabertooth tigers and mammoths from getting too close for comfort.

The Oros Valley, which is the setting for the game, is a large lawless patch of land that players will need to fight for if they want any chance of protecting their clan. While getting around may be a bit trickier than usual with the lack of vehicles, it really isn’t much of a problem considering how many useful tools and resources are scattered around each new area, incentivizing players to venture through as much of the valley on foot as possible.

3

Far Cry 4

Size: 22 Square Miles

The nation of Kyrat is one of the most jaw-dropping settings in all of gaming from a visual standpoint. Being based on the Himalayan Mountains, there’s a real vibrancy to Kyrat which helps bring the entire area to life thanks to the use of bright colors that can be seen splashed across the natural landscapes, alongside the traditional architecture.

Ubisoft decided to pack the missions and areas a little closer together for Far Cry 4 compared to its predecessor, so while the map itself is a little bigger, there’s also a lot more content to get stuck into. While players can decide to hop into a helicopter or go paragliding to get from A to B, it can be well worth driving around Kyrat instead to admire all the natural beauty it has to offer.

2

Far Cry 5

Size: 23 Square Miles

Ubisoft decided to get pretty ambitious when creating Far Cry 5, not just with the larger-than-life story and characters, but also the new setting of Hope County. Based in the dazzling hills of Montana, players will find plenty of scenic routes to admire while taking down plenty of Peggies along the ride. However, while it’s not uncommon to run into a tranquil river or a peaceful hiking spot, the map is also littered with enemy bases, which will appear in each of the three regions.

Speaking of the regions, the reason the map in Far Cry 5 is so massive is that it’s split between Joseph’s three subordinates. Each one has put their own spin on their patch of land, which adds a lot of diversity to the environment, such as Faith’s area being covered in Bliss factories and mindless husks, while Jacob’s has propaganda stations set up around every corner so he can spout his corrupt ideology to his followers.

1

Far Cry 6

Size: 34 Square Miles

The staggering scope of Far Cry 6’s map has resulted in the game facing a similar problem to another of Ubisoft’s titles, Assassin’s Creed Odyssey. In both games, the maps have been so big that they have divided fanbases. With Far Cry 6, some fans felt there was no need for the map to be this big considering there hasn’t been enough added content to justify it, but those who enjoy the area of Yara as an environment would come to enjoy how much of it there is to admire.

However, by the time Far Cry 6 was released, Ubisoft had become masters at implementing their open-world formula, meaning they ensured that much of the map was still filled with extra tasks, quests, and outposts to ensure things never felt too slow or predictable. With that being said, though, whether or not Ubisoft will decide to go even larger, or will respond to fan feedback by minimizing the map for Far Cry 7, only time will tell.