Ubisoft’sFar Cry 3: Blood Dragonis a fascinating game in a series rife with interesting and formidable titles. Released as a standalone expansion forFar Cry 3, which is arguably the most influential entry in the broader series,Blood Dragonpositioned theFar Cryformulain an entirely new light, showing that it can be an exceptional experience when its developers are free to run wild.
Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon’s premise is rather simple: take the overworld ofFar Cry 3and inject it with pulpy sci-fi action tropes inspired by 1980s films likeRepo ManandTotal Recall. The story ofBlood Dragonis, quite frankly, nonsense, but that’s a big reason why it is so beloved: it isn’t trying to be serious, subversive, or pretentious. In addition to not taking itself too seriously,Blood Dragon’s neon-drenched aesthetic and streamlined gameplay systems made it a nice palette-cleanser after the content-rich, expansiveFar Cry 3. In a sense, it is a more digestible and high-octane spin on theFar Cryformula, cranking up the dial on the series' power fantasy elements and freedom, and leaning away from the self-serious narratives and granular gameplay systems of its predecessors.
Ubisoft seems to have retained some fondness forBlood Dragon, as a 2016 DLC forTrials Fusionserves as a spin-off of the game, and theNetflix seriesCaptain Laserhawk: A Blood DragonRemixwas released in 2023. However, a true sequel remains unseen.
Far Cry: Blood Dragon Should Make a Comeback
A New Blood Dragon Game Could Be Just What Far Cry Needs
Much likeAssassin’s Creedbefore the transformativeAssassin’s Creed Origins, theFar Cryseries has been criticized for lacking innovation and being too risk-averse. Indeed, like many for-profit companies, Ubisoft understandably favors what has already been proven to work, and in the case ofFar Cry, that’s beenthe formula established byFar Cry 3. One could, in fact, view every post-FC3release as an attempt to recreate the success of that seminal 2013 title.
But this commitment to tradition has led to diminishing returns, with many fans of the franchise viewing each new release with increasing levels of exhaustion and disappointment. Even those who enjoy the likes ofFar Cry 6will readily admit that it does little to further the IP in any meaningful, creative way, sticking to the rubric outlined inFar Cry 3, sometimes to the point of self-plagiarism. There have been rumblings about potentiallycontroversial mechanical changes inFar Cry 7, but a proper successor toBlood Dragoncould really hammer home this push for innovation.
A Blood Dragon Successor Doesn’t Necessarily Need To Be ‘Blood Dragon 2’
In the interest of innovation and ingenuity, perhaps the best route for aBlood Dragonrevival would be more of a spiritual successor than a direct one. After all, ifFar Cryis receiving criticism for its lack of creativity, a simple rehashing of the firstBlood Dragon’s ideas wouldn’t do much good. And ifUbisoft were to develop a more loosely connected sequel, it would allow for much-needed improvements on the original’s bold ideas.
Maybe the next “Blood Dragon” could actually offer a high-fantasy spin on theFar Crytemplate, or a more robust science-fiction world to engage with. One of the most heavily critiqued elements ofBlood Dragonwas its somewhat juvenile, grating sense of humor, so perhaps a pivot in tone could be advisable as well. Whatever route Ubisoft were to take in this hypothetical scenario, it’s clear that there’s potential inmore outlandishFar Cryspin-offs, so the studio shouldn’t pass up the chance to realize it.
Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon
WHERE TO PLAY
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