Summary

  • Fa Cry 7 is rumored to introduce a time limit as a central feature, potentially leading to new difficulty settings.
  • Current standard difficulty settings may be replaced or complemented by options linked to the timer in Far Cry 7.
  • Far Cry 7's possible time limit could pave the way for more distinct difficulty options to align with the new direction.

Far Cry has been hiding in the shadows for three years and counting now. Since the sixth mainline game was released back in 2021, developer Ubisoft has offered very little regarding its plans for the next Far Cry game. Far Cry 6 saw a largely lukewarm reception, with players and critics pointing out that the franchise had begun to seem more than a little stale and uninspired in its design and gameplay. Many are thus hoping that the next entry, whenever it shows itself, will be a shot in the arm for Far Cry and mark a return to the innovation that the franchise was once praised for.

With the lack of any official information about the seventh installment, various details from other sources have emerged, some of which suggest major changes in store for Far Cry. One of the most persistent and prominent among these being that Far Cry 7 is rumored to introduce an in-game time limit as a central narrative and mechanical feature. While Ubisoft remains tight-lipped about the validity of this, it hasn't stopped fans from speculating on how it would work in light of series standards. And if it is indeed going down this route, it provides an opportunity for Far Cry 7 to adjust its difficulty options accordingly to align with the idea.

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Far Cry's Difficulty Settings Have Been Standard FPS Fare

Though some entries have varied slightly, most of the titles so far have given fans the option to choose from a tier of three difficulties. Playing on either easy, medium, or hard affected the damage that enemies dealt to players and received, something that is pretty standard and expected in most FPS. And though there isn't anything inherently wrong with this, as it's a fundamental aspect of the genre, Far Cry 7's possible time limiter creates the space for different and ??more ?????interesting difficulty types that could go hand-in-hand with it.

Far Cry: New Dawn experimented with difficulty by having its enemies have health bars and often requiring specialized ammo types to more effectively eliminate.

How Far Cry 7's Rumored Time Limit Could Pave the Path to More Distinct Difficulty Options

Far Cry 3 is generally credited with providing the template that each subsequent release followed, including difficulty sliders. Over time, though, this blueprint felt increasingly rote, leading to the general sentiment that Far Cry 7 will need to change up the previous formula in some significant ways if Ubisoft hopes to distinguish the next title for the modern generation, and shake off some of the dust that the series has often perceived to have accumulated.

Though they remain rumors for now, Far Cry 7's possible nonlinear design along with the time limit have already been contentious among fans, as they risk veering too far away from the series' core identity. However, if the time limit and nonlinear aspects turn out to be the case for Far Cry 7, then this could come with a similar shift in difficulty options to accommodate the new direction and player preferences. Instead of the standard options mentioned above, Far Cry 7's difficulties could be directly related to the timer, allowing fans to adjust them so that the timer counts down slower or faster if they so choose.

Far Cry 7 could also cover both bases by including two separate sets of sliders, one for traditional difficulties and another to specifically modify the timer. This would assist in alleviating some of the misgivings fans may have about the timer and the pressure it might add while keeping the other standard intact. By either replacing the previous difficulty settings with ones related to a timer, or having both, this could help Far Cry 7 to break from established elements and strike a good balance between staying true to its roots and making notable innovations.