Far Cry TV Show Is Ubisoft’s Most Risky Disaster Yet – No Player Control, Just Bad TV
Hello everyone. So Ubisoft, in their eternal quest to fling every conceivable IP at a screen – big, small, or the back of a microwave – has decided the time is right for a Far Cry TV show. Yes, that’s right. The series best known for charismatic lunatics, endless animal skinning, and blowing up fuel tanks with weapons that feel about as overpowered as a level 99 RPG mage in a tutorial zone… is about to be turned into an “anthology” drama on FX. And who’s your lead and co-creator? Rob Mac, the man behind the chaos of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, teamed up with none other than Fargo’s Noah Hawley. Because when I think of tropical gunfights and insane despots, I definitely think “black comedy bar in Philly” and “bleak Midwestern murder mystery.”
FX – The Right Fit or Just Another Streaming Surgery Gone Wrong?
Now, FX does have a knack for tonally daring pieces. Their “house style” is gritty, raw, sometimes intentionally absurd. And sure, it could work. If by “work” you mean capture maybe half the blood-soaked chaos of Far Cry without any of the joy in actually playing it. See, Far Cry is an experience – you crawl through scrub brush, strategically tag enemies, pull off your perfect stealth play, and then inevitably blow your own cover because you “accidentally” wanted to test what happens if you shoot a gas tank point-blank with an RPG. Spoiler: it’s fun. Translating that to television is like giving me a patient to diagnose without the stethoscope – you’re missing the crucial tool that makes the job satisfying.
Ubisoft’s TV Gold Rush Conspiracy
It doesn’t take a tinfoil hat (although I own several, because you never know when Ubisoft’s marketing department will start broadcasting DLC pricing directly into your skull) to see what’s going on here. Ubisoft has smelled Netflix money, Amazon Prime residuals, and Hulu handouts. This is part of the “games as IP farms” movement. Assassin’s Creed gets a series, The Division’s probably next, and Far Cry is the perfect candidate because – plot twist – every entry is a blank slate. Fresh character each time, fresh lunatic with a manifesto, fresh wallet to upgrade and animals to poach. No continuity baggage means less angry fan backlash when your casting choices don’t resemble the polygons in the source material.
Rob Mac as Lead – Inspired or Infected?
Look, Rob Mac is hilarious. But starring in an anthology series about cult leaders and freedom fighters? That’s like appointing a bartender to run your surgical wing because he once watched an episode of ER. Yes, maybe he’ll bring a manic, unpredictable energy that meshes well with Far Cry’s tone, but there’s a risk – a big one – that FX ends up with a product that’s neither fish nor fowl. Or rather, it’s a fish wearing a leather jacket trying to sell you a pyramid scheme. Entertaining? Possibly. Faithful to the series’ pitch of “sandbox chaos simulator”? Don’t bet your exotic animal pelts on it.
The Big Challenge – Replacing the Player’s Hand
The heart of Far Cry is agency. You decide whether to walk away, snipe from 200 meters, or strap C4 to a jeep and send it into an enemy base like the world’s most explosive Uber Eats delivery. In TV, the decisions aren’t yours. You can’t reload after missing a headshot. You can’t dive into the map to find a side-quest because the main one has you bored out of your skull. Stripping away that agency might leave the show as just another violent drama with exotic backdrops and a villain demanding you listen to his nihilistic TED Talk for the fifteenth time.
Verdict – Ubisoft’s Next Big Screen Respawn?
There’s a faint whiff of potential here, I’ll give them that. Hawley knows how to weave a story, FX has guts, and Rob Mac’s unpredictability could be infectious in the right dose. But if Ubisoft doesn’t realize that the gameplay is the soul of Far Cry, they’ll end up with another dull, overproduced, creatively neutered adaptation destined for the bargain bin of streaming content.
Overall impression? Cautiously pessimistic. This could be as exhilarating as wingsuit-flying over a burning jungle – or as disastrous as running out of ammo in the middle of a Komodo dragon attack. The dice are rolling, and we’ll see soon enough if this show crits for damage or whiffs entirely.
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is entirely my opinion.
Article source: Mac From It’s Always Sunny Is Making A Far Cry Show, https://kotaku.com/far-cry-fx-tv-fargo-alien-earth-ubisoft-always-sunny-2000616856
