Fallout 4 isn’t the only game getting a survival mode: Ubisoft has announced that something very similar, with a slightly different name, is coming to Far Cry Primal. Called, wait for it, “Survivor Mode,” it will add a number of new features that will make the game more difficult, and even make permadeath a selectable option.
“Permadeath,” to clarify, means that if and when you die—and let’s be honest, it’s “when,” not “if”—you don’t get to reload, you get to start a whole new game. Because the game you were playing is over. That’s perma, baby.
Even if you opt not to get quite that hardcore, Survivor mode promises to make the experience tougher in ways that go beyond simply turning enemies into more absorbent bullet sponges. The minimap will be turned off by default, the fog of war will be “strengthened,” movement will be limited by a stamina gauge, and fast travel will consume both stamina and food. Taming animals will be much more difficult too.
“Some animals will need to be brought down to half-life before they can be baited and tamed,” Ubisoft wrote. “Make sure to take care of your pets since animals who die are gone for good. While you can always tame another leopard or wolf, creatures like the Bloodfang Sabretooth can’t ever be brought back once lost.”
The Survivor Mode option, permadeath, and difficultly level will each be separately adjustable, so you can mix and match challenges as you see fit. Ubisoft promised a “special reward” for anyone who’s able to complete the game at Extreme difficulty, with Survivor Mode and perma-death activated—what it called “the hardest and most insane challenge possible for the game.”
The Far Cry Primal Survivor Mode will be added to the game in a patch coming on April 12. Ubisoft will demonstrate the new mode in a Twitch livestream on April 7.
