I realize Far Cry 5 has just come out (and I enjoyed it quite a bit), but the sooner ideas are posted before development on another begins, the better.
I've always felt Far Cry has had great combat, gunplay, and stealth mechanics, but also felt it could benefit from adopting more RPG elements from Fallout or Deus Ex, and allow players to get through situations through diplomacy instead of violence. This would not have worked in the past few Far Cry games because there were enemy factions, like cults and radicals, who would not have been turned by reason. This could be fixed by returning to a Far Cry 2 like setting, where there are multiple factions, but the player character begins neutral, and can either choose to work with, oppose, or manipulate the different factions.
One setting that could allow for this is a fictional country based on Yemen and Saudi Arabia. Yemen is fairly politically unstable country with inter-tribal conflicts, Saudi Arabian occupation, and foreign terrorist occupation. These different factions could allow for an interesting story and player options.
The player character could be an American or British journalist who becomes trapped in the country when a Coup occurs, and the new regime does not recognize the authority of foreign embassies. Additionally, the region is too unstable and dangerous for a rescue or evacuation. The player must find and rescue the members of the film crew and find a way to escape the country, but can video record events that occur between factions. The player can choose what events get broadcast to paint whatever picture of the conflicts they want to paint, or use the footages to persuade or manipulate the factions.
There would be a Deus Ex style dialogue system where the player must psychoanalyze a person and select the most effective persuasion tactics. The player can gain or lose trust with a faction based on their actions, i.e showing aggression, agreeing to carry out a mission, show or feign sympathy through dialogue, etc. Additionally, the player can choose whether their character actually sympathizes with a faction, simply uses a faction to achieve his or her own ends, or manipulate conflicts or induce peace between factions. Factions could include: CIA, Saudi Arabia-esque military (US allies, but questionable occupation in the country), two conflicting native tribes, and foreign occupying terrorist group like ISIS. The player chooses how they want to interact with each faction, and the story and endings would be affected by the choices.
The interactions with the factions will be what leads to either opportunities to escape the country, or ultimately choose to stay. Combat and stealth would largely remain the same, but there would be more emphasis on social interactions like in Fallout or Deus Ex.
Imagine having a large city based on Sanaa, Yemen in the South of the map, some villages, oases, desert, caves, and mountains regions scattered throughout, and a modern Dubai like city in the North of the map, with buildings to infiltrate, and rooftops to use the grappling hook, wingsuit, or parachute off of. I think that would be a cool setting.
What settings or ideas does anyone else have for the next Far Cry?


