Far Cry 5 is a well-traveled series and one that has more or less stuck to its familiar conventions for the last several outings. Things are going to be changing according to the game’s lead writer Drew Holmes, who told Gaming Bolt that the developers are looking to "increase exploration" with Far Cry 5.
On the topic of the Tower removal, Holmes said:
"I think in Far Cry 3 and Far Cry 4 you got into a rhythm of, 'the only way that I can find out what to do in this area is to go climb a tower, hit a button and all of these things pop up.' We really wanted to focus on exploration with a sense of, 'I'm not sure what to do or where to go'."
Homes continued, "So the goal really was to get rid of the towers as a way of forcing me to interact with the people, pay attention to my surroundings. And sort of intuitively figure out, 'well, if there’s a town here, there’s a gas station down the road,' so everything sort of feels like a believable world."
The removal of the mini-map shifts the player's attention from the corner of the screen and challenges the art department with "making sure there are good landmarks to orient yourself," says Holmes.
It's worth noting that The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild did just this with its open world, and it has maintained its hold on the highest rated game of the year to this point. If Far Cry 5 can similarly evolve its open-world design, the series will be better for it.
Far Cry 5 releases on PC, PS4, and Xbox One next year on February 27th, 2018.
Source: [Gaming Bolt]