Far Cry: New Dawn is set in a colorful apocalypse, and it's coming soon

The premise, title, and box art may have been leaked earlier this week, but Far Cry: New Dawn, officially revealed at The Game Awards 2018 tonight, is still pretty surprising. The standalone sequel takes place several years after the events of Far Cry 5 and features many firsts for the series, including a post-apocalyptic setting and not one, but two female antagonists. Oh, and it's scheduled to release on February 15, 2019. 

*Far Cry 5 ending spoilers ahead* 

Far from the dreary, bombed-out tones that you might expect from a nuclear wasteland, Far Cry: New Dawn is a surprisingly bright and colorful post-apocalypse - though it does have plenty of ramshackle weapons and scrappy leather armor. Instead of Clickers or Deathclaws, we've got white deer with pink antlers and adorable, mossy bison. And this landscape extends far beyond Far Cry 5's Montana: the bomb that fell at the end of Far Cry 5 was apparently one of many. It's mighty pretty, but we're still dealing with a global nuclear apocalypse here.

You experience Far Cry: New Dawn as a new character - not the deputy from Far Cry 5, as the game's first teaser suggested. Your main enemy is a gang of ruthless scavengers called the Highwaymen, led by the no-doubt terrible Twins, the fierce women on the game's cover. Ol' Joseph Seed is still around, too, but exactly what he's up to is anyone's guess. 

In many ways, New Dawn looks and plays like Far Cry 5, but it looks like it'll up the ante with a greater focus on survival elements and online co-op. You can salvage gear and scrap to forge new weapons via a more involved crafting system, and you can also use the resources you find to build up your home base. As you do, you'll gain new abilities and allies, including some new animal friends from the look of it.  

We'll have more on Far Cry: New Dawn coming soon, so stay tuned for a closer look at the next chapter in the open-world series.