Everything that we have seen of Just Cause 4 so far has suggested that it’s going to have the same brand of chaotic sandbox action that Just Cause is known for. However, what we’ve seen of its world suggests that, at least on that front, things are going to be a little more different, a little more varied, and a lot bigger than previous titles.
According to Avalanche Studios’ Francesco Antolini, who’s the upcoming open world title’s director, that’s definitely the case. While speaking with the Official Xbox Magazine in their December issue (Issue 171), he said that Just Cause 4 is going to have a higher level of detail and more variety in its world than we’ve ever seen in a Just Cause game before, before claiming that the game is going to have “far deeper” mechanics and is going to be four times larger in terms of scope.
“The first thing you’ll notice is that we’ve stepped away from the ‘shopping list’ style of the previous two titles to offer a system that gives players greater autonomy, and at the same time is grounded in Solis’ narrative and Rico’s motivations,” Antolini said. “Solis itself is a world that’s quite different from the previous games: we’re back to South America, but with a level of detail and an amount of variety Just Cause has never seen before.”
“I joined Avalanche as Lead Designer on Just Cause 3, contributing to the opening of the then-new New York studio,” he continued. “The biggest learning from that experience has been in regards to the processes and ways to work together – and that getting that right is a first, fundamental step in making a studio a great studio. History can confirm that: successful and long-living studios are usually defined by a core team that has stuck together throughout the years, and sometimes by the fact that the team has focused on perfecting a single original IP or idea. The fact that Just Cause 4 packs more than four times the scope and far deeper mechanics of its predecessors tells us a lot about how changes in processes and mindset can actually benefit both creativity and production.”
Just Cause games have gotten increasingly better in terms of both, variety and scope with each successive entry, so it’s not hard to believe that Just Cause 4 is going to be similarly improved in those areas. What we have seen of it so far suggests that that is definitely going to be the case, which, perhaps, is evidenced most strongly by the game’s extreme weather mechanics. What this all hinges on is that unlike Just Cause 3, which had quite an abysmal launch (at least on consoles), Just Cause 4 doesn’t suffer from performance and technical issues and can actually do justice to its ambitions.
We’ll find out soon enough. Just Cause 4’s development was wrapped on not too long ago, and the game is scheduled for a launch on the PS4, Xbox One, and PC on December 4.
