Okay, I think Ive played enough to post my thoughts
Game has a better set-up than previous Far Crys. I always found the choice for the protagonists to stay in their designated sandbox to be flimsy at best (Jasons lost his when he rescued his friends and dont even get me started on Ajay) Takkar has to establish a foothold for himself and for his people, so Im not rolling my eyes at my mucking about in the sandbox because it all ultimately goes back to helping his tribe.
Then theres the village management. Im a sucker for watching my stronghold grow when it comes to videogames (Suikoden etc) so this is a good way of getting my invested in the plot. Its by no means settlement building ala Fallout 4 but watching the village grow with upgrades still fills me with a bit pride. You can increase the number of people in your tribe by undergoing random tasks around the map (think saving Prisoners in Far Cry 4) and if you succeed, they join you. Judging by the village screen, you can recruit a maximum of 300 people (with certain milestones netting you passive perks) I havent yet counted the number of people walking in my village to confirm if 50 people rescued = 50 NPCs walking around.
There are special story-related tribesmen that you have to seek out and do story missions before they join you back at the base whereas theyll expect you to build them their own huts to unlock their skill trees (of which there are 8)
Which brings me to my next point resources. Youre going to be farming a lot of resources to do just about anything in this game, from upgrading your trainers huts to crafting weapons in the field. Your own tribe will deposit some materials in your stash every day but so far, theyve given me nothing but low-level trash. Ive yet to upgrade my bow
what the heck is a south stone?
If theres a con I have to pin on this game, its this
Detective Mode. Ah yes, my old enemy returns. Takkars version of Detective Mode, called Hunter Vision, is too indispensable. It highlights the various wildlife that are otherwise difficult to see through the thicket (good luck spotting that bird you need to farm for feathers) and thats not mentioning the rocks, plants and other resources. If you found an animal whose skin you need, injured it and it runs away, you can use Hunter Vision to track it down by following a trail of blood. Because of this, Im almost always in Hunter Vision and going through the game in monochrome can get old real fast.