About the game
Just Cause 4 is a 2018 action-adventure game developed by Avalanche Studios and published by Square Enix. It is the fourth game in the Just Cause series and the sequel to Just Cause 3. It was released for Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on December 4, 2018.
You play series hero Rico Rodriguez from a third-person view in Solis, a large fictional South American country with snowy mountains, deserts and extreme weather. Rico gets around with his wingsuit and grappling hook, which can now attach hot air balloons and rocket boosters to objects. A new wind and particle system affects the wingsuit, and the weather system brings blizzards, sandstorms and tornadoes. There are many vehicles and weapons, including a Wind Gun and a Lightning Gun, and a frontline system where rebels fight the Black Hand army at the edges of territory.
Rico arrives in Solis to take on the Black Hand, the world's biggest private army. He learns that his late father worked on Project Illapa, a weather weapon, and builds his own force called the Army of Chaos to bring it down.
The game uses a new version of Avalanche's Apex engine, with physics-based rendering and a new animation system, and the non-player characters were made to act more tactically. Square Enix External Studios helped with development. It was announced at Microsoft's E3 2018 conference and went gold on October 30, 2018. One gameplay sequence copies Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy and was made with Bennett Foddy, who narrates it.
Three DLC packs followed: Dare Devils of Destruction on April 30, 2019, Los Demonios on July 3, 2019 and Danger Rising on September 5, 2019.
Reviews were mixed or average. Critics praised the open-world gameplay, controls, graphics and soundtrack, and criticised the story, mission design, cutscenes and voice acting. Square Enix said it sold fewer copies than expected and did not cover its development costs.
The text above is adapted from Wikipedia and licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
What critics said
Individual reviews: Game Informer 8/10, IGN 7.9/10, GameSpot 6/10, PC Gamer (US) 73/100.
Extra content
Three DLC packs were released in 2019. Their achievements are part of the Xbox One list.
- Dare Devils of Destruction: Weaponized vehicles and challenge modes
- Los Demonios: Rico defends Solis against an invading demonic force
- Danger Rising: New missions against the Agency, and a hoverboard
Good to know
- Players criticised the game for a step back in graphics compared with earlier games, mainly simplified water effects and flat vegetation. Square Enix released a patch to ease this.
- Square Enix said Just Cause 4 sold fewer copies than expected, and its president named slow sales as a reason for low operating income in 2018.
- The achievement list has 61 entries worth 2500 gamerscore, including the three DLC packs. Moocifer is hidden.
- Classic Hits, for playing 15 minutes with only the Retract, is held by over 99 percent of players, the most common achievement on the list.
- Hover or Die, from the Danger Rising DLC, is held by under 1 percent of players.
Made by
Director Francesco Antolini, Developer Avalanche Studios.
