Yes, but the bombs would have dropped regardless. So still the same end result.

Supposedly, the game was supposed to have a lot more atmospheric storytelling. Radios playing in the background, with news reports about rising tensions between the US and some nuclear state. Newspapers left laying around with headlines of nuclear war brewing. TVs playing with reporters talking about some country (Iran or North Korea, maybe?) developing nukes.

These were supposed to be scattered all over the place in ways that the player would obviously cross paths with them. The cult was less “doomsday prepping for no reason” and more “doomsday prepping because they think it’s soon”.

But Ubisoft being Ubisoft, they cut a lot of content because they wanted to launch the game sooner.

I don't think the nuclear explosion was related to Joseph Seed. He was just a "prophet," claiming the end times were here. The nukes were going to happen regardless, he was just trying to save as many people as he could, whether they wanted to be saved or not. He was the villain, but only in an "ends justify the means" sense. In the end, he was actually right; the world did fall to nuclear holocaust.

I personally really enjoyed New Dawn, but it gets a lot of hate from the community. Maybe because each Far Cry game is a completely unique game, and New Dawn is just a continuation of Far Cry 5. I read a lot of reviews that said it didn't bring anything new to the franchise. Of course! It's just part 2 of a previous game! You get to see what the world is like 17 years after the events of Project Eden, so the map is the same and a lot of the gameplay mechanics are the same. You do have a community that you're trying to build up; restoring order and safety amongst survivors of the nuclear fallout, so that's unique.

One thing I didn't like was that your character from Far Cry 5 (the Deputy) makes an appearance in New Dawn. Turns out they've been brainwashed by Joseph Seed after spending 17 years trapped in a bunker alone with him, so they're fiercely loyal to Joseph now. Fortunately, Joseph is not the enemy in this game. You actually ally with Joseph's new group New Eden, so the Deputy (now called The Judge) becomes a gun-for-hire.

I did not like Primal. I played a couple hours of it and just couldn't get into it. It's more of a survival game than a Far Cry game. You have to craft everything to survive and you have a stamina bar that depletes unless you regularly eat and sleep. Fast-traveling takes a huge chunk out of stamina, which is annoying and defeats the purpose of "fast" traveling, but I guess it's realistic.

Unlike most Far Cry games where you're isolated in a region, trying to overthrow a dictator-wannabe or something, Primal is more about building a community and eventually becoming chief of your own tribe. Sure, there are other tribes to fight against, but it just felt weird not having a solid objective besides surviving. Maybe there's more plot to it and I just didn't play enough to get into it.

I still haven't played Far Cry 3 and Blood Dragon. I own both of them and I've been meaning to get around to it. I'm an '80s child, so I love the retro-futuristic aesthetic of Blood Dragon. Are they related in story at all, or is Blood Dragon just a standalone expansion for Far Cry 3? If it's unrelated to Far Cry 3's plot, I might just jump into it and check it out.