Is Far Cry a shooter or an RPG? Where do you draw the line between genres?

Far Cry games are open world but seem to be considered open world FPS games as opposed to RPGs. Fallout has guns but is considered an RPG and not FPS.

Also The Division had bullet sponge enemies which made people classify it as an MMORPG and not a third person shooter.

Where do you draw the line between different genres if a game has important elements in multiple genres?

mixing genres is good, creativity and pushing boundaries in conventional game design is good.

what is not good is boring game play REGARDLESS of what you call it

@cub: Deus Ex is a RPG in a First Person perspective

Far Cry is a FPS with light RPG elements

Play both and it's very clear on the differences

RPGs tend to rely on stats/ numbers, options for everything, and play a bigger part than skill. Despite skill still being something that can win with the right amount of patience. RPGs are all about gauges, not all viable, and most even hidden from the player.

FPS is more about your actual reflexes and timing, and while some RPGs also follow this to a degree it's not what gives them identity.

@RSM-HQ: That pretty much covers it.

RPG elements have made their way into most genres. It's usually makes for a better experience IMO.

interesting question. i think as lines between genres increasingly blur, its the association with previous games in a series that can influence a game's classification.

fallout and mass effect for example are series which started life as more traditional rpgs, but with each new instalment the balance between rpg and shooter has skewed further and further towards shooters. they're still classed as rpgs but whether that's entirely appropriate now is debatable.

maybe the same is true with far cry. it started out as a shooter but has seen an increasing number of rpg elements introduced over time. i can't say for sure as i don't like ubisoft games so haven't played any of the recent far cry games

I still consider the Far Cry games as more of an FPS. An example of a shooter that behaves more like an RPG with guns is STALKER: Call of Pripyat/Call of Chernobyl. It has far more player-NPC interaction such as dialogue and being able to sell/buy items from NPCs.

In Far Cry 3 and 4, once you earn the maximum health and protection, you can always replenish and reach that point. Not so with the STALKER games. The health and protection increase or decrease, depending on the armor you have on and any artifacts you wear. You can customize them at will.

Even the inventory screen of STALKER looks closer to that of an RPG than an FPS.

And yes. Far Cry and Stalker play very differently.

The lines are definitely getting more blurred of late. Even games like DOOM (2016) have "RPG elements", but really it's just a skill/ability/etc point system.

I think in the sub-genre of action-RPGs (first or third person), with "1" being more RPG and less RPG as this list goes down, I'd put the following:

1. Deus Ex (original): more RPG than action by far. I'd call it a first-person RPG before calling it an action game
2. Mass Effect series: action moments play like an action game, but it is very heavy on alternative solutions, character interaction, party members, and building your character
3. Deus Ex (new versions): still RPG heavy, but also a bit more action heavy than previous or other games
4. STALKER
5. Dishonored
6. Far Cry 3 onward

I would barely call Skyrim an RPG. If you do call it an RPG, then you have a hard time explaining why Dead Rising isn't an RPG, for example.

They're primarily FPS games. Fallout is slightly more of an RPG because of the VATS, but even that is fairly light.

labelling games with traditional genres these days seems pretty pointless to me. Is it fun? if so, I don't care what descriptive name you slap on it

Genres are more to help people find a preference in games they enjoy/ help narrow down a selection of interest.

Has nothing to do with being fun.

What most people think an RPG is: experience points and leveling up.

What an RPG actually is: choices with consequences.

In a traditional RPG game you have things like leveling up, getting “gold”.

In a “FPS” you have things like health, that’s akin to leveling up. If you’re health is at or below zero you lose. Gold may be up for interpretation, but that can be stuff like money, certain objects etc.

If you think about it, every game is an RPG in a non traditional sense. There’s no need to draw a line.

It’s an open world shooter for me since that’s the only tactic you really have. RPGs allow you to customise your play style, character type, abilities ect.