Just Cause 3

Just Cause 3 is a joy to play and is easily a candidate for game of the year. While it does come with flaws, there is not a single open world game that allows players to let loose in such a shamelessly entertaining way.

84%Game Brain Score

story, gameplay

optimization, stability

87% User Score Based on 80,788 reviews

Critic Score 74%Based on 49 reviews

Platforms

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About

Just Cause 3 is an action-adventure game that offers players a Mediterranean island playground to explore with vertical freedom, using a wingsuit, parachute, and grapple. The main goal is to overthrow a dictator by causing chaos and destruction, utilizing various weapons and vehicles. The game also features challenge missions, collectibles, and online community features for additional replayability.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

+22

87%

Audience ScoreBased on 54,084 reviews

story2.8k positive mentions

optimization1.3k negative mentions

story
11,727 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
24%
64%
12%
The story of *Just Cause 3* is generally viewed as simplistic and formulaic, revolving around the protagonist Rico Rodriguez's mission to liberate the fictional Mediterranean island of Medici from a tyrannical dictator. While some players appreciate the lighthearted, action-movie tone and humor, many find the narrative lacking depth and the missions repetitive, often reducing the experience to a series of chaotic explosions rather than a compelling storyline. Overall, the game is primarily celebrated for its gameplay mechanics and sandbox environment rather than its story.
- “The story in Just Cause 3 is simple but effective, focusing on Rico’s mission to liberate Medici from a brutal dictator.”
- “The story, while serviceable, can feel somewhat clichéd and predictable at times, and the occasional technical issues and performance hiccups can detract from the overall experience.”
- “The story is quite weak, but you don't really need much of a story beyond 'bad guy doing bad thing, go blow his stuff up'.”
- “The story is bland, and not the focus at all; it's ziplining and parachuting across islands with explosives destroying buildings then jacking cars, GTA style.”
- “The story is mediocre at best and the missions are not that great.”
- “The story is very weak and doesn't really offer much to the game, as well as a lacking story they didn't bother to fill you in to what happened if this happened to be your start of the just cause series.”
gameplay
5,319 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
51%
9%
The gameplay of "Just Cause 3" is widely praised for its chaotic and explosive nature, featuring innovative mechanics like the grappling hook and wingsuit that enhance traversal and combat. However, many players note that the gameplay loop can become repetitive, as it often revolves around liberating similar bases and completing challenges to unlock upgrades. While the game excels in providing a fun sandbox experience filled with destruction, it suffers from technical issues and a lackluster story, which can detract from the overall enjoyment.
- “With a mix of stunning visuals, creative destruction, and adrenaline-fueled gameplay, it’s a sandbox designed to let you unleash your wildest ideas.”
- “The game’s core mechanics, such as the grappling hook and wingsuit, redefine how players explore an open world.”
- “Just Cause 3 is a chaotic and exhilarating experience for those who value creativity and freedom in their gameplay.”
- “However, the gameplay loop—liberating towns, blowing up bases, and progressing through missions—can feel repetitive for people over time.”
- “Without gameplay, the Just Cause saga is nothing but a boring and repetitive action-packed game with a mediocre story but beautiful graphics and atmosphere.”
- “The gameplay quickly gets bland, thanks to one critical detail: unless it's marked by red, you can no longer destroy it.”
graphics
4,479 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
46%
49%
5%
The graphics in Just Cause 3 have received widespread praise for their stunning visuals, vibrant colors, and impressive destruction effects, making the game visually captivating even years after its release. However, many players have reported performance issues, particularly on AMD graphics cards, leading to stuttering and crashes, which detracts from the overall experience. While the game excels in graphical fidelity, it often requires a powerful PC to run smoothly, and some users have noted that the graphics can appear dated compared to newer titles.
- “The graphics are stunning, with bright colors and gorgeous vistas that make every moment of gameplay feel like a cinematic experience.”
- “The visuals are stunning, and the destruction physics are top-notch.”
- “Just Cause 3 boasts impressive visuals, vibrant environments, and satisfying explosions that contribute to the game's overall quality.”
- “The only gripe I have with Just Cause 3 is the graphics, as, for example, whenever you log in, it just looks horrible.”
- “The graphics are poor; the game build is also poor.”
- “I am a little disappointed with how bad this looks in 4K; you can tell it was a console adaptation, where the specs and quality are much lower.”
optimization
3,340 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
14%
47%
39%
The optimization of "Just Cause 3" has been widely criticized, with many players reporting significant performance issues such as stuttering, frame rate drops, and crashes, even on high-end systems. While some users have managed to achieve stable performance through various tweaks and updates, the game remains poorly optimized for a substantial portion of the player base, particularly those using AMD graphics cards. Overall, despite its fun gameplay and stunning visuals, the game's optimization problems detract from the experience, leading to mixed reviews.
- “The overall optimization and graphical performance of this game is impeccable, and should not be frowned upon.”
- “Despite everything going on, I never noticed any performance issues and it just has a way of making you never get tired of seeing an explosion.”
- “The game is quite unoptimized, I have no problems running it but there is a huge memory leak and you might have to restart it each hour of playtime.”
- “The game was notorious for its technical problems at launch, including frame rate drops, stuttering, and bugs.”
- “Its a great game but the constant crashing due to poor optimization is a concern.”
- “The game is poorly optimized, it looks like the game developers took a ps4 port and just somehow threw it into windows without changing any code, most said it was impossible but somehow it was done.”
stability
1,329 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
9%
1%
91%
The stability of the game has been widely criticized, with numerous users reporting frequent crashes, graphical glitches, and performance issues, particularly on AMD hardware. While some players have managed to enjoy the game without significant problems, many others have experienced frustrating bugs that disrupt gameplay, leading to a consensus that the game is still quite unstable and requires further optimization. Overall, the game's stability is a major concern, detracting from the otherwise enjoyable experience.
- “Replaying this after a few years, now on Linux and it still runs great.”
- “Incredible destruction and some of the most fun traversal, runs great (even on Linux as well), better than the 4th game.”
- “I'm using an old GPU: Nvidia GTX 960, which can't run most 3D games, but somehow this game runs great, with no noticeable drop in quality or frame rate!”
- “The game is a buggy mess and the story is just not there, the mechanics are dated even for the time this got released.”
- “Unfortunately, I cannot play it for more than about 20 minutes at a time without it crashing to desktop, sometimes in a way that causes continual visual glitches in other programs until I restart the whole computer.”
- “This game is a buggy mess.”
humor
1,063 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
99%
1%
The humor in "Just Cause 3" is characterized by its over-the-top physics, absurd scenarios, and quirky character interactions, often leading to hilarious moments of chaos and destruction. Players appreciate the game's playful tone, with memorable one-liners and comedic situations arising from the grappling hook mechanics and explosive gameplay. While some find the humor forced or juvenile, many agree that the game's charm lies in its ability to create laugh-out-loud moments through its exaggerated action and unexpected glitches.
- “Watching them fly through the air, helplessly, as if they were ragdolls caught in an unseen storm, was hilarious.”
- “Best of all, there's a grappling hook and wingsuit to help you blow up a whole island's worth of infrastructure and plenty of creative ways to take out the baddies that are also hilarious.”
- “The humor is great and the guns are loud.”
- “With every iteration the graphics are shinier and the voice-acting is cheesier (in a very unfunny way).”
- “The jokes are forced and unfunny.”
- “All the writing is just plain not funny or engaging in the slightest, and I think Mario might be one of the most obnoxiously written characters I've yet to encounter in a video game.”
grinding
537 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
1%
24%
76%
The grinding aspect of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players noting that while the initial gameplay is fun and engaging, it quickly becomes tedious and repetitive. Players often find themselves performing similar tasks, such as liberating towns and completing challenges, which can feel like a chore, especially for completionists. Overall, while some enjoy the chaotic destruction and sandbox elements, the grinding required to progress and unlock upgrades is frequently criticized as overly tedious and frustrating.
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “A bit grindy sometimes.”
- “Fun, not too grindy...”
- “Taking over bases, while exhilarating at first, becomes tedious with the 'destroy everything red' in a base - ad infinitum.”
- “The main story is locked behind liberating a number of settlements, and with how mind-numbingly boring they are, this turns into a chore and ends up just being a time-gate of grinding for a story as shallow as a puddle.”
- “The town-liberating gameplay loop is fun at first, but becomes tedious very quickly, as every single town is practically the same.”
music
434 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
39%
56%
5%
The music in Just Cause 3 has received mixed reviews, with many players appreciating its energetic and fitting soundtrack that enhances the game's fast-paced action and vibrant atmosphere. While some find the music to be memorable and immersive, others describe it as repetitive and forgettable, often suggesting that it fades into the background during gameplay. Overall, the soundtrack complements the game's visuals and mechanics, but opinions vary on its lasting impact and uniqueness compared to previous titles in the series.
- “The music kicks ass, the world is perfect, wing-suit is perfect.. fuck it, I'm playing this again!”
- “This is massively helped by the incredible soundtrack by the masterful Henry Jackman, who knows precisely how to make you melancholic when at peace, and how to get and keep you hyped when fighting the dictator's forces.”
- “The soundtrack perfectly complements the game's exhilarating gameplay, delivering an adrenaline-pumping experience that immerses you deeper into the chaos.”
- “The soundtrack was underwhelming, and the story managed to be even worse than the previous installment.”
- “I see the game has over 20 songs, but it felt like the same 3 played all the time, and it forced me to just mute the music about 30 hours in.”
- “The music itself won't save your game and it is a shame to waste that OST into a lame script.”
replayability
223 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
41%
49%
10%
The game's replayability is a mixed bag, with many players praising its sandbox nature and the fun derived from various gameplay mechanics, such as the grappling hook and explosive interactions, leading to claims of "infinite replayability." However, some users feel that once the main content is completed, the game lacks depth and variety, resulting in limited replay value. Overall, while it offers substantial replay opportunities through challenges and collectibles, opinions vary on its long-term engagement potential.
- “Infinite replayability and just plain fun.”
- “This freedom encourages creativity and replayability, making each playthrough as exciting as the first.”
- “The ability to reset conquered bases and towns so that you can blow them up again, as well as the competitive 'feats' tracking offers this game a lot of replayability.”
- “Limited replayability: once you’ve unlocked the whole map and blown up enough stuff, it can feel like there’s not a lot left to keep you coming back.”
- “After the main story, you have a variety of challenges to do, as well as searching for collectibles, but beyond that there is mostly nothing to do, and the game has (in my opinion) no replayability, as I was able to complete the entire game (all DLC, provinces, and challenges) in less than 30 hours.”
- “The one downside is that there is not much replay value, and not much to do once you liberate every province.”
emotional
163 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
79%
1%
20%
The emotional aspect of *Just Cause 3* is largely criticized for its lack of depth and engagement, with many reviewers noting that the story feels shallow and the characters are one-dimensional, failing to evoke any real emotional investment. Attempts at sentimental moments are often seen as forced and ineffective, leading to a disconnect between the gameplay's chaotic fun and the narrative's emotional aspirations. Overall, while some players find joy in the gameplay mechanics and explosive action, the emotional resonance is minimal, making it more of a mindless fun experience than a heartfelt journey.
- “You feel the happiness of the rebels after each town is liberated, and your heartstrings get tugged during any emotional moments.”
- “Amazing game, the feeling I got after finishing it made me cry!”
- “The story is interesting and heart-wrenching, and I absolutely love it.”
- “The issue with this game is that it has a pretty boring story.”
- “Boring story and repetitive gameplay.”
- “This game's story is very boring and unoriginal but Just Cause games are not made for their story; despite a boring story, the game is a ton of silly fun.”
atmosphere
77 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
51%
44%
5%
The atmosphere in the game is widely praised for its beauty and immersive qualities, with many reviewers highlighting the stunning graphics, relaxing music, and vibrant environments that evoke a Mediterranean paradise. Players appreciate the contrast between the peaceful settings and the chaotic action, creating a unique blend of tranquility and excitement. Overall, the game's atmosphere is considered one of its strongest aspects, enhancing the overall experience despite criticisms of the story and gameplay depth.
- “The atmosphere of the game is just so relaxing.”
- “The attention to detail and the immersive atmosphere of Medici make it a truly memorable location in the gaming world.”
- “This time around they made the atmosphere overwhelmingly beautiful; if you are in the right spot at the right time of the day/night cycle, I guarantee you will stare in awe for at least a couple of seconds.”
- “Lacks a certain atmosphere that was present in the previous two installments of the franchise.”
- “The map works as a background for the story, but beyond that it's lacking detail, depth, and atmosphere.”
- “However, if you want something with more depth to it in terms of story, atmosphere, and gameplay, then you're better off avoiding this game.”
monetization
64 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
5%
23%
72%
The monetization aspect of the game has drawn significant criticism, with many players labeling it a "cash grab" due to the presence of microtransactions and the requirement to unlock basic features like aiming down sights (ADS) through gameplay challenges. Players express frustration over the perceived prioritization of profit over gameplay quality, with some suggesting that the game should have been a DLC rather than a full release. Overall, the sentiment reflects disappointment in the developers' approach to monetization, which detracts from the overall experience.
- “Still, on the bright side, at least it doesn't have microtransactions and loot boxes.”
- “Combat is more of the same from JC2, there's tons of explosions, a big open world, great sound and music, and solid mission progression without having to grind which is becoming a thing of the past now with microtransactions in games.”
- “Same or better price now, free DLC (cars, boats, cosmetics, etc.), much better graphics, a great story in single player, has multiplayer and no microtransactions.”
- “Right after being bought by a mega corp, microtransactions appear.”
- “The whole of JC4 feels like a cheap cash grab that should have been a DLC for this game instead.”
- “This was obviously a blatant cash grab on the hype of this game and the players were screwed over because of it.”
character development
45 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
22%
51%
27%
Character development in "Just Cause 3" is generally viewed as lacking, with many reviewers noting a weak narrative and minimal emotional depth for characters. While some appreciate the voice acting and occasional moments of character growth, the overall consensus is that the game prioritizes chaotic gameplay over a compelling story or character arcs, leading to a perception of superficiality in character design and development. Players seeking rich narratives and deep character exploration are likely to be disappointed, as the game is primarily designed for explosive fun rather than storytelling.
- “This attention to detail in character development is especially commendable, given the historical challenges of representing diverse characters in video games in a way that is both respectful and engaging.”
- “Furthermore, the voice acting and character development are commendable, adding depth to the world and creating a sense of attachment to the cast of characters Rico encounters throughout his adventure.”
- “Many hours of fun, well-written story, and great character development with a bit of humor stuck in.”
- “The narrative and character development in 'Just Cause 3' are also weak points.”
- “Don't count on really deep story or character development.”
- “Just Cause 3 has no meaningful story or character development.”