Players can use a variety of weapons to defeat human enemies and hostile wildlife, and the game features elements found in role-playing games such as skill trees and experience. Gameplay focuses on combat and exploration. The game takes place on the fictional Rook Islands, a tropical archipelago which can be freely explored by players.

It is the third main installment in the Far Cry series. Far Cry 3 is a 2012 first-person shooter game developed by Ubisoft Montreal and published by Ubisoft.