Flying people, lightning storms and many, many explosions: Just Cause is back. But is the latest in the OTT action-adventure series just winging it?

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Every lightning bolt is a reminder that, while Rico is tough, he isn’t immortal.

Performance is smooth, loading is quick and the explosions look fantastic.

Die Hard’s John McClane might think he had it bad, but he was never asked to liberate entire islands from evil overlords with weather-controlling machines. Thankfully, as Rico Rodriguez, you have a grappling hook, a parachute and a wingsuit to keep you out of harm’s way as you pull off ludicrous stunts and manoeuvres in this crazy open-world sandbox.

The movement in Just Cause 4 is exceptional. Chaining a grapple into the wingsuit to gain speed and altitude is exhilarating, while scaling mountains and skydiving through chasms or skimming rooftops as you pass villages and towns is simply brilliant.

As with previous games, the grappling hook is the star. But new to this title is the ability to mod your tools and add a Metal Gear Fulton-style balloon to lift people and things into the air. Not enough? Fine, you can also add a jet-boost to the balloon.

Still not enough? How about tweaking those tools to withstand enemy damage, or make a balloon full of helium, or even change the rate at which your jets accelerate? This is a ridiculous game that revels in the insanity you can create with its toolset.

The weather effects are stunning, the weaponry is creative, and the helicopters remain a highlight… but all that isn’t quite enough for us to recommend you rush out and buy Just Cause 4. Because the story missions are just terrible.

It’s bizarre that a game with such chaotic content plays it so safe with the missions and structure. As you’re leading a rebellion, you progress the story by doing a mission in a controlled zone, upgrading your army and pushing forward. But goodness, those missions are sorely lacking in ideas and variation.

And while this is a huge open world, it’s a little empty of curated content. What remains is a feeling that you should ‘make your own fun’ – and that’s great while it lasts, but you’re left wanting that creativity in the rest of the game.

Adam Cook

STUFF SAYS A weak story stops this game delivering on what it could have been ★★★