Players can use a variety of methods to approach missions. Unlike previous installments in the series, Far Cry 4 gives players the ability to kick objects and hide the corpses of enemies. The game allows players to take cover to avoid gunfights and to perform melee takedowns from a variety of positions. Throughout the game, players can run, leap, and crouch, and can implement weapons including shotguns, crossbows, sniper rifles, mines, throwing knives, bows, flamethrowers, and rocket launchers.

Players assume control of Ajay Ghale, a Kyrati-American who is on a quest to spread his deceased mother's ashes in the fictional country of Kyrat (based on the real life country of Nepal). Far Cry 4 is a first-person action-adventure game.