Developer: Ubisoft Toronto
Publisher: Ubisoft
Release Date: 7th October 2021
Platforms: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S
Reviewed on: PlayStation 5
▫️ Review code provided by the publisher ▫️
Ubisoft has tried to reinvent a lot of its franchises in recent years. Assassin’s Creed became an RPG series ever since Origins, Watch Dogs turned the dial to 11 with Legion, and Far Cry… well, Far Cry is still Far Cry, though with deepened RPG mechanics. If you’re curious about Far Cry 6 because you want more Far Cry 3 and 4, then this is exactly the game for you. Let’s look at the good, the bad, and the in-between.
Yara needs you, Dani
Imagine a world where the “bad guy” is actually doing good. That is the story of Anton Castillo (played by Giancarlo Esposito), a dictator of the fictitious Yara who has created a cancer treatment using tobacco available exclusively on the island. Despite seemingly good intentions, our dictator is willing to do whatever it takes to create this treatment, even if it comes at the cost of his own people.
Enter Dani Rojas, a former soldier turned rebel, who is quickly thrust into a series of events that involve a lot of death and explosions – all in true Far Cry fashion. Suffice it to say, Dani will encounter friends and foes along the way, all in the quest to stop Castillo, and free Yara in the process. Viva la revolución!
Amigos and Allies
The cast of Far Cry 6 is one of its highlights. As you free Yara, you will encounter three different groups across the island’s three main regions. I don’t want to spoil the surprises, but you’ll find both the expected and unexpected here, though they’re not all equally interesting.
What is interesting, however, are your “amigos”; five different animal companions that you can find and recruit along the way. You’ve likely already seen the cute little dog, Chorizo, as well as the crocodilo, Guapo, in the trailers. These offer completely different benefits to you during play, so even if Chorizo is one of the cutest things to grace video games in years, especially when you hear his little cartwheels squeak when he moves around, your play style may be better suited for one of the alternatives.
Something familiar – and lots of new
Just in case you’ve never played one of Ubisoft’s open-world games before, let me take you through the core gameplay. You get some story, pick up some missions, travel or fast-travel to a specific location and shoot your way in or out – or both. You’ve got a ton of weapons and tools at your disposal, so there should be something for pretty much any playstyle here. You can even customise your weapons a fair bit, including deciding which ammo type you want in any given one. You don’t have to worry about finding ammo of those certain types, however. Pistol ammo is pistol ammo, even if you’re using poisonous bullets.
You can also add mods to your weapons that will give you various benefits like increased torso damage, increased damage to enemies that are low on health, or a faster Supremo build-up from headshots. The Supremo is also new to Far Cry 6; imagine a backpack loaded with, well, whatever you want. The game has about half a dozen variations of the Supremo, which can do things like carry multiple homing missiles on your back, spew poisonous gas on enemies around you or even help you see and shoot enemies through walls. When your Supremo gauge is filled up, you unleash hell on your enemies. It’s pretty satisfying every time.
You’ve also got gear sets to collect now. You can mix and match gear any way you like, like using one gear piece that lets you automatically pick up nearby resources while in a vehicle, or another that automatically puts out the flames if you catch fire. Because you will definitely catch fire in Far Cry 6, oftentimes by your own hand. If you want to quickly equip gear that provides a certain “category” of benefits, there’s even a “equip full set” button, too. Handy!
In addition to all of this, you’ll also be unlocking various vehicles. Some come naturally over time, some have to be found in the world and driven safely to your garage, and some are unlocked from missions. You’ll get land, sea and air vehicles and some fit more than one category, like a car that, if you drive fast enough and flip a certain switch, can take off and roam the skies at any time. I’d recommend taking your time to find a safe place to land, however, as hitting trees at high speed is uh… bad for your health. Trust me on that.
More than just a story
Beyond the story, Far Cry 6 has quite a lot of other activities for you to jump into as well. On top of unlocking all the things I mentioned above, you’re also able to jump into Special Operations, three of which are available right now, and three others that are “coming soon”. These missions can be played solo or in co-op (just like the main campaign), and so far have tasked players with seeking out a certain object and then making their escape with it still intact. It would have been nice with some greater variety in these objectives, but perhaps the next three missions are different.
On top of that, once you’ve finished the campaign, Costillo’s army will start fighting back. Every week (in real life), an Insurgency will begin, where soldiers will retake a region of Yara that you are then tasked with reclaiming. Do this and you will be rewarded with unique weapons and other resources that you will need. Additionally, at any time both during and after the story, you are able to do Bandido Operations, where you will send AI recruits on missions for various rewards. These happen as you do other things, only paused when you decide whom to send where, and what decisions they should make during the excursions.
Far Cry 6 is simply more Far Cry
I’ve mentioned this a few times now. Far Cry is simply more of the same. Well, almost the same, as a bunch of systems have been expanded even further into RPG territory, and you have even more control over your gameplay than ever before. Despite all this, it still feels like more of the same.
Is that a bad thing? Not necessarily. Far Cry 6 can still be a lot of fun. If you liked previous games in the series, particularly 3 and 4, then you’re bound to enjoy 6. There’s something comforting in the known. In the familiar. That being said, I definitely wouldn’t mind being surprised by whatever comes next.
Verdict
For fans of the series, Far Cry 6 delivers more of the explosive action we’ve come to love. While a bit of a reimaging wouldn’t hurt, there’s no denying that Far Cry 6 can be a blast.
-K.A. Pedersen
