This Far Cry 6 review may contain minor spoilers.
If you have been keeping up with gaming in the last decade, you will have heard of Far Cry. If you haven’t, here’s a quick introduction: in their quest for freedom and answers, a badass protagonist faces an army of mean people led by an even meaner antagonist. Since going open-world in 2008 with Far Cry 2, Ubisoft have worked hard to perfect their version of an open-world game. Enter Far Cry 6. It has outposts to clear, baddies to kill, and loot to find. It tries to shake things up with some new gameplay mechanics that work and some that are downright pointless. But overall, Far Cry 6 is a solid game with tight gunplay and an immersive world to lose yourself in.
Far Cry 6 review: Story and Setting
Far Cry 6 is set in the fictional country of Yara which takes heavy inspiration from Latin American countries, particularly Cuba. The world feels as if it has been frozen in time for the last 50 years. Yes, main character Dani has a mobile phone and a big jetpack, but still rolls around in an old, 70s-style car and I love it!
Dani wanted to leave Yara behind and start fresh in the land of opportunity. But found a reason to fight for the guerrillas in the name of the revolution.
Tyrannical dictator Antón Castillo is the primary antagonist this time round. Expertly played by Breaking Bad’s Giancarlo Esposito, he is well-written with drive, passion, and a clear goal. It’s just unfortunate that his drive and passion is to murder, kidnap, and torture people.
Far Cry 6 presents a small twist on the Far Cry villain formula with the introduction of Diego Castillo, Antón’s son. Without spoiling anything, watching the interaction between Diego and Antón was captivating – I’m glad Ubisoft added this layer to the story.
Though a lot of the advertisement for Far Cry 6 focused on Giancarlo Esposito, Dani is an equally intriguing character who is expertly portrayed by Nisa Gunduz (female) and Sean Rey (male). They say hello to people as they walk past them, swear when running out of ammo, and sing along to the radio in the car. It was a treat to control Dani, who I regard as the best protagonist in the series’ history (sorry Jason Brody).
I wish the same could be said for Esperanza, the main city hub. Ubisoft promoted it as a dense urban landscape never before seen in a Far Cry game. It sure is urban but it’s far from dense. Half the city is walled off and the other half feels so empty. Where are the people, the cars, and the revolution? From a story perspective the city is under martial law but it’s just disappointing to see so much wasted potential.
The story has some nice twists and unexpected turns that conclude a captivating story of loss, violence, and the gritty reality of overthrowing a tyrannical dictator. Far Cry does a good job of not always taking itself too seriously and cuts a fine line between comical and serious which makes the story a truly memorable experience.
Far Cry 6 review: Gameplay
The gameplay here is very ‘Far Cry‘. if you’ve played Far Cry before and enjoyed it, you will find that same enjoyment here. The gunplay is smooth, the headshots are crunchy, and the stealth is tense. You will spend your time sneaking through enemy bases, riding your horse through the jungle, and looting every nook and cranny for that sweet, sweet gunpowder that allows you to upgrade your weapons. I loved it and it kept me engaged long enough to complete the story.
My only quarrel here is the game has no difficulty setting, probably to cater to the new ammo system. With the lack of enemy scaling, previously visited locations become a walk in the park, so veteran fans of the series are likely to be let down. I am all for accessibility at any gaming level but at least give players a choice.
Far Cry 6 also contains a new Mortal Kombat-esque mini game in the form of fighting chickens. You must dodge, attack, and heavy-attack your opponent in a one-on-one ‘cage’ match. It’s silly and fun, and a hilarious addition to the game. It doesn’t take too much skill to master but showing another chicken whose boss brings a weird sense of achievement (please don’t abuse chickens in real life after playing this game, though).
Mechanics
Now let’s talk about the new ammo system. It is pointless. I wish I could tell you this game mechanic was revolutionary (see what I did there) but honestly it just made no sense. The basic idea of it is to force you to put different ammo types into different weapons. I would be in a fire fight against an armoured enemy that is weak to armour piercing rounds (makes sense so far) but then an enemy wearing a piece of cloth would take double the number of shots to kill because I needed to have soft target rounds in my gun. I’m sorry, what? I ended up just putting armour piercing rounds in all my guns and that worked out fine for me. Maybe I’m just being old fashioned, but I prefer straightforward guns that take three shots to the chest to kill.
Though not all the mechanics introduced in the game are that pointless. The resolver weapons are overpowered and a blast to use. Got an old motorbike engine? Turn it into a gatling gun. Got an old CD player? Turn it into high-speed killing machine. Got an old nail gu- you get the idea. The guerrillas use everything and anything at their disposal and it makes you feel like you are a true revolutionary. The game has a good pull with its progression system, too. I constantly found myself looking for more depleted uranium in order to get more resolver weapons to test out and have fun with.
Having said that, the new supremo backpacks are fairly useless. After you get your first one, it allows you to fire a barrage of rockets at enemies. And in all honesty, the others just seemed insignificant by comparison. It is also somewhat immersion-breaking when you can put away your gun to blend in, but the army doesn’t notice the big metal rocket launcher on your back.
Gone are the classic perks of Far Cry, in is the new loot system. Mostly all perks are now tied to clothing pieces you find out on your adventure. I’m not the biggest fan of this but I guess they didn’t want players to become overpowered killing machines. Although, we already are. So, why not just let me heal more than once without having to wear an ugly chest piece?
Enemies now have big ugly health bars on top of their heads. Thankfully, you can switch them off in the HUD settings. It’s also curious that enemies can take more than one headshot to kill.
Far Cry 6 review: Graphics and Audio
The game looks great. From the secret guerrilla paths twisting and bending through the beautiful jungles to the villages and outposts scattered across the massive map, Yara is truly breath-taking. Playing on PS5, the game ran at a native 4K resolution at 60 frames per second and I didn’t notice a single dip. I just can’t help but imagine how much better it would have looked on next-gen consoles with the addition of ray tracing. Fingers crossed it gets added in a future update. The colour palette is beautiful, too, with lush greens and vibrant blues the whole of Yara just pops. It is nice to see when compared to Far Cry 5 which was a little more washed out and dull.
The sound design here is amazing. You can hear the wind whistling through the trees, rain hitting the floor, and bullets flying past your head. The music and voice acting feel authentic which really helped bring Yara to life. And the guns sound guns sound great, which is essential for a first-person shooter. It all comes together for a well-rounded, immersive experience.
Far Cry 6 review: Monetisation and in-game store
Ubisoft seem to be turning all their franchises into looter shooters. First was Assassin’s Creed, then Ghost Recon, and now Far Cry. It’s sad to see so much emphasis on spending real world money to unlock different skins for your character and guns. I love dressing up my character with different outfits. But why on earth would I spend 300 Far Cry credits (very creative name Ubisoft) on a 3-piece suit? The worst part is the smallest “bundle” of Far Cry credits you can buy is £3.99 which nets you 500 credits. Honestly, it seems like a bad joke.
I completely understand that game development takes time and money. And I whole heartedly feel for these developers that are pouring their hearts and souls into these games. But such heavy monetisation does not seem right. There was a time when in-game currency didn’t exist, and developers would rely on DLC to gain revenue after the initial release. It was fair and worked well. Other free-to-play games like Warframe spent time creating the perfect in-game currency system that catered more towards people who didn’t have a lot of free time. However, what annoys me is the fact that Far Cry does have a season pass with extra story content, but then locks other content behind an additional paywall.
Verdict
Far Cry 6 has been a blast to play. Ubisoft tried to reinvent the wheel by adding in some new features that worked and others that didn’t. You can’t blame them for trying. If you like the Far Cry series and have played previous entries, you will feel right at home and this could potentially be the best Far Cry game you’ve played to date. If the series hasn’t impressed you in the past and you were hoping this one would change your mind, then I’ve got some bad news for you. The gameplay is still largely the same as Far Cry 3. It’s clear Ubisoft have found their profitable formula and will stick to it.
The gameplay loop here is fun and scavenging for materials to upgrade your weapons was super satisfying. Sneaking through camps during a thunderstorm with a silenced handgun made you feel like an unstoppable badass. Fire fights felt fresh thanks to the massive arsenal at your disposal. The game doesn’t out stay its welcome, either. The over-the-top action, coupled with a well thought out story and rich characters make Far Cry 6 a joy to experience.
Despite some drawbacks, I still found myself coming back to Yara again and again. I don’t think Far Cry 6 is ‘Game of the Year’. But it’s the best Far Cry to date and an awesome open-world game to boot.
Viva Libertad!
Overall Rating: 8/10
Reviewed on: PS5
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