Far Cry 6 is one of those games that can be loaded up any time of day with confidence and a good time will be had. The sixth in the series, excluding the many spin-offs over the years, Ubisoft made the decision to travel to the Caribbean Island of Yara, making a return to the tropical paradise theme of its predecessors while very much staying true to the core of what makes a Far Cry experience truly fun.
Far Cry 6 has the player take on the role of Dani Rojas, an ex-military Yaran who falls short of escaping the country and ends up fighting alongside a Guerrilla resistance in hopes of toppling the regime of Yara’s evil dictator Antón Castillo, voiced by the fantastic Giancarlo Esposito, who is known for many roles including that of Gus Fring in Breaking Bad.
While Far Cry 6 presents a compelling story, it is not dissimilar to the stories of previous Far Cry entries, as well as other games. A powerful militia with a strong and intimidating presence with, I guess, questionable views on leadership is being challenged by “the underdog”, a group of thick skinned, tough as nails combatants that are fighting for freedom. The one thing for me that secured any sort of uniqueness was the relationship between Castillo and his son, Diego. Antón holds hopes that Diego will run the country with the same beliefs upon his retirement, his son has other ideas though. One big miss to expand on the story is that the Castillo family were seldom seen throughout the story.
When starting a new game there are two difficulties on offer, an easier one that caters to players who wish to focus primarily on the story and a more difficult option for those wishing to test their survival skills in the menacing world that is Yara. This reviewer chose the more difficult option and i never really felt challenged by the game. Far Cry 6 also offers players the choice of playing as a male or female protagonist, but there is no character customisation outside of that.
First thing’s first, Yara is absolutely massive. Upon first glance of the map, the playable area does not appear very big, but as with other Far Cry titles, this area is used for the prologue and expands massively after that. With this enormous island to explore, the story took me around 25 hours to complete but I did stop to smell the roses at times. I could see completionists easily doubling their play time by the end of their playthrough.
The game offers a nice array of vehicles and tools that aid players in traversing the islands via land, air and sea, though traveling by air is a little bit difficult before the player takes out the militia’s anti-aircraft guns. Even though air travel isn’t recommended early on, this reviewer found the land-based driving mechanics handled awfully and often found fast travelling or flying to be a better option. Exploration brings with it some rewards though, with a number of resources and Pesos (the in-game currency) that are strewn generously throughout Yara which can be used for weapon customisation, Los Bandidos missions (which are explained below) or purchasing various items from merchants. Depleted uranium can also be collected from more dangerous areas that is used to purchase powerful gear from Dani’s comrade, Juan.
Resources aren’t just used for merchant purchases as progression of the story will eventually lead the player to a guerrilla camp where facilities can be purchased with resources to add to their support network. These include:
- Hideout Network – Guerrilla hideouts spread throughout Yara
- Guerrilla Garrison – Unlocks laptops used for scouting FND Bases (outposts) and unlocks better weapons for purchase
- Fishing Hut – Allows purchase of fishing brochures which reveal fishing spots and offers angler gear and buffs
- La Cantina – Gives the option of cooking food that give temporary buffs
- Bandido Barracks – Unlocks Bandidos missions that offer up weapons and resources as rewards
- Hunter’s Lodge – Allows purchase of hunting brochures which reveal hunting spots and offers gear, weapons and buffs that help hunting
Yes, Far Cry 6 has fishing! It had this reviewer very excited and I did enjoy my time with it but it was a small stint as there is a serious lack of reward when catching anything, which was very akin to hunting. Bandido missions allow the player to call the shots, taking in to account varying success rates and costs that, when successfully completed, offer weapons or harder to find resources as reward. Bandido missions are the only part of gameplay that is stuck behind a time wall so the player can only partake in them every so often. The Hideout Network was easily the most useful of all the facilities, offering up a fresh batch of fast travel points on upgrading which was handy in those dreaded across map journeys. Cock-fighting is also a full mini-game that is essentially a watered down Street Fighter with chickens.
Far Cry 6 offers a large number of weapons that can be customised to suit the players needs with things like suppressors, sights and different ammo types. There are so many different weapons but I honestly found the setup I liked early on and stuck with it, rarely making small changes to better suit certain situations, however it is nice to have those options. There is also a number of unique weapons that can be found behind closed doors, through treasure hunts or just by progressing the story that come pre-modded and cannot be customised.
Players also have seven Amigo’s to pick from that can fight alongside them and each of them bring their own abilities to add in the fight. There is Guapo, the crocodile that tears its enemies to shreds and can regenerate health. Then there is also Chorizo, an adorable little sausage dog that can distract enemies and tag nearby resources. The right Amigo has to be picked for the right situation and they do not have to be used at all if they are not needed.
Dani is also equipped with a Supremo, a powerful device that is worn as a backpack and offers a special ability once the player has downed a few enemies . These special abilities can be purchased from Juan using depleted uranium and can often be the difference between life and death. Each Supremo offers a unique ability that ranges from launching multiple rockets, releasing a poisonous gas or even gaining the ability to mark enemies that are hidden behind cover.
Throughout Yara the player will also come across gear that each provide a unique bonus to player characteristics including stealth, damage output and even the ability to run or swim faster. Gear sets consist of five items, however there is no added bonus when pairing them together and no item really ever presented itself as anything that would help a whole lot so most of this reviewers playthrough had the items Dani wore as a set and forget scenario. Players can have a bit of fun simply picking the best-looking gear and jumping into the games photo mode, but the bonuses on offer weren’t significant enough to worry about
Gunplay is very much at the forefront of gameplay and Far Cry 6 manages to keep it entertaining. Stealth can sometimes feel like the only option but the thrill of running in to a swarm of enemies, guns blazing often outweighs the need to be sneaky. There are essentially two enemy types, the weaker foot soldiers and then the heavily armoured enemies that require a few extra bullets to get the job done. The variety comes in the different weapons they’re wielding and it quickly becomes apparent which enemies the player needs to keep their distance from. As the player gets later into the game the enemies will get stronger taking down the player quicker and the simple run and gun method may not always work. The player does have access to syringes that replenish health and in certain circumstances a small plus symbol next to the players health bar allows unlimited use of this syringe.
Where gunplay does fall short is not within the action itself but in the non-playable characters below average AI and this is the case for comrades as well as enemies. There were so many times I would miss a shot and my enemy would walk around slowly having a look for me, giving me plenty of time to line up another attempt or I would land a really loud helicopter inside enemy territory and be met with no resistance at all. There was also one painful mission where I had to follow an NPC and the simplicity of the NPC made this a nightmare. Nothing really game-breaking but it did ruin the immersion a few times.
Yara is a beautiful place that features many unique environments that range from sandy beaches to luscious green forests. It is easy to get side-tracked from the task at hand and though the island of Yara is quite expansive it has been filled with enough points of interest that offer up some sort of task or amusement. Exploration is only hindered by enemy controlled road checkpoints and while they can be overthrown, they are also easily avoided. While Far Cry 6’s scenery is beautiful, the graphics do not push the envelope, but it runs smoothly and the lighting is fantastic. There are a few glitches along the way and while I fortunately did not experience anything game breaking, I have seen enough examples that show that they can be a problem.
The sounds of Far Cry are great. Explosions sound as big as they look, each weapon sounds like they pack a punch and ambient sounds like enemies’ voices are done well helping players identify enemy locations and plan their next move. The negative being the vehicles which do not sound too enticing, usually just offering a flat note that ends up as white noise in the background of what is happening on screen.
Far Cry 6 is rated MA for a good reason. It is full of violence that is sometimes quite graphic, bad language and at times drug and alcohol use so this really is not one that players will want to put on during family time. It is simple enough to pause at any time so it is not an issue to have it running in the background.
Brandon Waite