Far Cry 6 is another classic Ubisoft-style open-world game with an absurdly big map chock-full of basically repetitious activities. There’s nothing here that advances the brand, but if you like the familiar cadence, there’s no reason you won’t like this latest episode as much as the previous ones.
Far Cry 6, which will be released worldwide on Thursday, is not a terrific game. It frequently rehashes what have become Ubisoft clichés. But it can be a lot of fun at times. Far Cry 6 has true moments of inspiration where its blend of tropical paradise, co-op support, and fresh ideas come together to create something remarkable. But, in between those genuinely entertaining experiences, Far Cry 6 will force you to accomplish a succession of things that aren’t all that dissimilar. That sameness pervades. It feels like padding, but not quite as awful as in Ubisoft’s other major game, Assassin’s Creed. Having said that, the world of Far Cry 6, Yara — a fictional Caribbean island closely based on Cuba in many ways — is the largest you’ll ever see in a Far Cry game.
You’ve practically already played Far Cry 6 if you’ve played any Far Cry game in the last decade.
Over the first two days of our week-long review period, I leapt in with zeal, eager to drink up as much digital sunlight as possible in Ubisoft’s latest open-world FPS. By day three, however, I was quickly becoming apathetic.
That’s not to say the current instalment is horrible by any means; it’s simply that it’s all been done before, many times. From the typical storey structure to the overly wide landscape loaded with target markers, bases to clear, and dozens of mundane side tasks, it’s just another Far Cry game.
If you’re looking for a more original experience that takes the beloved Far Cry franchise into the new ground after three near-identical games and a handful of similar spinoffs, you won’t find it here. But if you enjoy the tried-and-true concept, there’s no reason you won’t find another 50 or so hours of entertainment in Yara.
Far Cry 6 Combat
Far Cry 6’s purpose is to overthrow Castillo and his associates, who control various portions of Yara. Along the process, you’ll have to establish alliances and perform the bidding of three big factions with a lot of clout among Yara’s commoners. Far Cry 6 narrative director Navid Khavari explained that this was a conscious plot choice since in a revolution, not everyone wants the same thing and their approaches don’t necessarily align.
In terms of fighting strategy, Far Cry 6 lets you select between a quiet stealth approach or going all guns blazing. I appreciate that it allows the user to choose and does not push you to choose one or the other. You can also enter the mission area in a variety of ways. You can sneak in from under a fort using a boat. Swing in from the sides and zip line. Rappel and ascend from a different angle. Alternatively, you can simply drive through the front gates.
Far Cry 6, on the other hand, encourages you to scout from high ground before charging in. You may use your phone to mark foes and get a sense of who you’re up against. Far Cry 6 introduces new adversary kinds, owing to the fact that you’re no longer fighting with rogues, but with a full-fledged armed force at Castillo’s disposal. Aside from the conventional riflemen and snipers, there are FND officials of various ranks who can raise morale (read: stats), bring in reinforcements, and even order airstrikes. Medics can assist injured soldiers and even save their lives if they are bleeding to death. Engineers will also plant turrets or activate EMPs to cripple your vehicle. They work as a team, you know. The FND also employs shields, animals, tanks, alarm systems, and trip wires – scouting allows you to determine what can be deactivated.
Weapons in Far Cry 6
Far Cry 6 gives you access to extraordinary weapons in addition to a variety of normal weapons to cope with all of these threats. You can have four weapons in the weapon wheel at any time: a sidearm and three primary weapons. You can choose from rifles, snipers, shotguns, and Resolver weapons for the latter.
Far Cry 6 is inspired by Cuba’s make-do-with-what-you-have Resolver way of life, and it allows you to obtain a slew of one-of-a-kind homemade weapons, like a flamethrower, a crossbow, a riot shield, a silent nail gun, and a poison pistol that turns foes against each other. Far Cry 6 also has “Supremo” backpacks, which act as an extra super weapon. They provide guided missiles, an explosive ring, an EMP pulse generator, and a fury booster that transforms you into a mini-Hulk. It all feels very Just Cause-y, albeit I must confess that it’s going a little too far with the zaniness.
Far Cry 6 momentarily flips to third-person vision when you employ Supremos to demonstrate how the backpack works. However, the only time you’ll witness third-person fighting in Far Cry 6 is during combat. More crucially, Supremos would have benefited from some manual control. When a plane flew across the sky, the backpack automatically latched onto the plane rather than the anti-aircraft installation I was attempting to target.
Far Cry 6’s gunplay is pretty enjoyable. You’ll get used to it, I believe, because you start with weak weapons that give you the impression you’re not completely in control. However, it quickly improves when you obtain more powerful guns with improved scopes and other weapon improvements.
Far Cry 6 relies on this range of equipment and weapons because Ubisoft Toronto has abandoned the RPG-style skill trees found in some of its predecessors. You will still gain XP and level up, but you will not receive any points that unlock new abilities. Those boosts have been transferred to your armour and gear. As you go around Yara, you will discover new gloves, trousers, masks, and chest pieces that will determine what type of rewards you receive. Weapon modding allows you to choose from a variety of ammo options, some of which are effective against some enemies but ineffective against others. This can be discovered when scouting. Of course, headshots are always headshots (I had a lot of fun with this). You can also insta-kill them by creeping up on them with a bow.
Vehicles in Far Cry 6
You can also use the vehicles available in Far Cry 6 to destroy foes. Tanks, helicopters, planes, automobiles, and vessels with turrets are all available. (In addition to horses, which are returning in Far Cry 6 and rather entertaining, you can use all of them to get from point A to point B.) However, you must exercise caution in how and where you utilise them. Throughout Yara, the FND has anti-aircraft installations. If you walk into an area with one, you will almost certainly be shot down. If you jump out in time, you can land safely using a parachute or wingsuit (the latter is extremely enjoyable).
You have the ability to disable the anti-aircraft guns. However, as you cause mayhem in Far Cry 6, your “hot” metre will build. The highest heat level is “desirable,” attracting the attention of the FND special troops. During my fun, though, they did not represent a greater threat or do anything unusual. My Xbox game statistics show that I took out a slew of special forces, but I don’t recall anything new or tougher than the ones I was already taking out.
You can even bring an animal partner to join in on the fun. On Far Cry 6, the Fangs for Hire system returns as “Amigos.” An alligator, dogs, and even a rooster are possible companions. They will aid you in fight by assaulting or distracting adversaries, which contributes to your stealth or all-out strategy. Amigos, on the other hand, don’t seem to be that helpful, and they appear to be a phenomenon that exists to sell toys and generate excitement on social media. Chorizo, the wheelchair weiner dog that is one of the Amigo choices, is already doing this.
Because Amigos follow you around, it can lead to some amusing situations. While dogs can ride in cars with you, alligators will follow you around indefinitely. They can be strangely unavailable at times, disappearing even after you phone them again.
Far Cry 6 Co-op
However, depending on the car and the number of pals, dogs do not always fit in. That takes me to the subject of co-op.
Far Cry 6 supports co-op throughout the campaign, same like previous editions. I wish Ubisoft had done the same with its other main properties, Assassin’s Creed and Watch Dogs. Naturally, any game is more enjoyable with friends. You can seek help during missions — I loved knocking out a pair of troops with a pal at the same time — but you can just just have fun around Yara. In an automobile, one person can drive while the other controls the turret. Take a ride in a helicopter, with one person flying and launching missiles and the other acting as a gunner. In Far Cry 6, you may even hop on a motorcycle with a sidecar and have your own Sholay moment.
Playing co-op also allows you to earn Moneda, an in-game money that can only be obtained through co-op and special activities. However, there are a few issues with co-op support. You can’t use a vehicle’s other controls, such as the radio or missiles. Furthermore, unlike The Division 2 (also from Ubisoft), you can’t get too far away from your co-op companion in co-op. Unfortunately, cross-platform gaming is not supported. However, it supports cross-generation co-op in the same way that Watch Dogs: Legion and The Division 2 do.
Far Cry 6 Missions
Far Cry 6 offers a plethora of storey objectives to offer thanks to the largest Far Cry map yet created. As I already stated, some feel repetitive: travel to a location, kill everyone there, and you’re done. Some missions quickly dropped behind my rating as well. Though my level appeared to be lagging behind what was required at first, it finally caught up with the assignments accessible to me. I wish there had been a The Division-style feature that ensured some quests were always at my level. It’s not very tempting to be level 7 and undertake a level 3 mission.
However, there are several tasks in Far Cry 6 that will make you smile. Fire and Fury, an early mission, is set to the iconic revolution song “Bella Ciao.” No, it isn’t titled “that Money Heist song.” Another task feels like it belongs in a Bond film, although it would have been even better if Ubisoft had the foresight to make it take place at night.
If you’re not in the mood for missions, Far Cry 6 provides a variety of side diversions to choose from. You can spend your time and money fishing, buying bait, and reeling in the money from the fish you catch. You can go treasure searching or hunting for large game. There’s also time trial racing, which can feature everything from horses to hovercraft. However, neither of them are especially noteworthy — and I found myself sucked back into the storey tasks.
If you don’t want to engage in any combat, Far Cry 6 lets you to holster your weapon and simply stroll around Yara. Conversations between native Yarans and even FND soldiers can be overheard. The latter, however, will not work if you approach too close to the military. Holstering also doesn’t protect you from heat on your back or if you chose to enter a prohibited area, both of which Yara has a plenty of.
What makes the last bit particularly vexing is that certain limited regions appear to never be cleared of opponents. I’d kill a bunch of them and move on to another region, only to return and find that fresh ones had appeared. I soon gave up and continued on to my destination. In some restricted regions, opponents will respawn the moment you walk away if you don’t hit the objective. I cleared out an anti-aircraft installation and a poison gas camp of all humans, but when I turned around and walked a few feet away, they all returned since I hadn’t destroyed the anti-aircraft gun and several poison gas barrels.
‘Remaining in the Ubi groove’
There were a few other annoyances with co-op. Enemies would teleport short distances, making aiming difficult. When walking or running, the other player would appear to be floating in the air at times. Clothing modifications were not seen at friendly camp, with Far Cry 6 reverting to the protagonist’s original outfit. And on one occasion, my partner couldn’t see their own gloves, despite the fact that I could. The fact that all of this happened for the co-op partner and never for the co-op host was a recurring theme. Ubisoft has acknowledged a number of co-op concerns, including latency issues, and says they will be addressed in the day-1 patch.
Far Cry 6 was a solid game for me in terms of graphics and performance. It looked and ran nicely on my Xbox One X and, predictably, performed even better on my friend’s Xbox Series X. There is an additional 20–37GB texture pack available for download on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series S/X for higher quality images. This is in addition to the base game, which requires 40–60GB to install.
Aside from that, the problem with Far Cry 6 is that it is a Ubisoft game. The video game behemoth has a history of producing the same games over and over – and simply repainting the outside. Far Cry 6 features checkpoints to complete, similar to The Division 2 and other games. When you do, you will gain access to a storeroom with a plethora of loot for you to grab. You may modify your home bases and add new functions, just like in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla and other games. Meanwhile, the animal friends and scouting remind me of Watch Dogs: Legion.
Ubisoft Toronto has some fresh ideas for the franchise, which has developed with each new chapter, but none of them are creative, let alone groundbreaking. Far Cry 6, on the other hand, is not attempting to be groundbreaking. It’s happy in its rut, presenting a pleasant and immersive Latin American atmosphere, an open world sandbox where you can screw around, and the resources to do whatever you want. Even better, you can do all of this with a friend. Very good!
Far Cry 6 Rating: 8 (out of 10)
Far Cry 6 will be available for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S/X, Stadia, and Amazon Luna on October 7.