Far Cry 6 | Xbox Review

“Is the Ubisoft formula getting stale?” That seems to be the sentiment of gamers and game journalists, if I am to believe everything I read online. There’s no doubt that Far Cry 3 made quite a splash when it released back in 2012, becoming a critical and commercial success. Its chilling narrative, larger than life villains, and addictive gameplay all laid the groundwork for future releases to follow. So while it might be getting old for some, it’s what keeps me coming back for more.

From a pirate infested tropical island, to a Himalayan country in the midst of a civil war, to the American heartland held hostage by a religious cult; the Far Cry series always delivers a dark story with an open-world playground set in exotic locales. All of which are rife with ample opportunities for destruction and mayhem. Far Cry 6 from Ubisoft Toronto is no different as it continues the traditions established by its predecessors, albeit with some significant tweaks and minor improvements in an effort to keep the series feeling as fresh as possible.

Viva La Revolución!

Far Cry 6 is set on the fictional Caribbean island nation of Yara, taking inspiration from Cuba. You play as Dani Rojas, a former soldier turned guerilla fighter. After unsuccessfully trying to escape to America, Dani joins a freedom fighter group known as Libertad. Their goal is to restore Yara to its former democratic glory and depose Anton Castillo, the ruthless dictator of Yara played by villain du jour Giancarlo Esposito.

Over the course of Dani’s journey you’ll meet a large cast of supporting characters. They each have their own reasons for wanting to remove or kill Anton. Dani must do various jobs for these characters in order to convince them to join the Libertad cause. Like all games before it, the characters you encounter range from being battle hardened pessimists with a tragic past, or they’re cartoonish and over-the-top buffoons meant to only provide laughs.

The storyline in Far Cry 6 is the game’s biggest strength and is ranked highly in my list of Far Cry stories. This is the first time since Far Cry Primal that the player character is fully voiced, this time featuring both a male and female vocal performance. But a big first for the series is the cutscenes are now shown in third-person. We now get to see a fully fleshed character be an active participant in the story rather than a passive observer. This also allows the narrative to shift focus away from Dani to tell Anton’s story, as we’re no longer bound by the player’s perspective. 

Giancarlo Esposito was of course the big highlight as was the actor who portrayed Anton’s son Diego. I found the father/son dynamic of the Castillos to be the most fascinating of the story. While Anton has been fully enveloped by his twisted worldviews to justify his brutality, you have this young kid being groomed by his dad to one day become the ruler of Yara, who struggles between wanting to appease his father, but also find his own moral compass and forge his own destiny.

Once a Guerilla, Always a Guerilla

On the surface, Far Cry 6 is just like any of the previous entries and it plays just as well for the most part. In addition to the usual outposts, there are now military roadside checkpoints dotted all over Yara. These serve as mini outposts with similar objectives, and make for handy fast travel points once liberated. Also added are anti-aircraft guns that you must destroy if you wish to fly around Yara without getting shot down. I won’t list off every single change made in the game, so instead I’ll just mention one positive change I liked and a negative I didn’t like. The one I appreciated has to do with the enemy encounters. What I mean by that is even after a territory is fully liberated, you will still encounter soldiers on patrol. In previous entries, particularly Far Cry 5, after liberation you were less likely to encounter enemies to fight so the map felt empty and boring. However, the way they solved this means you’ll see the occasional respawning enemy, harkening back the bad old days of Far Cry 2.

Perhaps my least favorite change in Far Cry 6 was ditching the skill tree. I know skill trees are a common trope in games these days, even when they don’t make sense narratively. But it’s a staple mechanic and part of Far Cry’s identity. Instead, now your skills and abilities are tied to interchangeable gear you can wear. The items are broken down to five body parts: head, hands, chest, legs, and feet. You can mix and match your gear to get a multitude of skills. But if you wear all five items from one category, your abilities in said category go into overdrive. I understand they were going for an RPG approach, but it gets cumbersome having to constantly pause the game to access your inventory every time you want to change clothes. Not being able to execute a chain takedown because you’re not wearing the right type of pants doesn’t make sense. It was an unnecessary change just for the sake of it.

Rule #9: Always Use the Right Tool for the Job

The country of Yara, much like Cuba that inspired it, has endured decades of economic embargoes and sanctions. You see that right away with the type of cars on the road as they’re all vehicles from the 1950s and 60s. The specialty weapons you can acquire are made out of makeshift components slapped together with duct tape. These are the Resolver and Supremo weapons. The Supremo is a backpack that offers certain perks in your loadout. They can be augmented with different functions like launching mortar rockets, emitting a powerful EMP blast, or releasing a toxic gas cloud, among others. It definitely comes in handy whenever you’re outnumbered or outgunned. The EMP blast in particular is useful for disabling vehicles and turrets.

The Resolver weapons are special heavy weapons that can be purchased at any liberated base. Much like the Supremo, they’ve been repurposed from common items. Want a gatling gun powered by a boat motor? Perhaps a crossbow that fires heavy spears that can impale enemies? Or there’s my personal favorite, the Discos Locos, a CD launcher that plays “Macarena” on a loop. It’s just another example of adding the absurd to the morbid. 

An Island Paradise

Graphically, Far Cry 6 is the most impressive the series has ever looked. It runs well and plays like a champ even on last generation hardware. The tropical environment is a welcome return, and the size of the map is beyond impressive and it is the biggest the series has ever seen. Yara actually feels like a county and even the smallest of small villages is larger than the main town from Far Cry 5. This is also the first in the series to feature an urban environment. Yara’s capital city Esperanza provides good opportunities for urban guerilla warfare. It’s another cool addition for a franchise mostly set in rural environments. However, you can’t explore the whole city, as roughly seventy-five percent of the city is completely inaccessible even after finishing the story. There’s still plenty to do, but it’s still disappointing. Not sure if it was a casualty of the pandemic, or perhaps the developers felt the scope was too ambitious to fully execute.

Another highlight is the sound design and music. While clearing outposts, you’ll hear propaganda from Anton Castillo blasting from loud speakers. It sounds realistic in the way the speakers would echo throughout the environment. Because of the Latin American setting, the soundtrack features a versatile mix of Afro Caribbean styles ranging from modern fare like Spanish rap hip-hop and reggaeton, to some classic Latin jazz and Cuban danzón. One nice little feature is Dani will occasionally sing along to whatever is playing on the radio. It’s a neat touch and can be funny in certain moments, like singing along to Ricky Martin’s “Livin’ La Vida Loca” while on a high-speed shootout. The musical score is another highlight composed by Pedro Bromfman, known for scoring Max Payne 3 and the Netflix series Narcos.

When Tyranny is Law, Revolution is Order

Overall Far Cry 6 is another worthy entry in the series, and despite some of the changes I mentioned, I still had a fun time. Sure it’s “another Far Cry game,” but that’s okay. I’m still a fan of this series and it features all the familiar trappings of a Far Cry game that makes me want more. I’m such a fan of the series I’ll admit that I miss climbing towers. I enjoyed the pseudo-Cuban setting and culture that Ubisoft was trying to emulate. It stacks up nicely with other games in the series, and most importantly it has a memorable villain that actually contributes to the story beyond simply being the big bad. 

Also, playing this game on two different generations of hardware adds an interesting angle to my overall experience with Far Cry 6. I started this review having only played it on the Xbox One and I’m ending it on an Xbox Series X. It makes me look forward to what the series has in store for the future. If you’re a fan like me, you’ll enjoy it. For those who are getting tired of the franchise, I don’t blame you. So to answer the question I posed at the start of this review, is the formula growing stale? I would say no, and according to some sales figures I found, it’s safe to say I’m not alone.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnLgFTLa4To

This review is based on a purchased copy of Far Cry 6 on Xbox consoles. It’s also available on PS4/PS5, PC, Google Stadia and Amazon Luna