Paradise does not always equal peace, especially when a barbaric ruler rains terror on the land. The Yaran people are beginning to rise up, who will be the one to lead them?
The Far Cry series has been a constant feature in my gaming life, starting with the original game back in the early 2000’s, going head-to-head with the definition of insanity, Vas, in Far Cry 3 and toppling that conceited bloke with questionable hair in Kyrat during Far Cry 4 – Pagan Min. A whole sect of the gaming world has adored this series since its inception, myself included. Arriving October 7th is the 6th instalment of the esteemed first-person shooter series again made by Ubisoft’s Toronto and Montreal studios: Far Cry 6.
What is the games context?
This is a Far Cry game; if you thought you’d be a mercenary looking to cause havoc you would be spot on. Far Cry 6 invites you to try and usurp a tyrannical, murderous dictator named Anton Castillo, the archetypal tropical despot, through the use of guerrilla warfare. Luckily, we have friends in the business; a sausage dog named Chorizo, and perhaps the more influential Dani Rojas and their gang of dissidents who call themselves the Libertads. Our mission: to emancipate the suffocated land of Yara, to dump the despot, to liberate the Yaran people and have a blast (if you pardon the pun) while doing so. Sure, we know roughly what to expect from a Far Cry game, but with the most expansive map to date and an entirely new Caribbean setting, Far Cry 6 looks to be among the finest games released this year.
Yara is brewing, it’s boiling. An uprising is incipient, and in a retort the government is clamping down hard on the people. The streets are littered with riot and chaos, dissent metastasises from brain to brain – trouble dawns. Far Cry 6 places an emphasis on subversion, on defection and clandestine operations – take control of checkpoints as usual, but also sneak about in tunnels and holster weapons so as to parade as plain clothes civilians. As our in-game mentor will reaffirm to us, ‘a good guerrilla is a hidden guerrilla’. It’s a brilliantly thought through state of affairs that bears the context of Far Cry 6, we don’t wonder into rebellion as we have in previous titles; we are the rebellion.
'As our in-game mentor will reaffirm to us, ‘a good guerrilla is a hidden guerrilla'.'
What are the weapons and vehicles like in Far Cry 6?
One aspect of Far Cry 6 that immediately stood out to me like a sore thumb was the vehicles. Man, they look spectacular! Classic cars with homemade supercharged modifications and fiery exhausts – what a dream! On the other end of the spectrum, I suppose the introduction of riding horses is also an upgrade? I’d say so. Giving a true Yaran rebel yell, the weapons used by the Libertads have also undergone a renovation – they are far wilder. Backpack mortar artillery, improvised flamethrowers, guns firing CD discs and sardine cans and a whole host of handcrafted, makeshift, retro-style weapons; the spirit of the resistance! Oh yeah, and we have a cute little scaly pet crocodile at our disposal too, and if we want to rest him for a later date, we can press on with our silky melee executions and takedowns too. Far Cry 6 takes on the true-to-history notion of the Resolver initiative, a Cuban ethos that encourages us find ad hoc solutions to our problems via resourceful creativity, by using out-of-the-box ideas to get the job done. So, we scavenge and we weaponise, or we build armour which too can give upgrades to playstyle. All in all, fighting and combat in Far Cry 6 is a little off one’s rocker – but it’s brilliant.
'Far Cry 6 takes on the true-to-history notion of the Resolver initiative, a Cuban ethos that encourages us find ad hoc solutions to our problems via resourceful creativity, by using out-of-the-box ideas to get the job done.'
How does Far Cry 6 look?
The graphical fidelity of this game is a serious step up from Far Cry 5, availing the title of the true potential of its hosting technology. In typical Far Cry style, the game is eccentric and bold, vibrant and vivid. Far Cry 6 returns to the roots of the first Jack Carver game 17 years later with sprawling jungles, clear blue water and paradisiacal beaches, but expands also into huge cityscapes, the capital of Yara, Esperenza, with skyscrapers and garages the likes of which we have not yet seen in a Far Cry title. Walking the land of Far Cry 6 really feels as though you are moving through an established country, with border forces and police – it’s an audacious move from Ubisoft but gives the game a Just Cause vibe that, when partnered with the Far Cry feel, is just irresistible. More, the Yaran weather plays a lead role in the overall milieu of the game, scorching days, flowing pink sunsets, baleful fog at midnight, electric storms too – the game knows how to set a mood that’s for sure. There is no facet of Yara that isn’t extraordinarily impressive; the contextual basis for Yara is that it is a fascist regime closely resembling Cuba, and another uprising back in 1917, which just so happens to mimic the time of the Russian Revolution and rise of Communism, means that a network of thought-to-be-abandoned subterranean tunnels run underneath the entire island, allowing for surreptitious smuggling and partisan movements. It’s a truly, truly genius concept from Ubisoft.
I’ve got to admit, from all the material we have seen of Far Cry 6, it looks to offer a an absolutely outstanding gaming experience. The title retains what makes Far Cry, Far Cry, with the wacky and outlandish crazed villains and an underdog-themed narrative, but makes many developments for the better, too: Far Cry 6 delves into the protagonist story much further this time around, for example, giving Dani Rojas a true voice thus making them a character us gamers can better rally and empathise with. All too often, release and gameplay trailers present an unrealistic, filtered vision of the game – but look at gameplay footage and you can see that Far Cry 6 does what it says on the tin; it is a gorgeous game, excelling in almost every area conceivable. We cannot wait to join the Yaran liberation and shoot up some baddies in 4K and 60FPS on the Xbox Series X and the PlayStation 5 - OK, no raytracing, but who needs raytracing when you have a bow and explosive-tipped arrows and a crocodile to hunt with?
Images sourced from Sony and Epic Games.