Far Cry 6 Review

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Fast Facts

Far Cry has had many ups and downs through its series, with many people having differing opinions about which are good and which are bad and even which is the best – Far Cry 3, for me! Now, Far Cry 6 is here – which category does it fall into? Let me tell you.

Welcome to Yara

Far Cry has seen many a setting throughout the series; America and fictional Islands to name a couple. Far Cry 6‘s setting doesn’t stray far from its roots as it’s set on a fictional tropical island heavily inspired by Cuba, called Yara and it is the biggest Far Cry environment yet. It’s huge!

The main premise is nothing unseen from a Far Cry game before; the dictator of Yara, Antón Castillo (expertly played by Giancarlo Esposito) is intent on restoring the nation back to its former glory, with his son Diego whom, from the get-go, doesn’t agree with his father’s actions. The oppressive rule put into place by the dictator has sparked a revolution amongst Yara’s inhabitants. You are tasked with becoming a Guerrilla fighter and burning his regime to the ground, quite literally.

You play as Dani Rojas, a local Yaran wanting to defend themselves against the tyrant dictator. From the get-go, you’re made to feel more connected to your character than in any other Far Cry game prior. This is due to the fact that you’re able to choose between a male and female version of Dani (which I was so happy to see!) and you will then learn that Dani is fully voiced! We are no longer a silent protagonist with no personality! You can feel connected with the story on a deeper level, even though it doesn’t feel too unfamiliar from what we are used to with the previous games.

It’s a Big, Bad World out There

As I touched upon earlier, Far Cry 6 has the biggest map a Far Cry game has ever seen before with people working it out to be around 88km² – including the maps oceans and water. To put that into context, that’s roughly two to three times larger than Far Cry 5‘s map – and that felt big enough!

As good as this map size appears to be (and it is good), there also needs to be enough things to fill the map up so it isn’t one big empty playground. Fortunately, Far Cry 6 has a ton of things for you to see, explore and do. Unfortunately, it can be a little overwhelming. If you have played a Far Cry game before (and the great thing about Far Cry is that you don’t need to play all the games to understand them) then you know what kind of things to expect to find; checkpoints to liberate, treasure to find, supply crates to steal and side quests to complete. As well as all the sites to see and animals to encounter, as standard. Not to mention the numerous enemies you will encounter travelling just about anywhere – which can get a little annoying – but it’s nowhere near as bad as in previous games.

The map in Far Cry 6 is divided into four main territories; Madruga, Esperanza, Valle De Oro and El Este. Just like in Far Cry 5, the game’s ‘main’ big baddies are separated into each of these territories. These are members of Antón’s government. Whilst travelling these territories you will come across various biomes such as jungles, beaches and even Far Cry’s very first Urban setting. *Chefs Kiss.*

Far Cry 6‘s Yara is the most beautiful Far Cry world, yet.

Refreshing Details

As much as Far Cry 6 does stick true to its roots, it has implemented some exciting new features that really add to the experience of the game and helps ‘fill’ it out a little. The game takes a whole new approach to its gear and weapons, for one. With your gear, you will now unlock various items of clothing to switch and choose to your liking, but if you equip a full ‘set’ (all with the same name) you will unlock perks purely because of that. This was a nice addition. When it comes to your weapon load-outs, you are now able to fully customise your guns to suit your playstyle. Whether that be equipping a gun with a larger scope and a silencer, for the more stealthy approach, or simply by adding armour-piercing rounds for total destruction. The choice is yours.

The game has also implemented the use of ‘Resolver’ weapons, which are basically pretty ‘out there’ heavy weapons that deal big damage. You start out with a flamethrower, but you have the option to switch this out when completing specific missions or by completing certain feats. Among the ones you can unlock are a silent nail gun, a shotgun that can shoot through walls and even a CD-ROM Disc Launcher. I told you they were out there…

Lastly, we have the addition of Supremo weapons. These are essentially like a ‘special weapon’ that comes in the form of a backpack and are extremely over the top and powerful, but it is Far Cry, right? These weapons need to be charged before they can be used – when they are ready, simply press LB+RB together and it will be activated. They all have their own perks, it’s about choosing one that works with your playstyle. The one you get first fires of a bunch of rockets that will land on the nearest enemies. It’s extremely useful when you’re being swarmed by enemies.

It’s worth noting that all weapon upgrades are done via workbenches you find in-game but you are able to switch out your weapons as you see fit from wherever you are which is amazing. You are also able to customise your vehicles which is a nice feature.

Hey, Amigo!

Far Cry has always implemented the idea of having companions along for the ride, whether these be human or animal and Far Cry 6 is no different, except they’re only in the form of animals called Amigos. Your first Amigo is a Crocodile called Guapo (which was a shock for me as I have a big fear of Crocodiles, but they do put him in a little jumper, so that helped). Each Amigo has its own ability and perks so again, it’s about experimenting with them to see what suits your playstyle best. Or, you can just pick the cutest one, like me…

There are a total of five Amigos to unlock in the base game and two further ones with DLC.

Whilst we are on the subject of animals, Far Cry 6 has implemented a Chicken Fighting segment that actually involves a Street Fighter style mini-game which is actually a lot of fun, as much as I hate to say it. You can even unlock better, more powerful chickens! I don’t know, there was just something real satisfying about flying kicking a chicken being controlled by your friend…

Fun with Friends!

You know the drill with Far Cry, they’re all fully playable with a friend in co-op mode – and it’s so much fun. There’s not much different here to the older games, but if it’s not broke, don’t fix it right? The one aspect that did annoy me slightly was the fact that if I was playing in my friend’s world, the progress done on missions there wouldn’t carry over to my own. Meaning, I would have to play through the missions twice.

If none of your friends have Far Cry 6 but you still want the co-op experience, not to worry! You can randomly join a person’s game or you can select to have a random person join your game by a simple press of a button. Easy!

You will be required to complete the game’s prologue before co-op is unlocked though.

Summary

Overall, Far Cry 6 is the best in the series so far. It doesn’t differ from the previous games too much but it adds just enough to keep it feeling new and fresh. The world of Yara is wonderful and the amount of things to do within it is great. The story and its characters were entertaining enough to keep me invested. If you’re a Far Cry fan, you have to experience this one.

Rapid Reviews Rating

4.5 out of 5

4.5

You can purchase Far Cry 6 from the Xbox store here.