Far Cry 6 review for Xbox Series X, PS5, PC

It?s hard to believe the Far Cry franchise has been around for almost 20 years. For starters, like many people I know, Far Cry wasn?t a series I picked up and played thoroughly until Far Cry 4. Yes, pretty late to the game, but this was the beginning of my love and appreciation of what the franchise could bring going forward.

I enjoyed Far Cry 4 because it was a game, I had zero expectations for and once I turned it on and was introduced to ?Pagan Min? the main antagonist of the game, I knew I was going to have a blast. From the moment I gained control of ?Ajay?, I never wanted to put the game down. It was a great story with some important path?s you could take.

The open world in the Far Cry series can be a bit intimidating, but once you spend a couple hours getting familiar with the mechanics, you are either going to love it or hate it. The franchise is not for everyone and a bit portion of this can come from some mechanics that tend to appear in nearly each sequel. For example, most of you are probably familiar with the Towers mechanic.

This is easily the worst overused feature in any Ubisoft game and has also been part of the Far Cry series. Well, I?m happy to announce, THEY ARE NOT HERE!!! At least not in my 15 hours of playing so far. This alone is a reason to play Far Cry 6 if you were on the fence. There is a lot more to enjoy in this entry, and the biggest way to explain it is, the game feels ?Fresh?. Like many games that get annual or bi-annual sequels, we can get tired of the same old bloating side quests, familiar visual assets, same weapons and a repetitive story.

Here is a quick excerpt of the Story. ?Set in a fictional Caribbean island Yara, ruled as a dictatorship by “El Presidente” Ant?n Castillo (portrayed by Giancarlo Esposito) who is raising his son Diego (Anthony Gonzalez) to follow in his rule, the player takes the role of guerilla fighter Dani Rojas, attempting to topple Castillo and his regime.?

Like Far Cry 5, you will choose between two-character models for Dani. The game gets right into the chaos and at first glance, I thought the game would be more linear since you start in one of the main cities of Yara, which is a very different location that traditional Far Cry. Once you complete the prologue portion, you will once again be familiar with the island like setting, which is vaguely reminiscent of Far Cry 3. One of the first things I noticed and appreciated was the map. It was not covered in clouds hiding most of the locations until I get to the top of a Tower. What a relieve to be able to see the entire map early on and plan my adventure appropriately.

The island of Yara is vast and varied, and one of the standout aspects are the people you will meet along the way both human and animal alike. One of my favorites so far, is? A Crocodile named Guapo! You can?t make this up. Like Far Cry 5, you can have animal companions, this time called amigos and Guapo is one of the several animals you will be able to have assist you as you decimate the regime.

The Side missions are also greatly improved and don?t feel bloated and forced. They vary from treasure hunting, finding Supply drops, to Cock Fighting! The game truly feels fresh and haven?t had this much fun since Far Cry 4. The way the story is laid out, is still broken up into regions you will need to over help overthrow Castillo?s forces and grow the ?Libertad?, the local Resistance. As you progress, you will be able to upgrade your camps with various stores for weapons, fishing, hunting and running off screen missions. These are missions you can send NPCs into and help gain more currency or crafting items.

The Weapon variety is fair, but what I enjoy is how you obtain most. As you explore the island, you will find locations that may have a hidden cache of items and could include a new weapon. This helps with finding a new arsenal at your leisure. For the most part, you can explore the island early on, but some regions have higher Rank Requirements, which is ideally your level. If you?re feeling dangerous, you can try your luck, but don?t be surprised if you get obliterated. I?ve been playing it safe with most of my journey so far.

Along the regions you will find either one of El Presidente?s Upper Ranks to overthrow or someone to try and recruit for Libertad. I feel more inclined to take on many of the missions vs pumping through the story alone, which is something I would normally do. There feels more of a sense of story complexity with meeting more and more of these characters which improves my Already positive experience with Far Cry.

One of the most unique additions to the game is the new powered weapons known as ?Supremo?. These are designed by one of the main supporting character and in order to purchase them you will need to locate depleted uranium on side missions. The Supremo are a special skill you will have a meter to fill as you play and gives you a variety of results.

The initial Supremo is a large backpack that shoots rockets out and can help take out a Tank, Helicopter, or some anti Cannons which can take a long time to destroy with standard guns. Another I have purchases lets you jump in the air and create wall of fire to take your enemies. We had similar customer weapons built in the previous entry, but these just hit differently, and I love that.

Another aspect of the weapon system that has changed is how you customize. This time around you have what?s called the ?Resolver? weapons. These are very destructive weapons that can be crafted with items found on the island along with more Uranium. These weapons feel more like what we saw in Far Cry 5. There are more than 50 weapons in the game and you can still customize features like suppressors and scopes. You can customize just about anything including your vehicles like before.

Another big change is the skill menu looks to be gone all together and you will gain new items, and evolve the character as the story evolves. For example, you had to previously unlock skills with points to unlock the paraglider but obtained it early on from a story mission. This is a welcome change and let?s me spend more time in Yara and discovering all the island has to offer, which give the player some nice surprises along the way.

For Traversing the map, one of my favorite parts added to the game is a new custom vehicle that can work on the water and in air. I had a ton of fun when I found it and reminding me of one of the flying vehicles in Far Cry 4.

There of course a couple things that I?m not crazy about but won?t ruin the overall experience. The driving in First Person is something that will always take getting used to for me. This is an opportunity to give you other view options. I say this, because Ubisoft has decided to include a third Person View when you are in your camps, treating it like a Hub.

I would even welcome the addition of playing the whole game like this, seeing as they have games like the Division where you can. With driving, it just feels clunky and the biggest time I feel it is, with riding horses. Yes, this time around you can ride horses and it?s a nice addition but leaves me feeling queasy after a while.

I?m still jugging through the story and exploring Yara and having a great time. It?s a good time to invest in a game like this when there aren?t too many new titles in the genre coming soon. The shortcomings are minimal and I?m sure I have a lot more to discover. Fans of Giancarlo Esposito will enjoy his inclusion, as he does a fantastic job of playing a villain you love to hate.

Ubisoft provided us with a Far Cry 6 Xbox Series X code for review purposes.