There's a lot to like about Far Cry 6, but not a lot that's new. Ubisoft's signature open-world FPS franchise shifts the locale to the tropical island of Yara this time out, placing players in the middle of a revolution against fascism. Just as Far Cry 5 raised tough questions about the heartland of America, Far Cry 6 attempts to say something about the global rise of authoritarian regimes, all while reveling in the endless fun of watching things explode. It's an imperfect balancing act that falls toward trope and cliché even more than past entries, but the underlying gameplay formula still manages to work its magic after all these years.
Part of that is due to a string of brilliant villains at the center of each mainline entry. Giancarlo Esposito is an amazing choice to continue that tradition on paper, but players may well have seen the best parts of his performance before they even pick up the controller. While Yaran dictator Antón Castillo is certainly present throughout the world, his influence on the story feels limited compared to past Far Cry foes. His cutscenes are often reactive towards the player's actions, whose moments of triumph often come against his lieutenants rather than against him directly. At several points throughout the campaign, things seemed to build towards some sort of massive left turn that would have cemented Castillo as an all-timer, but Far Cry 6 always opts to play it safe. While not as controversial as the extended saga of Joseph Seed through 5 and New Dawn, it all feels like a big missed opportunity.
In addition to Antón, Far Cry 6 focuses on player character Dani Rojas. A Yaran orphan escaping from forced conscription, they find themself in the embrace of the growing Libertad movement, eventually becoming a vital piece of the puzzle in the fight to free their homeland from tyranny. The choice to return to such a defined main character after Far Cry 5's mute deputy is an interesting one, and it does fight back against a franchise-long tendency towards unrealistically flamboyant side characters bouncing against a stoic straight man. Far Cry 6's best moments are now more than soliloquies by tyrannical madmen, instead highlighting a great ensemble cast of memorable guerrilla legends. By letting real emotional moments build between more grounded characters, Far Cry 6 sacrifices some of its edgy highs in exchange for a more evenhanded and modern adventure.
On the other side of the Yaran peso, Dani's constant vocal contributions damage the flow of combat, especially towards the end of the game. There are only so many ways to call out enemies in an outpost, warn allies of an impending helicopter, or summon an adorable weiner dog to distract a guard. Players will inevitably hear the same phrases over and over as they take on the overwhelming number of combat scenarios scattered across the map. This is the trade-off inherent in making Dani a talkative protagonist, and the ability to tone down or even cease these vocal cues would have been appreciated. Because of this repetition, that vital drive to chill out and take over the map one icon at a time just never materializes.
Even though Far Cry's continued struggles with storytelling are disappointing to anyone who's seen the series at its best, it's not that surprising anymore. Players are truly here for another whirlwind tour of exotic locales and even more exotic firearms, and Ubisoft delivers that in spades. Dani's arsenal is bursting with options, letting players combat Castillo's forces however they see fit. The standard array of rifles, rocket launchers, and bows are highly customizable and grow alongside the player, but they're often not the best option. Far Cry 6 also features Fallout-esque named weapons that come with their own perks and unique skins. These are easily the most rewarding collectibles in all of Yara, while also serving the important role of letting players who don't want to tinker with weapons a key to everything the game's arsenal has to offer.
These unique weapons are in addition to the Resolver weapons provided by ever-present mentor Juan. The collection includes vital armaments like an EMP launcher that can blast helicopters out of the sky and a sniper rifle that launches explosive shots at long range. It also includes off-the-wall tools of destruction that are more fun than function. It's probably never the right move to pull out a CD launcher that plays The Macarena, but it's also funny to see how effective it can be. When combined with the backpack Supremos that serve as Dani's rechargeable ultimate move, 6 brings Far Cry's signature combat to a whole other level.
Even with Far Cry 6's vast selection of weapons, the world of Yara is another in a long line of Ubisoft endurance tests. Featuring three fully stocked regions that might as well be chapters in an episodic game, the sheer scope of Far Cry 6's offering is undoubtedly impressive. Anyone looking for a game that will give them months of activities has found what they're looking for, but anyone looking for a completionist challenge will probably find more frustration than fun. Multiple tiers of outposts provide more doses of satisfying stealth, and completing any of them will point Dani towards other events in the surrounding area. It's a play pattern that still works, but only for those who aren't burnt out by dozens of hours of this exact pattern in previous entries.
With the focus firmly placed on looting weapons, crafting currencies, and other gear, Far Cry 6 fails to bring much of note in terms of open-world activities. There's an option to send other guerillas out on missions Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood-style, but the end result is a loop of repeating text adventures that generate resources but not excitement. A cockfighting minigame that's an actual riff on fighting games is a cute joke, but it's far too simple to play much beyond the initial matches. Hunting and racing challenges feel like vestigial systems tacked onto the open world at this point, and the story-heavy side missions are so spread out in the massive world that it's easy to miss them. Overall, it's just less fun to explore Yara than it was to scour every building in Hope County or Kyrat.
Perhaps this lack of excitement for Far Cry 6's open world comes from a distinct lack of surprising moments. From the beginning of the series, Far Cry has been full of missions and characters that break player expectations. In both its storyline and its secrets, the tale of securing Yaran freedom plays out pretty much as expected, and that leaves the entire game feeling as expendable as one of the many pre-Origins Assassin's Creed games. It's the same journey everyone knows with a new setting and slightly tweaked missions, and the fact that everyone thought that coming in and Far Cry 6 does nothing to upend this opinion is disappointing. Ubisoft knows how to make a fun open-world FPS, but the series that once famously saw a villain wax poetic about insanity seems to have forgotten its own definition of the term.
Far Cry 6 releases on October 7, 2021, for PC, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Stadia, and Amazon Luna. Screen Rant was provided an Xbox copy of the game's Ultimate Edition for the purposes of this review.