Far Cry 6 review: Viva la gunplay

To the surprise of nobody, Far Cry 6 is a huge game. There are endless sights to see and things to do, but some activities don’t live up to expectations. One of its greatest strengths thus becomes a weakness at times. Thankfully, what Far Cry 6 gets right outweighs the instances where it falls short.

Welcome to Yara

Far Cry 6 begins with an introduction to the main character, Dani, as well as Dani’s two friends, Lita and Alejo. The group is having a couple of drinks on a rooftop when soldiers move in and round people up for the Draft to Paradise, an "opportunity" to work for a better Yara, a country that’s struggling with crippling poverty. Yara's dictator, Anton Castillo, is not afraid to make tough choices that he believes are necessary to get the country back on track.

It’s here that you will select between a female or male character, both uniquely voiced, providing a full narrative experience regardless of who is chosen. Once you make a choice, bullets begin to fly. You are forced to sneak, run, jump, and generally parkour over balconies and through streets to escape death. It’s an impressive bit of gameplay to kick things off, and soon Dani gets to meet Anton Castillo and his son Diego face to face. As is often the case early in a story, this first meeting doesn’t go well for the main character.

Soon after this meeting, you're introduced to the guerrilla organization known as Libertad. A group that is pushing back against Castillo’s regime. While it’s clear early on that they are a thorn in Castillo’s side, they desperately need a hero, which is where you come in. The group’s leader, Clara, will ask you to fight back against Castillo’s forces and recruit key figures to increase the strength and capabilities of Libertad. With that, the stage for Far Cry 6 is set and you are (sort of) free to explore the vast country of Yara.

A walk in the park

Once you're loose in Yara, a major strength is immediately clear. Far Cry 6 is one of the most gorgeous games I have ever played. I was able to run it at a resolution of 2560x1440 (2K) with most settings cranked and the HD texture pack installed. The result is a world filled with beautiful mountains, forests, beaches, cities, and tucked away areas to explore. There aren't a lot of quiet moments in Far Cry 6, but when there are, you'd be wise to take a moment to enjoy the view.

My first walkabout in Far Cry 6 featured plenty to sink my teeth into. First, I noticed the guerrilla paths that allow travel without being confronted by enemies constantly. Along those paths are various Libertad NPCs that will offer tidbits of information you can use, as well as hideouts and workbenches. It’s never too far to the next car, boat, horse, plane, or helicopter, so if walking isn’t ideal, you can grab a ride to the next destination.

Around this time is also when I noticed that I couldn’t see enemies as well as I expected. I’m color blind, but Far Cry 6 is packed with accessibility options ranging from menu narration to outlined enemies to choices in difficulty. These options are presented as the game launches, so those that need some or all of the options can tweak them right out of the gate, which I thought was a fantastic move by Ubisoft.

Let’s ride instead

Traversing Yara in any vehicle is enjoyable, whether it’s gliding across the water in a boat, flying over the vast mountains, or bombing down the highway in one of the cars (rides) with the radio cranked. It cannot be stated enough that Far Cry 6 is breathtaking. This is furthered by a strong collection of music that can be enjoyed by turning the radio on in any vehicle found in the world. If what’s playing is particularly good, you might hear Dani singing along.

The pain point I foresee with vehicles is the first-person only perspective. The option to drive any vehicle in third-person doesn’t exist in Far Cry 6. At first, I thought this was a terrible choice, but the more I fly or drive, the more I appreciate it. While I expect that stance won’t be shared by many, I’ve often criticized Ubisoft for trying to be everything to everyone. There’s lots of that in Far Cry 6, but first-person only vehicle operation is at least a design decision that is unique and will be remembered. How it’s remembered, only time will tell.

Deep and beautiful violence

A major win for Far Cry 6 is the combat and movement. Not long after you're turned loose in the world, you'll receive your first Supremo, a backpack that acts like a mobile skill tree with a special ability and some gadgets. The unique ability charges over time, and features things like a barrage of rockets, cloud of poison, or healing abilities. Supremos can be equipped or modified at any workbench, allowing you to swap them in and out to fit the situation. Instead of always having the skills you selected in a traditional skill tree active, you are focusing your build around the gear you're wearing and carrying. This is a step away from other Ubisoft offerings and a decision that I applaud.

Before heading out on a mission or engaging in combat, you'll normally start at a base, camp, HQ, or any of the other places Libertad calls home. I mean, you don’t have to start there, but friendly camps allow players to improve their gear, buy new gear, call for vehicles, get quests, and even take part in some of the many activities in Yara. Camps can be upgraded via a construction desk that allows you to build specific additions for activities like hunting and fishing, as well as other endeavors.

After leaving camp and setting out to cause trouble, the gear and combat came together for me. I used a Supremo backpack that fired a barrage of rockets. I added perception grenades to mark enemies, EMP grenades to disable alarms, regular grenades for blowing stuff up, and baseballs to lure and distract foes. Combine this with my suppressed lever-action rifle with a 4x scope, an SMG, and an RPG, and I was living the guerrilla fantasy my way and having a blast. Stealth was no longer the slow play it used to be. I was clearing bases in a few minutes, going full parkour by scaling walls and zooming down zip lines, ending with satisfying headshots that I’m utterly addicted to. When injured in the fight, I loved seeing Dani heal by bending a broken finger to point the right way, snapping a dislocated wrist into place, or wrapping duct tape around a wound.

When a location is cleared and your fingers are pointing in the right direction, it’s time to collect the loot. Far Cry 6 does a better job of not making you spend 15 minutes picking up weapons and armor after every fight, which was an issue in Ghost Recon Breakpoint. There might be one gun, which could be a standard or a unique weapon. These drop at different levels, and overcoming the enemy is about not only leveling up your character, but also choosing the right gear for the job.

Combat efficiency is tied into the gear you wear or the perks and mods equipped on weapons. Clothing can offer bonuses, but the transmog system means you can look the way you want and not give up any of the functionality. While the bulk of Far Cry 6 is first person, Dani will appear in cutscenes wearing whatever you equipped. The result is unique builds designed to to be powerful no matter the individual styles of play, while not giving up anything in terms of visual expression.

What misses for me in Far Cry 6 are companions. Some of the quests to get these companions are fun, but most of the time these helpers are more of a nuisance than anything. The number of times Chorizo (the little dog with wheels for back legs) would get stuck trying to follow me, or get downed in combat, far outweighed any benefit. That’s not to say companions aren’t adorable (Chorizo) or hilarious (Chicharron) but, unfortunately, that doesn’t translate into useful. Frankly, I miss Nick Rye from Far Cry 5.

Where to begin?

Far Cry 6 is stuffed with so many things going on that it’s impossible to discuss each system or feature in detail without turning this into a novel. While there’s the perception that more content is better, and that can be true, too much content means that not all of it ends up being high quality. With Far Cry 6, it feels like Ubisoft knew that to fill this vast map, it had to stick everything possible into Yara, and some of it misses the mark.

On the other hand, some things do stick. The Treasure Hunts in Far Cry 6 are both fun and rewarding, offering simple puzzles to solve or tricky terrain to navigate. At the end you'll normally find a useful piece of gear as your reward. Yaran Stories can be hit or miss. These side missions can lead to recruiting a new companion or NPC, or just uncovering more about Yara in general. Racing is a cool way to pass time and collect items for your ride, and I was oddly addicted to Los Bandidos Operations, a cool mini game that can be played at camps where players must deploy leaders and guerrillas to complete an objective. It’s something that plays out in menus, but it’s well done and an unexpected highlight for me.

The activities I’m not a fan of are hunting, fishing, mythical creatures, and cockfighting. These generally tie into other parts of gameplay, like trading fish and animal meat for materials. The problem with fishing and hunting specifically, is that other games do it better than Far Cry 6, and the motivation to to hunt or fish in Yara misses badly. I have no desire to go fishing to get meat I can trade for a material needed to upgrade a weapon, and since these activities don't really offer any captivating gameplay on their own, I generally couldn't be bothered. The lone exception to this was killing mythical creatures without ever having to leave my helicopter. It felt very Far Cry, but even that didn't compel me to look for more of them.

Far Cry 6 also features a Special Operations mode that can be played solo or in co-op. These can reward gear items and a special currency that can be used to buy things from a specific vendor. Once you complete a Special Operation on the lowest difficulty, you can head back in and try it on a harder one. My time in Special Operations was as a solo player and, while fun, it's clearly designed with co-op in mind. 

15 minutes of fame

When it comes to the characters and story of Far Cry 6, I loved the performances and thought most of the actors did a fantastic job, especially Nisa Gunduz (female Dani) and Giancarlo Esposito (Anton Castillo). My issue is that most of the NPCs that you meet along the way are written in a way that makes them so over the top that they are each forgettable. If everyone at the party is the center of attention, nobody is, and Far Cry 6 falls into this trap. Juan Cortez, a Libertad member, might be the exception.

Giancarlo Esposito suffers the same fate as Jon Bernthal in Ghost Recon Breakpoint. I think Esposito got about five minutes of screen time in the first 10 hours. That obviously picks up in the back half of the experience as the narrative progresses, but there are long gaps between appearances that can lead to the story losing its steam. Some of this could have been the order I chose to play through missions, or how much exploring I did outside of the main story, but a bit more of Esposito early on wouldn’t have been a bad thing. The scenes where Castillo is grooming his son Diego to be the future leader of Yara are fantastic.

Truth or lies

When the dust finally settles in Yara, Far Cry 6 is both a fantastic game with some unique design choices and one that tries too hard to please everyone. The scope of activities and the gaps between meaningful screen time for Anton Castillo early on can lead to an experience that lacks direction.

Even with a few missteps, Far Cry 6 is a triumph in a few ways that should be celebrated. The graphics are spectacular, and I imagine they will be spoken about by everyone who visits Yara. The choice to leave the skill tree behind has resulted in engaging combat that makes the gameplay feel tighter. Mix in a few fun activities while ignoring some that fail to resonate, and the good far outweighs the bad. Far Cry 6 is an immensely fun game that series fans and open-world aficionados won’t want to miss.

This review is based on a PC download key provided by the publisher for review considerations. Far Cry 6 will be available for Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Google Stadia, Microsoft Windows on October 7, 2021.

Bill Lavoy

Managing Editor

Bill, who is also known as Rumpo, is a lifelong gamer and Toronto Maple Leafs fan. He made his mark early in his career through guide writing and a deep understanding of editorial SEO. He enjoys putting in the work to create a great content, be it a wild feature or grinding out an in-depth collectible guide. Tweet him @RumpoPlays if you have a question or comment about one of his articles.