Far Cry 6 Review Round-Up Has Critics Divided
While we already knew there'd be some political unrest surrounding Ubisoft's Far Cry 6, most of us assumed that would be kept confined to the game and the island of Yara. As the next chapter of the long-running Far Cry series heads to a whole new locale, the first reviews are in - and it's a mixed bag.
From the humble roots of 2004's OG Far Cry, the series has continued to go from strength to strength. Each entry has delivered something different, however, many feel it was 2012's Far Cry 3 that really jumped the shark. Hoping to follow in the footsteps of 2018's critically acclaimed Far Cry 5, there's a lot of buzz surrounding Far Cry 6.
What have the critics said about Far Cry 6?
Click to enlargeIn Far Cry 6, you take on the role of guerilla fighter Dani Rojas. Customising Dani as either male or female, you head out onto the war-torn island of Yara and hope to free its citizens from the tyrannical reign of El President Anton Castillo - played by Breaking Bad's Giancarlo Esposito.
With Fangs for hire and a gun that shoots a CD copy of the Macarena, Far Cry 6 looks like it has just enough of the raw mechanics that have made the franchise a hit, peppered with plenty of new perks. Some critics rightly agree, but others aren't so sure.
The good
Jon Ryan - IGN "Far Cry 6 is some of the most fun I’ve had with this series in nearly a decade. Its cast delivers strong performances across an enjoyable story, even if it’s also a fairly predictable one that doesn’t always land the bigger swings it tries to take. And despite some faltering new inventory mechanics and a handful of bizarre design choices, its creative weaponry means taking down an outpost, ransacking a convoy, or even just taking a ride with a buddy has never felt better."
Jade King - The Gamer "This is a game that understands the importance of fighting back against fascism and taking a stand as part of your own personal revolution, yet it’s often held back by gameplay that wants to distance itself from that idea as you fawn over cute puppies and fire off outlandish grenade launchers. Yet it’s still a start, and a bold step forward for a company that has long sat on the fence of political discussion."
The bad
Click to enlargeIan Higton - Eurogamer "It's probably wise to bear in mind the words of Far Cry 3's Vaas when he attempted to explain the definition of insanity. 'Insanity', he said 'is doing the exact same f***** thing, over and over again, expecting sh*t to change.', and I'd say that statement rings true here, because, beyond the slide towards one-man army protagnoists, sh*t has definitely not changed."
Lauren Aitkin - PC Gamer "That's where Yara's uniqueness ends and an uneasy sense of parody begins for me. While Ubisoft is determined to make Giancarlo Esposito's despot, Antón Castillo, feel like a real and credible threat, he's more of a satirical mash-up of Franco and Castro. He's definitely a bad guy with a vision for his country that he holds above all—even family, as he often reminds his son and protégé, Diego—but there's a two-dimensional vibe I just can't shake."
The ugly
Diego Arguello - Polygon "Far Cry as a whole is frozen in time. The few mechanical additions in the series’ latest entry don’t show much improvement over what Far Cry 5 or Far Cry New Dawn have already explored. And if your interest lies in the search for any semblance of proper representation, you’re better off looking elsewhere... If Far Cry 6 is any indication of what AAA publishers can do with a Latin American setting — painting it more as window dressing than an actual picture worth celebrating — I would rather not see another one try."
Imogen Donovan - GAMINGbible "I really wanted Far Cry 6 to be more than the previous games. A shake up of the formula that accounted for the violence of its setting. You're leading a revolution, starting a vicious civil war between entrenched factions, this is something open world games can reflect so well as areas of its land change based on your actions. But, disappointingly, it not only does little with its premise but is a poor version of things Far Cry has done well in the past."
Namely, it sounds like Far Cry 6 doesn't quite nail it in terms of character development or making the most of representation. By all accounts, Castillo seems like Esposito is playing a low-rent Gus Fring, which sadly doesn't stack up against the likes of Vaas Montenegro or Joseph Seed.
Still, there are plenty of positives, with Far Cry 6 once again trying to do something different to its FPS rivals. At the end of the say, it's a testament that Far Cry still manages to keep itself fresh some 17 years after it first entered our lives, we've got to tip our hats to Ubisoft for not simply relying on Assassin's Creed.
