Developer – Ubisoft Toronto

Publisher – Ubisoft

Platforms – Windows PC®, Xbox Series S|X, Xbox One, PS4|5

Far Cry 6 tackles the heartland of Hispanic culture, and leaves the American Northwest firmly behind. No more plains, run down ranches or nuclear safe houses. Instead they dive into beautiful beaches, tropical forests an exotic locales in the fictional Caribbean island named Yara.. Far Cry games have long had very charismatic antagonists, and this time they up the ante with the story of a dictator named Anton Castillo, an his army of of oppressors.

From the opening sequence many things are new in Far Cry 6. For the first time, once you choose which Dani you want to use, the camera zooms out and you can see yourself in third person. This change ripples out through the entire game, with your character’s voice and presence. Dani actually being present and having agency in the story creates a much stronger narrative through the entire experience.

Radio towers are long gone, and the co-op is open for the entire story and not just side quest. Even the ally system from the previous games now properly functions in co-op. Airplanes, helicopters an tons of new vehicles allow you to travel in style or packing tons of weapons. The standard leveling and RPG mechanics have been gutted an rebuilt from the ground up.

Despite all of those changes, the new military enemies, the change of scenery, the various adjustments an revamping of the standard Far Cry formula, the core of it does retain the familiar Far Cry style.

It looks an sounds gorgeous, especially with the high resolution textures plays on either next gen platform. It runs at 4K, 60 frames and it never misses a beat. The moment to moment flow is a blast to play especially with a friend. The biggest improvement to the previous games is the feel and impact of the gun play.

If you were not into a Far Cry game before, I think the strong narrative and the focus on the feel of the core gameplay can convert old fans. Without .  If you were into Far Cry before, the changes to various mechanics freshen up the experience quite a bit.  I really enjoyed this new and evolved Far Cry experience. Being able to play with a friend, the stripped down RPG mechanics, and the structure of the games progression itself feels much more natural and seamless than ever before.

However, not everything has returned intact. Far Cry Arcade is gone, as well as the map editor that has been a long running feature of the series. In their place are special operations, a string of intricate and tightly designed missions that feature powerful rewards and score tracking. These operations can also be played in co-op.

When I was playing this game an getting ready to write the review, I can’t help but be drawn in part to the game and how it tackles Hispanic culture. As a Latino myself, it’s been a lot of years of seeing Hispanic characters in games as either a Cartel member, or the tough lady with an attitude stereotype I.E Sombra and many others in gaming.

Having such a range of characters, happy, heroic, villainous, all Hispanic and all authentic, is truly a sight to see. Dani Rojas is a fantastic character, and the writing carefully pays respect to the culture, without venturing into stereotypes or cliche. It’s pretty fantastic to witness and experience.

Far Cry 6 is also remarkably polished as well. I rarely ran into any bugs, crashes or significant issues of any kind. Far Cry 5 caused several headaches due to save corruption and hard crashes. My experience, solo or in co-op has been a pretty flawless venture thus far.

Far Cry 6 isn’t just another entry in the series, it’s easily my favorite in the franchise since 2. Anton Castillo, brilliantly played by Giancarlo Esposito, and his father son dynamic propped against Dani and the rebellion combine for a very strong narrative. The visuals and sound pop, especially on powerful PC’s or next gen platforms.

Far Cry 6 is an excellent game, a strong story and refined gameplay make it my favorite Far Cry yet.