Why You Should Play Far Cry 6

The Far Cry series is my favourite gaming franchise so when I heard that a sixth installment was coming, you can bet your bottom dollar I was over the moon. A long two-and-a-bit years after the announcement, Far Cry 6 is here and hoo boy, do we have ourselves a game. 

In Far Cry 6, you play as Dani Rojas, the male or female protagonist who lives on the fake South American island of Yara — it’s basically a fictitious representation of Cuba. After failing to flee to Miami, Dani finds herself helping the local guerillas, Libertad, to take Yara back from the dictatorship of “El Presidente” Antón Castillo, voiced and modelled after Giancarlo Esposito, the man who seems born to play bad guys.

It’s been almost two months since Far Cry 6 was released and I still haven’t finished it — not because it’s long, but because I’m actively gatekeeping myself from finishing it. For the first time in a long time with a game, I’ve given myself time outs so I don’t finish it too quickly.

If you’ve never touched the Far Cry series or just haven’t checked out the most recent game, here’s why you should commit to playing Far Cry 6 and liberating Yara.

Open World

The Far Cry series is synonymous with open world gameplay, and Far Cry 6’s open world is expansive and action-packed. There have been many times I’ve been driving to a mission location and gotten sidetracked freeing hostages or capturing a checkpoint. The game rewards you for exploring the world, too. You’ll find “guerilla paths” scattered around the map — these secret paths lead to bonus items and allies who can give you intel on where to find a checkpoint or enemies. The open world is what makes Far Cry 6 so much fun to play — plus it’s perfect for newbies to gaming as it isn’t overwhelming.

Amigos

Part of the game involves helping fellow Yarans, whether that’s by stealing a tank to help a local artist or finding someone’s lucky rooster. Some of these side quests, called Yaran Stories, reward you by giving you a friendly animal or “amigo” to help you on your quest to free the island from Antón Castillo.

There are five amigos to pick from, including a dachshund in a wheelchair named Chorizo, a crocodile named Guapo and a vicious rooster named Chicharron who’ll attack anything in its way. As you take your amigos on missions, you’ll unlock special abilities that enhance their skills, like tagging enemies or healing Dani.

Location

Far Cry 6 was a great game to release in lockdown because visiting Yara takes me on a mini vacay every time I boot up the game. It’s a colourful replica of a Caribbean island, similar to Cuba or Puerto Rico. You’ll travel through vivid neighbourhoods, lush rainforests, visit rundown seaside resorts and climb green mountains. Yara is gorgeous, and exploring it is a lot of fun.

Weapons

If you look at the Far Cry 6 promos you’ll see Dani wearing a metal backpack. It’s called a “Supremo” and it’s basically a weapon that gives you an incredibly powerful attack with a long cooldown. There are seven Supremos in the game and they each have a different function, like launching missiles, sending out an EMP blast and healing Dani and their allies. Supremos are very fun but they take a long time to reload, so use them wisely.

Dani is also offered “resolver weapons”. These are silly, over-the-top weapons that cause major damage, like a flamethrower, a crossbow that shoots deadly CD-ROM discs and, my personal favourite, a rocket launcher that shoots fireworks.

A Tried-and-Tested Formula 

With the series in its sixth iteration, Far Cry 6 has a formula that works to a tee: a main storyline complimented with dozens of side missions, plus optional challenges, collectibles, and checkpoints to clear out.

Ubisoft hasn’t decided to change things up six games in — the storyline itself is pretty predictable, and if you’ve played enough Far Cry you’ll know what’s going to happen. But to me that’s the beauty of the game and of returning to my favourite series. Some may argue the storyline is a bit off and the characters are one-dimensional — but Far Cry is my comfort game and Far Cry 6 is the best one in the series yet.