Far Cry 6 – PS5 Review

By Lord Badger

Yes Yes I know this review is quite a bit after release but in my defence, I didn’t receive my review code until a few hours before launch, have a full-time job and life commitments and Far Cry 6 is bloody massive! Now I am not complaining and am extremely thankful that Ubisoft provided me with a review code. I just wish I had more time before release.

That been said I have enjoyed every minute of time with Far Cry 6 I am currently over 40 hours in and feel as if I am only a third of the way through. Whilst I haven’t finished the game yet I feel I have done enough of it to give a fair and balanced review. So without further ado, let us get into it…

Story

I know this is going to come as a massive shock to you Far Cry fans but Far Cry 6 see you single-handedly take on a ruthless dictator and bring down his regime. I suppose if the formula ain’t broke don’t fix it. This Far Cry adventure takes place on the island of Yara (a simile of Cuba that isn’t really disguised at all, Your original aim is to take a boat to Miami for Nimah’s sake) as “Beloved” president Anton Castillo is working the people of Yara to death. You (unwilling) join the resistance group, Libatard, and set out with the ultimate goal of bringing an end to the despot’s regime.

The story of Yara is a deep and complicated one. Castillo’s father was killed after the successful revolution of 67. The revolution brought an end to a murderous regime and employed free and fair elections on the island. So free and fair that the ousted dictator’s son Anton won the resulting election and thus the populace restored a Castillo power and the surviving revolutionaries or “Legends of 67” as they came to be called hid high up in the mountains in exile from the people of Yara.

Now Anton is in power he has found a way to bring Yara onto the world stage. Vivaro, a brand new wonder drug, made from tobacco plants of all things, that can cure cancer. The rest of the world will soon be begging Yara to sell them Vivaro and save their people. Yara will be rich and live for every true Yaran will be bliss. Except Vivaro has a dark side.

Yes, it is a wonder drug to cancer. Yes, the only place in the world it is grown on the island of Yara. The reason for that is that to create Vivaro the fields must be sprayed with a certain chemical that is deadly to all the workers on the tobacco plantation. Killing off your entire workforce isn’t ideal. But when you are a dictator like Castillo you don’t let a little thing like workers dropping dead stop you from curing cancer. You just send out the army to round up citizens to work on the plantations.

It is up to you as the newest Guerilla of Libetard to unite the three factions of Yara and bring down Castillo once and for all.

Gameplay

If you have played any entry into the Far Cry franchise then you know exactly what to expect with Far Cry 6. As with most Ubisoft titles once they find a hit formula they tend to stick to it with almost religious zeal. That isn’t to say Far Cry 6 is without its changes.

Gone are skill trees that unlock new abilities. Instead, armour now gives its own bonuses. Attacking a Vivaro plantation? make sure you have headgear that protects you from poison equipped. Attempting to take over a base? Make sure you tag every enemy using your smartphone. Take note of what ammo each soldier is weak against to maximise your attack whilst paying attention to what ammo each soldier is firing so you can give yourself the best defence against them. As the absolute bat shit crazy Juan Cortez says ” use the right tool for the job”

Far Cry 6 plays extremely smooth, There is hardly any loading times. Even when using fast travel loading is no more than a few seconds. Far Cry 6 plays so smooth that you really do feel immersed in the island nation of Yara. I have genuinely come to think of it as a real place. I could honestly retire from stoffel and become a tour guide on the island I know it that well.

Normally I try to avoid comparing games to other titles but I really can’t help but do so here. While I do think Far Cry 6 is an amazing game it does feel like it has strayed a little bit away from the Far Cry franchise and has a toe over the line into the Just Cause camp. The action is bigger, more explosive, and free-flowing. Once you unlock resolver weapons it does become somewhat ludicrous.

The Supremo backpacks can be great when playing in co-op and you balance each other out. The standard rocket backpack on the other hand is quite overpowered and really does feel like something that belongs in Just Cause and not Far Cry. Firing CD’s that play the Macarena at people is just a little too much in my opinion.

The ability to add civilian cars to your vehicle list but simply scan them with your smartphone is a welcome addition. Especially so when you are mid-mission and that car you have been looking for to complete the set is parked up right next to you. Now there is no need to fail the mission in order to receive the car. Simply open up your smartphone, scan the car and it is now in your garage.

Graphics

As you can tell by the screenshots in this review graphically Far Cry 6 is sublime! I have only experienced the PS5 version so I have no idea how much it steps down on the PS4. The PS5 version is a thing of pure beauty. From the sunlight breaking through the treetops to the waves hitting the beach. Everything in Yara is stunning.

Accessibility Options

While I didn’t need or actually use any of the accessibility features in Far Cry 6 I was pleasantly surprised by the sheer number of accessibility options. It really made me think of how much I take gaming for granted and how many barriers they are to gaming for so many people.

Yes, it takes a minute or so to go through the features when you first start your game but it is a minute well worth it if more people can embrace and enjoy our hobby.

Chicken Fights

Now, this is weird I admit. I never thought that in the year of our lord 2021 I would be writing about chicken fights being a feature in a game. I am normally not shocked by much and I am never offended by anything but I thought this would cause a lot more outrage than it actually did.

Yes, you collect chickens in Far Cry 6 for the express purpose of fighting them. How does Far Cry 6 get away with this? It is quite simple and genius. The fights take place in a sort of beat-em-up parody game. The intro to each fight and the resulting end screen to the bout is ridiculous.

The chicken fight itself is a one on one beat-em-up. You control your chicken and have a series of basic moves. Light attack, heavy attack and dodge. The aim of the fight is to beat your opponent chicken down to no health to win the round. Win two out of three rounds and you win the match. It is when all said and done a parody of Tekken.

Of course, PETA is outraged about the mini-game and demanded that Ubisoft remove the mini-game from Far Cry 6 because it “glorifies cruelty” coming from a charity that kills more dogs than it saves I find that laughable. Does anyone even take PETA seriously anymore?

Final Thoughts

I could go on forever talking about Far Cry 6. There is so much I haven’t mentioned characters like Juan Cortez and El Tigre. Amigos like the cute as hell Chorizo and the technological marvel that is K9000 (Deluxe edition bonus) I haven’t covered the sheer size of the map or the Triada relics.

There is so much more that I could talk about but I think this review has gone on long enough and most people have stopped reading at this point.

Long story short, I absolutely love Far Cry 6. Anton Castillo is one of the best villains in the franchise. Far Cry 6 plays more or less exactly how you expect a far cry game to play, and that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I do wish it moved away from the Just Cause craziness a little bit.

I do feel between the sheer number of missions, side missions, treasure hunts, checkpoints, ambushes etc that there is too much content in Far Cry 6. You don’t need to stuff a game full of time-wasting objectives to justify its price tag. Far Cry 6 is a solid game that plays perfectly and delivers a wonderful if sometimes disturbing story. It would be justified in its price tag if there was 20 hours of content rather than 60+

That being said I am looking forward to the Danny Trejo content that is coming very soon because it is Danny Trejo!

Overall Score – 9/10