Far Cry 6 Review- Release Date, Gameplay, Features

Ubisoft’s upcoming Far Cry 6 is one of the few first-person shooter I am really excited about. It’s the sixth entry of the franchise and brings new characters, a new story, and new mechanics.

About a week ago, a group of video-game reviewers got access to a Far Cry 6 demo. So, we learned some new information we’d like to share.

Far Cry 6 Release Date

Ubisoft’s official site has a release date. Far Cry 6 debuts on October 7, 2021.

Check the latest trailer below:

Early Access

The game is already available for pre-order on all available platforms.

There’re four Far Cry 6 editions available. The base version (Standard Edition) has a $59.99 price tag.

The other options are Gold, Ultimate, and Collector’s Edition. The latter is only available as a physical copy.

Non-standard editions include a Season Pass. There’re already three post-launch DLCs with a story arc that includes former villains of the series: Vaas (Far Cry 3), Pagan Min (Far Cry 4), and Joseph Seed (Far Cry 5).

Ubisoft + subscribers will get the game on release. The service is available on Google Stadia, Amazon Luna, and Windows PC.

System Requirements

Far Cry 6 will debut for Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5. Ubisoft offers a free upgrade to newer consoles.

On consoles, the game asks for 60 GB HDD storage, although Ubisoft recommends SDD. Also, it would be great to have 37 GB extra storage for optional HD textures.

The shooter is premiering for Windows PC as well. It will be available in Epic Games, Ubisoft Connect, and Ubisoft+.

That means the minimum PC requirements for Far Cry 6 are:

These specs would allow you to play the title at 1080p, low settings, 30fps, and without ray-tracing.

Lastly, the game will be available on Google Stadia and Amazon Luna game-streaming services.

Far Cry 6 Gameplay Mechanics

Ubisoft shared an early demo with a group of media journalists, YouTubers, and streamers. It’s a vertical demo, which means players could only progress a single quest-line rather than free-roaming.

We learned the game follows Dani Rojas, a guerilla operative. The faction is looking to overthrow Yara’s rulers, the Castillo family, and his allies.

From what we’ve seen, the game looks similar to Far Cry 5, Far Cry 4, and Far Cry 3. There’s stealth movement, stealth kills, a rope to climb, a first-person perspective, and a simple inventory system.

We can also enjoy some story-cut scenes along with certain areas and some combat animations in the third-person perspective. Gunplay remains unchanged. Weapons are realistic-looking and feature slight recoil and bullet drop.

Finally, the quest design follows the Far Cry formula. Your character’s goal is gathering resources, allies, and locations for the revolution. Your ultimate goal is defeating critical members of the regime until defeating Anton Castillo.

You can approach missions in various ways: sneaky, bribing, or guns-blazing. Also, we found a classic franchise element: capturing enemy camps, forts, and bases for your faction.

Here’s an early demo gameplay video:

Far Cry 6 Early Review

Far Cry 6 has a new story, new characters, a new setting, a couple of new features, and a new map. But it’s almost the same as before.

That doesn’t mean it’s bad. On the contrary: that may be exactly what Far Cry fans are hoping. Those looking for some innovation would rarely find it in a Ubisoft game.

Either way, the sandbox elements of the Far Cry series are a blast. And even when the series’ titles feel the same, small additions like a horse and Combat Amigos can make a great difference.

The series is silly, explosive, and all about fighting against tyrannical rules. So, Far Cry 6 comes with the kind of bombastic action set pieces you’ve seen in previous entries.

Besides that, Yara is a gorgeous sight. The setting boasts urban areas, eye-catching wilderness, and loot all around you. Overall, Far Cry 6 is a good-time open-world sandbox FPS. It’s crazy-fun but still grounded enough to give space to a sinister and charismatic villain.

Map

The game takes place in the fictional Caribbean island country, Yara. It’s one of the largest Far Cry maps ever, and it’s not just wilderness and mountains.

Instead, Yara has various cities, towns, fully-sized airports, military areas, jungles, mountains, caves, and shores.

There’re five main territories. Each territory has Castillo allies you must defeat, as well as guerilla allies you must recruit. The territories are Madruga, Esperanza, Valle de Oro, El Este, and tutorial island Isla Sanuario.

Cast

The most notable cast member is Giancarlo Esposito as the main villain, Anton Castillo. You may know him as Gus Fring in the Breaking Bad universe or Moff Gideón in The Mandalorian.

The main character can be either male or female. If you play as a woman, the voice and the acting come from TV actress Nisa Gunduz. TV actor Sean Rey takes care of male Dani Rojas.

Weapons

There will be 49 weapons in the game. The selection includes real-life and modded weapons. There’re also “Resolver” weapons, which you can craft with bits and pieces (like a battery-powered CD launcher).

Weapon categories include handguns, sub-machine guns, machine guns, rifles, launchers, hand grenades, and Molotov cocktails. Not to forget, we can transform the Supremo Backpacks into super-weapons during the time of need.

Here’s an image showcasing the Supremo, a “Resolver” launcher that fires party rockets.

Characters

Protagonist Dani Rojas can be male or female, which is the only customization available. 

Either version is fully voiced and plays a pivotal role in the story. Dani grew up in Yara’s capital. As a military dropout, Dani initially wanted to escape the country. However, the protagonist joins the Guerrilla to take down Antón in the name of freedom.

During the campaign, you will meet other Guerilla members. For example, the demo showcased Juan Cortez, a former KGB spy currently aiding the revolution. He has a huge personality, talks too much, and guides Dany as a mentor. 

Another recurrent character is Clara Garcia. The former journalist became the tough leader of the resistance group Libertad. She and the Guerilla members want to overthrow Yara’s regime. 

Here’s a gameplay trailer that heavily features Juan Cortez. He details the Guerrilla Rules. My favorite is Rule #9: “Always bring the right tool for the right job.”

Villains

The main villain is Antón Castillo, “El Presidente of Yara.” Fifty years ago, he lost his father in a revolution, and so his family lost power. The revolutionary government sentenced him to 15 years of labor work when he was 13.

Under his command, the Castillo family rose to power again. After a tremendous economic decline, he became El Presidente with the promise of rebuilding the island. However, he became a dictator to fulfill his goals.

In the service of rebuilding the country, Antón is forcing labor to cultivate and sell the “Viviro” plant. The plant only grows in Yara; the government sells it for a premium as it effectively treats cancer. 

He has various key followers, which are minor antagonists. Other than followers, he has a son, Diego Castillo. Antón is raising him to fill his shoes, but he’s grown sick of his father’s iron fist.

Features

One of the best features of the game is its co-op functionality, both online and offline. There can only be two players in one game. You and your friends could play the whole campaign together or take down a fortress in your spare time.

Another new feature is the “Combat Amigos.” These are animals that aid you in battle (like a crocodile). You can order them to stay, follow, or attack.

Likewise, you have a horse available to travel across the land. If you don’t like horses, though, you can steal and drive cars. Horses can resist road spikes, though, so you’d need them

More importantly, the game introduces the “Resolver Workbench.” Here’s where Dani Rojas can craft weapon mods and ammo types. Resources come from hunting animals, loot, and supply drops.

Ammo types exist because enemies have various vulnerabilities. You’d have to play around with your options as you can carry 3 weapons at a time. The fourth is your Supremo. Additionally, you have a machete for stealth and melee attacks.

Lastly, the game eliminates skill trees in favor of extra weapon and armor customization. You don’t have any skill points, traits, or perks. Instead, your buffs, abilities, and damage come from armor and weapon mods.

Across the customization options, the game even allows you to create your D-I.Y cars.