Far Cry 6

Far Cry 6 is a sandbox in a huge open world, a first-person looter-shooter with RPG and crafting elements. The player once again finds themselves on an island, where in the role of heroine Dani Rojas, who has joined the revolutionaries from Libertad by fate's will, they oppose the brutal dictator Anton Castillo. The basic gameplay, mission set, and single-player campaign structure follow the templates of previous Far Cry games, but Ubisoft's new ideas have been found controversial by players.

The action of Far Cry 6 takes place in the fictional island nation of Yara. In all senses, the prototype was Cuba, but Ubisoft reworked and diversified the idea of a freedom-loving island in the heart of the Caribbean, offering their own vision.

Yara is a beautiful, highly detailed postcard world, but with a focus on realism, attention to details and nuances. Bright colors have been changed to moderate and warm: the beaches are not as golden, and the water is not as blue. Instead of dense jungles, there are sparse palm and deciduous forests. The world is truly vast, cut by rocky mountain ranges and deep rivers, wide valleys and swampy lowlands, with flora and fauna characteristic of the subtropics.

The island is densely populated, crisscrossed by a network of roads and convenient junctions for movement, connecting numerous farms, villages, and small settlements. You can even fly a helicopter, although the skies are controlled by anti-aircraft guns. The capital, Esperanza, was declared a full-fledged city, but only one district is available for exploration without the expected "verticality," parkour, and the chance to explore every house.

The premises of Far Cry 6's events arose in the 60s: during a communist uprising, Anton's father was ousted from power and killed before his eyes, and he lost almost everything. This greatly distorted Castillo Jr.'s views — he decided that the island was stolen from his family. The collapse of the USSR allowed Anton to take the post of El Presidente, but instead of further democratization, he turned to authoritarian dictatorship and repression.

The year is 2021. Due to long economic and technological isolation, Yara is stuck in the 80s. The country needs a leap, which Anton understands as the "greater good." But the reliance on slave labor, especially in growing the miraculous "viviro" tobacco, 20 years of tyranny, and various abuses have filled the people's patience to the brim. Dissatisfied citizens formed guerrilla groups, but the regime easily held them back due to their dispersion across the island and disorganization. Everything changed with the appearance of Dani Rojas.

The concept of "good rebels against an evil dictator" is still the basis of the plot, where essentially good missions that push the story forward are diluted with petty fillers involving running across the entire map.

The content turned out to be an absurd farce, stitched with white threads and current leftist "agenda," swinging from fun school parties to the regime's evils shown extremely seriously. From time to time, the writers create unexpected situations and throw in "plot twists," but they do it so stupidly or foolishly that they further break the perception of the story.

The writers managed to reveal relationships and show personalities from different sides only for the father and son Castillo:

They have a separate storyline, loosely tied to the main plot, and the protagonist will only face Anton a couple of times, although Esposito played the role excellently.

Dani Rojas is a lackluster character: one of many who fights for freedom for others, not for themselves. Therefore, she is used, deceived, and betrayed, and she allows it and doesn't notice it. The writers failed to portray the main character as an ordinary mortal. However, unlike FC5, Rojas is at least a character with some backstory, appearance, and situational commentary.

There are many secondary characters on both sides, they are faceless, stereotypical, with superficial backstories and images. The bad ones are caricatured cannibal minions of the main villain. The good ones are inclusive, racially and gender-diverse fighters for all good things, freedom, and equality.

The narrative took a step forward thanks to numerous in-engine scenes, where you can see the protagonist (and everything happening) from the side and listen to the dialogues. The cutscene staging is simple and without complex animations.

Outside the main story, Far Cry 6 offers additional story quests (from allies and separate ones) with small arcs related to the events. All in the same vein as the main plot. The promised "revolution story" doesn't even come close to revealing its potential.

The combat system has migrated from Far Cry 5, becoming even more diverse and arcade-like (à la GTA 5, Just Cause 3), but most animations and shooting mechanics remain at the level of Far Cry 3. The hero is a real "one-man army," not limited in the amount of weapons, ammunition, gear, and crafting resources they can carry, shooting rockets from their backpack.

The types and variants of weapons have increased, although they cannot be picked up. Since Yara has been under blockade for a long time, the locals are forced to make do with what is on the island. The local gunsmith Juan assembles makeshift contraptions from various household junk: a disco gun shooting CDs, a chainsaw, an EMP rifle, etc. A feature added for fun, not utility.

The usual firearms for the series are still there. They are divided by ranks, and the higher the rank, the better the characteristics of the weapon and the more various attachments can be added to it. However, due to level differences, a pistol may be better than a machine gun, and a sniper rifle might not be able to "take down" a high-level enemy with one headshot. A new feature in the shooting mechanics is the types of ammo: armor-piercing, explosive, and incendiary, as well as a small chance of weapon jamming.

Unique ("golden") weapons with superior characteristics and pre-installed best attachments are still there. These can be found in the game world or purchased in the in-game store.

Другое новшество — это ранцы «супрэмо» дающие пассивные перки (больше патронов, гранат, аптечек, убийство с одного удара и т.д.), вспомогательные гаджеты (турели, приманки и др.) и способность-ульту (ракетный залп, выжигание всего вокруг, быстрое лечение и т.п.).

Никуда не делись система торговли, охоты и сбора ресурсов, крафта необходимых предметов на верстаках. Причем крафт затрагивает почти все элементы игры и требует накапливать множество ресурсов (собираются в Яре и даются как награда), что двигает Far Cry 6 к лутерам-шутерам.

Массовки из вражеских NPC теперь существенно больше, но вызвать наемников уже не выйдет. Местные Амигос — дружелюбный крокодильчик Гуапо, милый песик-инвалид Чоризо, боевитый петух Чичаррон и ещё пара животинок — годятся лишь на отвлечение внимания, толку от них еще меньше, чем от ботов раньше.

Far Cry 6 старается вовлечь игрока, подбрасывая каждые 2 минуты разнообразные, но примитивные и вторичные, активности. Суть большинства из них — уничтожение NPC различными способами. Не пропали и все сопутствующие механики — исследование игрового мира, поиск сокровищ, перемещение с вигнсьютом и крюком-кошкой, охота и рыбалка. Но даже вдали от цивилизации игра не оставит в покое.

Характерную для серии обязаловку убрали, нет и взаимоувязанных прохождения кампании, квестов, фриплея и изучения мира. Из-за перегруженности механиками фирменная песочника работает хуже, а из-за унылого гринда порой придется преодолевать себя.

Прокачку упростили, характеристик и древа способностей у протагониста нет. Навыки оставили, раскидав их по одежде в виде перков. Она не просто меняет визуал, но и дает прибавку к разным параметрам: быстрей бег, лучше защита от пуль и т.д. Лучшую одежку, как и оружие, можно найти в игровом мире или купить в магазине.

Чтобы побеждать, придется подбирать наилучшие комбинации пушек и экипировки под стиль игры. В лучших традициях автолевелинга, все получаемые игроком уровни поднимают только злобность врагов и игрового окружения.

Есть и небольшие новшества: несколько пород лошадей и вызов любого транспорта почти в любое место, возможность подкупа военных, строительство и развитие «баз мятежников» в каждом из регионов Яры. А после прохождения игра продолжится… заново в режиме «мятеж».

Сетевая часть Far Cry 6 предлагает кооператив на двух игроков. Можно пройти всю кампанию с другом, побегать во фриплее с рандомом, либо выполнить большую «спецоперацию» на карте. Список активностей и подход к миссиям никак не меняется относительно одиночной игры.