Far Cry 6is shaping up to have a lot of differences toFar Cry 5, the most recent non-spinoff entry in the series. Although fans have only had a few glimpses of the next game so far, its setting, story, and player character have already been revealed to diverge significantly from those seen in the last game, with elements reminiscent of earlierFar Crygames.
Far Cry 6will see the player take on the role of Dani Rojas as they fight for the freedom of Yara, a fictional island nation in the Caribbean Sea.Far Cry 6has differs seriously fromFar Cry 5with everything revealed so far, these differences may mean big things for what fans can expect from the next installment of Ubisoft’s iconic single-player FPS series.
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Far Cry 6 Player Character Dani Rojas
One of the biggest criticisms ofFar Cry 5was its lack of a defined player character.Far Cry 3had Jason Brody, a spoiled rich kid whose vacation took a dark turn, and who ended up becoming the “Ultimate Warrior” of the Rook Islands.Far Cry 4had Ajay Ghale, unwitting inheritor of Himalayan nation of Kyrat.Far Cry 5’s protagonist never had a name. They were only known as the new Junior Deputy in the Hope County Sheriff’s Department, and were called by a variety of nicknames from “Dep” to just “Rookie.” Not only did they have no voice actor, but they had no unvoiced lines in the story at all.
This lack of definition allowedFar Cry 5players to totally customize the Junior Deputy’s appearance, but in a first-person shooter this was a big price to pay for their lack of characterization.Far Cry 6appears to be finding a far fairer balance between customization and characterization. Players will be able to pick the sex of the next game’s protagonist Dani Rojas, which will affect whether the character is voiced by actorNisa Gunduz or Sean Rey. Apart from that the character has far more of the trappings of the traditionalFar Cryprotagonist.
Players can expectDani Rojasto have a far more active role in the story beyond combat thanFar Cry 5’s Junior Deputy. A recentFar Cry 6gameplay trailer explored Dani’s motives, revealing that they are an orphan and implying that their family was killed by Yara’s dictator Anton Castillo. The trailer focuses on revenge as Dani’s main motivation, and shows them interacting with other characters in third-person cutscenes that place them at the center of the story.
When it comes to playing as Dani,Far Cry 6has been confirmed to have anAssassin’s Creed-style notoriety systemnot seen inFar Cry 5. Special powers like the Supremo backpack will also cause the game to go into third-person, and will entering hubs like guerilla camps. Like the voiced player character, these features are likely intended to show Dani interacting directly with the world more than the protagonist ofFar Cry 5.
Far Cry 6 Setting
The setting ofFar Cry 6appears to have more diverse environments thanFar Cry 5’s.Hope County, Montanawas an interesting location forFar Cry 5’s story to unfold, but Yara has already been able to show off a greater range of locations. A recent gameplay trailer has Dani’s mentor describe just some of the environments players can expect: “bloodthirsty jungles, postcard shorelines, to dead-end towns, and our friendly capital city.” Players will also have the option to ride and fight on horseback for the first time.
Hope County was almost entirely rural, but Yara will have both rural areas and a big city as its capital,Esperanza. Esperanza is known as the “Lion’s Den” of Anton Castillo’s regime. WhileFar Cry 6will be set on a tropical island likeFar Cry 1andFar Cry 3, its city could help distinguish it from those games.
Hopefully Yara’s diverse environment will allow for a greater variety of encounters thanFar Cry 5’s could. Players will be able to fight on the beaches, in thick jungles, and will hopefully be able to dive into urban guerilla warfare for the first time in aFar Crygame. Whether or notFar Cry 6’s settingwill take full advantage of its diverse environments has yet to be seen, but at least for now Yara has more potential for different gameplay styles than Hope County did.
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Far Cry 6 Story
A few key elements ofFar Cry 6’s story are already known that strike an interesting contrast toFar Cry 5. InFar Cry 5there was really just one central character -Joseph Seed. Everything revolved around Joseph Seed and his cult, the Project at Eden’s Gate. Most characters, including the protagonist, were reacting to Joseph’s motivations without bringing their own.Far Cry 6will focus on the fight taking place between Anton Castillo’s regime and the revolutionary group known as Libertad, but its story has the potential to explore far more.
The real wild card inFar Cry 6isDiego, Anton Castillo’s son. Diego is still young, but it’s clear that Anton is preparing him to take over Yara in the event of his death. What exactly the relationship between the protagonist, the villain, and Diego will be has yet to be revealed. However, that’s already two more central characters thanFar Cry 5had with its non-descript protagonist. Add Dani’s mentor Juan Cortez, andFar Cry 6is shaping up to have a diverse cast of characters.
Far Cry 6’s story as revealed so far does have some similarities with stories from the series' past.LikeFar Cry 4, the game will focus on a revolution taking place against a charismatic dictator in a fictional country. Like Joseph Seed, Anton Castillo has a tendency to use religious language when describing his goals, claiming that only the Castillo family can “rebuild paradise” in Yara. However, so farFar Cry 6’s story appears to be more grounded thanFar Cry 5’s, even if it still has the over-the-top kineticism of an action movie.Far Cry 5involved nuclear war, religious revelations, hallucination sequences and more outlandish elements that are less likely to appear inFar Cry 6.
The main question ofFar Cry 5’s story was always whether or not Joseph Seed’s apocalyptic prophecy was correct. Ultimately this question was retroactively answered by the player’s final decision, with only the choice to resist Joseph actually ending in nuclear war.Far Cry 6’s gameplay trailerimplies that its main plot will deal with whether Dani Rojas can be ruthless enough to overthrow Anton Castillo without becoming him. It’s a more grounded focus, and one which will hopefully be more logically connected to the player’s decisions in-game than the ending ofFar Cry 5.
Far Cry 6launches October 7, on Amazon Luna, PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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