Far Cry 6 to bring back some wackiness to the series

Far Cry 6 takes inspiration from real world history, especially the caribbean island nation of Cuba. For example, the concept of resolvér, or making do with what’s available, has become mythicism for outside observers. Tourist shops in Havana have capitalized on this enchantment, selling wooden models of classic Oldsmobiles and Pontiacs. For Cubans, resolvér is a point of pride for a country defined by international sanctions. But to paint the country as a wily group of tinkerers is a disservice to how hard Cubans have worked to bring in materials from the outside world.

This subtle discrepancy is a fine line that Far Cry 6 lead game designer David Grivel must walk. Ubisoft has just unveiled a trove of new footage from the game. In it, players will be able to utilize weapons made with all sorts of mishmashed parts from the 1960s. It's definitely an exaggeration of a Cuban habit, but for a video game, it serves its purpose.

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“We were extremely respectful to the Cuban culture when building the game,” said Grivel during a phone interview with Tom’s Guide. “We made sure to work with cultural experts.”

In Far Cry 6, players take on the role of Dani Rojas, a former soldier from the fictional island of Yara. Players can choose to play either a male or female Rojas. According to Grivel, either gender option is canon, meaning both will have the exact same storylines. This is unlike Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, another Ubisoft title, where players chose either Alexios or Kassandra, siblings with opposing storylines. Ubisoft later clarified that Kassandra’s storyline was canon. Bloomberg reported that the male character option was the result of executive meddling.

While Far Cry 5 also allowed players to choose their gender, there wasn’t much of a differentiation between the two, as the protagonist was largely silent. With Far Cry 6, the story’s presentation will change dramatically. During cutscenes, the camera will shift out of first-person view, creating scenes that will look more like something out of a movie. This should help highlight the talents of both Nisa Gunduz and Sean Rey, who play the female and male versions of Dani, respectively.

“So now, for example, we can have a scene with Anton and his son Diego happening, like many many miles away from the player and then go back to the player so yeah, now your choice is much more visible throughout the game,” said Grivel.

From the looks of it, Ubisoft is aiming to bring Far Cry 6 back to series form, while also expanding on all of its gameplay systems. While 2019’s Far Cry 5 received positive reviews, it was a more muted affair, with less of the series’ signature wackiness.

Far Cry 3 and Far Cry 4 also featured vignettes in which your character would go on psychedelic drug trips, completely changing their environments and gameplay encounters. It was those experiences that inspired the Far Cry 3 Blood Dragon spinoff: a retro-futuristic shooter featuring glowing mutated dinosaurs. Some of those moments will be back in Far Cry 6.

“The more like, what-the-heck moments, you know, and we definitely have also some mystical aspect in certain activities or in certain missions,” said Grivel. “But yet the majority of the storytelling is centered around revolution.”

Given what we’ve seen so far, we definitely hope that the team at Ubisoft Toronto can deliver a major evolution for the series.

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Imad is currently Senior Google and Internet Culture reporter for CNET, but until recently was News Editor at Tom's Guide. Hailing from Texas, Imad started his journalism career in 2013 and has amassed bylines with the New York Times, the Washington Post, ESPN, Wired and Men's Health Magazine, among others. Outside of work, you can find him sitting blankly in front of a Word document trying desperately to write the first pages of a new book.