Far Cry 6 test: Ubisoft tells us about the revolution without making it

It's a healthy habit that Ubisoft has adopted. By stretching the development of its games; especially by spacing out their outings, he gives his teams time to rethink their formulas. To innovate. This is what saved Assassin's Creed after the snoring Syndicate. So would it be the same with Far Cry ?

Far Cry 6 test: Ubisoft tells us about the revolution without making it See PriceRead ConclusionFar Cry 6

A great playground
The arsenal, varied and sometimes crazy
Colossal lifespan, and endlessly stretchable endgame
The eclectic cast

We've already played this game 30 times
Lots of filler, artificial quests
A big bad finally too distant
The TPS sight in the camps, useless and frustrating

Far Cry 6 has been tested on PC using code provided by the publisher. I came to the end of the scenario after about 25 hours while carrying out some small ancillary tasks.

Because casually, it's been a while that we haven't heard from the open world FPS from the Guillemot-sphere. The last time was in 2018 with Far Cry 5. And it wasn't very good. Oh no, sorry. It was in 2019, with the New Dawn spin-off. But since he slipped our minds, he must not have been very good either.

I grant you, there is apparently nothing to get excited about this new opus of a saga worn to the bone. We're promised a bigger playground than ever before, an even meaner villain, even nicer good guys; all sprinkled with the freedom of approach "signature" of the license. Yeah. This case smells a bit warmed up. And that's exactly what I told myself the first hours in contact with Far Cry 6. Those painful first hours, during which I rolled my eyes harder than an epileptic under LSD.

And then I understood; it ended up "clicking". I just had to stop expecting anything. And once the brain is disconnected, here comes the desire to write that Far Cry 6 is the best opus of the saga for 10 years. Crazy, right?

92 F.A.R, Yara n’a faire

It's that Far Cry 6 doesn't really do itself a favor, with its extended introduction and its big hooves. But, you understand, it is necessary to make profitable the presence of Giancarlo Esposito (Breaking Bad, The Mandalorian) in the credits by putting the package from the start. Mission accomplished, Ubisoft. It takes no more than 10 minutes for the player to grasp that the new villain is indeed awfully bad. Who would've believed that ?

Elected following the 1967 revolution, Anton Castillo intends to “give Yara back its greatness” (I paraphrase) by fulfilling the old dream of his father, also a despot in his time. And the bugger is well on his way to achieving it: thanks to a revolutionary fertilizer, his scientists have developed a tobacco derivative which, ironically, makes it possible to treat cancer. A major pharmaceutical discovery, which puts Yara back at the table of international negotiations, and which even gives him the opportunity to snub the United States, which has looked down on this fictional country inspired by Cuba for years.

But each medal has its reverse. To produce Viviro, his famous miracle drug, Castillo does not hesitate to use all the methods recommended in the Perfect Dictator's Guide (2021 edition). Cultivating a myth of the "pure race", he organizes raids in the poor regions of his country to supply his work camps. A population reduced to slavery, which is moreover mortally exposed to “certified organic” fertilizer (according to the regime's TV channel) which gives tobacco its healing properties.

In short, as much to say that the Yarans are rather invited to keep a low profile. But a group of revolutionaries aptly calling themselves Libertad does not intend to stop there. And in the person of Dani Rojas, who has just been left for dead by Castillo while he (or she) was trying to flee the country, the group of guerrillas has just found the spark that will ignite the embers.

Always higher, always bigger, always farther

Orphan, and therefore destined according to the Castillo regime to die in a field to enrich Big Pharma, Dani Rojas is not the basic Beijinger. He received a military education, and agrees to help Libertad in its revolution against the promise of a first class flight to Miami.

You can already imagine it: you are going to become Libertad's minion. And since a revolution cannot be won alone, the various resistant factions of Yara will have to be convinced to join forces to defeat Anton and his 13-year-old son Diego, promised to succeed him.

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Diego, Castillo's son, could have been an interesting character...

This is the moment when, in the game, we zoom out the map and let go of a little "ah yeah, anyway", possibly followed by a "but no, but stop, I'm going to spend a thousand years on your game there !? ".

Yes, Far Cry 6 has a little intimidating side. Ubi didn't lie to us: it really is the biggest playground ever offered in the license. Excluding Esperanza, the capital, it is no less than three gigantic areas that will have to be reconquered. Each being divided into three or four districts, and possibly accompanied by an archipelago or two.

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The landscapes of Yara are very varied.

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The map is very, very, very big, and full of surprises.

Adapted to the level of the character, these zones can be explored in the desired order, and both by the main roads and by following the guerrilla paths through the mountain. Kinds of GR in which it is advisable to bring an AK-47, just in case.

A candy for the retina

Still powered by the Dunia Engine, Far Cry 6 delivers beautiful moments of visual grace. It is particularly during a sunset, or just after a shower that the light effects are the most impressive.

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Left, without the HD texture pack. Right, with.

The "HD Texture Pack", which weighs almost as much as the game, is also a must for anyone who wants to feast on the graphic luster of Far Cry 6. Requires a very good graphics card (at least 11 GB of VRAM would be necessary according to Ubisoft, but I was only using 6.5 GB of mine with absolutely everything on full blast according to the game menu), it takes the game to another dimension in terms of display finesse.

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Left without FSR. On the right with the FSR "Ultra Quality".

The game from Ubisoft Toronto is compatible with the DXR and the brand new FSR from AMD to hope to improve its performance (because, casually, the bugger is greedy). But I admit that I was not at all seduced by this latest technology, which seems to me to simply push the “Finesse” knob to the maximum without improving the framerate.

Finally I take advantage of this little insert to emphasize that I have not witnessed any blocking bug. On a Ubisoft game. Dayone. Like what, miracles do exist.

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As a bonus: an ultra-complete photo mode is at your disposal.

Ubisoft: the game

Normally, anyone who has played a Ubisoft game in recent years already knows what it's all about. To gain the trust of said factions, it will be necessary to perform various services for them until a mission to assassinate one of Castillo's lieutenants becomes available. Liberate roads, destroy propaganda panels, take possession of enemy barracks and confront, if necessary, the reinforcements that will be dispatched there if you are spotted. You know the song; We've been doing the same thing in Far Cry for 10 years.

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On the menu: from the destruction of outposts to the kilometer.

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It is of course possible to play it smart and plan your attacks discreetly.

But since the fifth episode, the studios have found something to engage the player more. Already, the famous "towers" to climb in order to reveal a piece of the map and the myriad of points of interest it contains are over. Here, Ubisoft rather encourages exploration, even serendipity. It is only by talking to certain informants after the release of a guard post, for example, that one will learn where the others are. This has two advantages: the map is not flooded with markers from the start of the game, and we are constantly waved a carrot in front of our noses to push us to discover new areas to free from oppression.

And the carrot is double. Or triple. Quadruple? Finally it's a big carrot what. Each camp, each side mission is also an opportunity to unlock a new weapon (there are a lot of them), or to recover resources that will allow us to customize our existing arsenal. Add to that a very thin layer of management: in the main camp of each region of Yara, you can set up two spaces dedicated to fishing, hunting or even guerrilla missions to access additional missions and equipment.

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Legendary weapons can be found all over Yara.

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Resources are valuable for improving one's camp.

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Even the vehicles dashboard can be customized.

In truth, we would need a complete article dedicated to the listing of all the activities that it is possible to do in Far Cry 6. Side missions, races against the clock, theft of goods, cockfights (too funny animal abuse) , and so on and the best. To put it another way, Far Cry 6 has an absolutely colossal lifespan. Even infinite moreover, because – you can imagine – the end of the game is not really the end, and a whole bunch of new activities will be waiting for you very wisely at the end of the credits.

Hip Hop Pressure

The counterpart of this avalanche of content is obvious. It is not uncommon to feel that Ubisoft is pulling on the rope at the risk of breaking it. The main missions are thus punctuated by an unbearable livery of uninteresting FedEx quests as possible. Some fortunately stand out, but we will rather attribute this to the contrasting tone of the scenario of Ubisoft Toronto.

I'll take a shortcut: Far Cry 6 is Ubisoft's GTA. You know that very fine line that exists in Rockstar games between caustic political satire and crass antics? Well the youngest knows how to draw inspiration from it, and with much more talent than a Watch Dogs Legion which lacked binding.

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The characters are generally all successful, and well developed.

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Ubi Toronto handles Far Cry 6's tone changes pretty well.

I'm not saying that we are at the same level of mastery, but not all games dare to break your tone with as much aplomb as Far Cry 6. We pass without flinching from a very visual torture scene on a side mission to help an influencer shoot a video in a minefield. Or from the discovery of real open-air mass graves to a night of inconsequential drinking. It can be confusing, but let's remember that, at Ubisoft, the common denominator must remain fun. That the political statement is more supported than usual does not change anything.

That being said, don't expect too much nuance in the writing either. We are still talking about a game that makes us carry out our first guerrilla mission to the sound of Bella Ciao, and which does not hesitate to use cutscenes as possible as possible based on a cigar thrown into a puddle of gasoline. In slow motion, of course.

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No nothing.

I would nevertheless salute the excellent cast of Far Cry 6, which is also the very first to offer a face to its (or its) protagonist. From now on, all the cutscenes are discovered in the third person, and that immediately changes the situation to involve us in its history. On the other hand, to force the transition to the TPS view for movement in the camps is unspeakably stupid: we no longer have the possibility of jumping or stepping over obstacles for no benefit in terms of staging.

But the biggest disappointment remains in my opinion… Anton Castillo himself. Unlike Vaas, Pagan Min or Joseph Seed, the character portrayed by Giancarlo Esposito is never directly threatening. No more than his son Diego, that Ubisoft's communication tried to sell us for what he is not. We just know the despot responsible for all the horrors that are happening in Yara. It is the shadow that hovers over the world; the puppeteer. But he certainly does not have the charisma of his predecessors nor the madness that characterizes them. Worse ! His (twisted) reasoning makes sense if you listen carefully to his speeches. A bit like a less beefy Thanos. And less purple too.

Guerrilla Trash

In short, we will mainly play Far Cry 6 for its gameplay. And on that side we don't have much to complain about, except that Ubisoft should take inspiration from Assassin's Creed in terms of freedom of movement, especially for climbing. Here, we will only climb on the stones marked with an orange band. And again, if the script wants to start, which is not systematic as evidenced by our crushed corpse after a fall from 45 meters high.

All kidding aside, the changes are pretty meager compared to the last installment. But we will however retain the contribution of the Supremos, these backpacks tinkered with by the good Juan Cortez, which act both as storage for your grenades and as an ultimate capacity. Once loaded to the maximum during a fight, you can for example fire a column of guided rockets, or diffuse a cloud of gas around to asphyxiate your enemies. Powerful techniques, which more than once got me out of trouble when too many enemies were invited to the party.

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Supremos are backpacks that act as a very fun ultimate ability to use.

Because Far Cry 6 complicates our lives a little. Indeed there are different types of ammunition that can be used on its weapons. Some effective against armored enemies, some not. It is therefore necessary to make sure to vary your arsenal (you can equip three main weapons and a handgun) to be able to overcome all situations. But this system is ultimately more frustrating than anything else in that it “breaks” the dynamics of certain fights, without creating any real difficulty. As proof: you can change weapons on the fly from your inventory, and the bow is able to break helmets without the need for special arrows.

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Not all bullets are effective against all targets.

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It will be necessary to ensure that you have a varied arsenal to remain versatile.

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After the discovery phase, the “amigos” are not very useful.

I won't dwell on the "amigos" system, which is exactly what the previous system introduced in Far Cry 5 offered. Various animals (including the famous "sausage-dog" Chorizo) can be recruited to give you a paw kick. Each has its own abilities, but their contribution is so meager that most of the time we prefer to do without them so as not to ruin the immersion.

It must also be said that the classic experience system has disappeared from Far Cry 6. At each level passed, it is not skill points to spend in a tree that are offered to us, but simply the stock of the arms sellers which expands. Thus we have access from the start of the game to traditional techniques such as assassination from above, or chained killings in hand-to-hand combat. Enough to save yourself a progression that the usual players of the license know by heart.

Finally, it should be noted that, like its predecessor, Far Cry 6 is fully playable in online coop. “Special ops” missions are also available (also playable solo), and take us to instanced and scripted areas to unlock exclusive weapons.

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Special Ops offers instanced missions tailored for co-op, with special rewards.

Far Cry 6 : l'avis de JVFR

Tomorrow when the game is released and I can access my statistics, I will probably learn that I have requisitioned 52 border crossings. That 27 FND bases are now occupied by guerrillas thanks to me, and that the rivers of Yara are depopulated by a hundred fish. I'll also be told that I have 242 dashboard props left to unlock, or 49 treasures waiting to be unearthed. Because that's a lot all the same, Far Cry 6. Checking boxes in endless lists.

But it must be remembered that this type of game does not adapt very well to the exercise of a test carried out in less than a week. No one will rush like us to overcome the game to meet an embargo date. Ordinary mortals buy a Far Cry for that, precisely. To start a quick game, capture three camps by infiltrating with a bow or by blowing everything up with a grenade launcher before leaving to go about your life. And in this, Far Cry 6 seems to us the most likely to keep you busy for long, long months.

Thanks to its fabulous playground, the feeling of freedom and exoticism it exudes, but above all its gargantuan content, Far Cry 6 pushes all the knobs to the maximum to offer you the Best-Of-Deluxe-Three- Meat supplement with cheese sauce. It condenses almost 20 years of experience accumulated on this license and synthesizes it in a fun, accessible, magnificent and well-made game.

So yes, it is classic and hardly offers anything new. But everything he does, he does well. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a few more hunting quests to complete. Apparently there's a crocodile disguise up for grabs.

Far Cry 6

Far Cry 6 does Far Cry, only better. A vast area to explore, hundreds of camps to clear of soldiers, wildlife to slaughter and thousands of items to collect. No doubt, you have already played this game a good thirty times. But with such a shiny packaging, and such a colossal lifespan, the game from Ubisoft Toronto was able to seduce us… once we agreed to put our brains down.