by Adam Mathew
Not to typecast the guy, but Giancarlo Esposito (The Boys, The Mandalorian) plays a damn fine villain. This is especially true if you need an antagonist who can deftly shed their compassionate and likeable exterior when it’s time to do some cold, perfunctory murder.
The need to Jekyll and Hyde varies from role to role and circumstance to circumstance. Sometimes you just have to stop smiling and selling delicious chicken, and start eradicating subordinates or any minor threat to your empire.
In today’s example, you must project benevolent leadership while hocking a unique cancer cure to the world, but you also need to get it produced cheaply via “alt-business” practices. We’re talking land seizures, slave labour, plus the systemic poisoning of said workers and environment.
Oh, and forced military conscription (or summary execution) for everybody else. Presumably, because you feel the Grim Reaper is owed like-for-like compensation because you cancelled cancer.
Yep, in Far Cry 6, Esposito is setting both a high bar for magnetic motion-captured performances and abject bastardry in general. He’s Antón Castillo, ruthless dictator of the fictional Caribbean island nation of Yara. Though his papa was rudely ousted by guerillas in ’67, the Castillo dynasty is back in the saddle now, riding roughshod over an impoverished people.
Dynasty is the end game. Like some sort of turbo Kim Il Sung, he’s preparing the way for his son, Diego (played by Anthony Gonzalez of Coco). At the top of the tutelage list: how to face the harsh realities of ruling with an iron fist.
Excuse the pun, but what’s being setup here is a far cry from the previous tales in this franchise.
The last numbered entry took us to the less-than-exotic hills of rural Murica and slid us into the boots of a sheriff’s deputy beset by hick cultists. The result was a great deal of absurdist, explosive – albeit narratively shallow – fun.
Our reviewer, Anthony O’Connor, nailed it on the head when he labelled it a “shoot first, think never” experience. Its admittedly colourful and kooky cast of antagonists never really rose higher than just names waiting to be crossed off your shit list.
Far Cry 6 is a free-wheeling first-person shooter where a gunfight (or carnivore bite) is waiting in every ramshackle settlement or behind every banana tree. That said, large hints are being made about Yara’s fate being decided in a less bullet-based battle – the fight for a quiet, impressionable boy’s soul.
It’s not been confirmed how malleable Diego is, exactly, nor how much our violent in-game actions flow on to deeper repercussions. But I do have a hope that Ubisoft will try to surprise us at some critical juncture. Make us question our trigger-happy pursuits up until that point.
For now, gamers should just be content with the fact that the action in Far Cry 6 is top-notch first-person shooter that’s reasonably evolved from the last time.
Ubisoft’s willingness to try bolder things is also evident in Dani Rojas, an avatar who’s more complex than the usual saviour-type. She’s a surprisingly unwilling “hero” who doesn’t want a bar of nation saving, despite seeing dear companions die. She just wants to do a Scarface – cut and run to Miami.
Problem: the small island of guerillas that house her and will provide State-side passage, eventually, demand rent. Dani’s dineros aren’t accepted by the group. Piles of ex-government troops and exploded compounds are their currency of choice.
Honestly, I fully expect Ubisoft will include a decision point where Dani can shrug her shoulders, ditch the revolution and emigrate to less explosive climes. It wouldn’t be the first time in the series.
Speculation aside, action-packed missions and a picturesque walk/drive/wingsuit anywhere sandbox are all givens. You also receive a situation-appropriate refresh of your guns, vehicles, and AI ally selections. The latter veer wacky with vest-wearing alligators and tactical sausage dogs.
What are some new things that will make you want to book a plane ticket? MacGyver-level gun creation and enhancement, extra ruthless enemy AI, and an RPG-lite emphasis on smartly pairing your gun buffs to foe resistances.
All that, combined with an obviously richer narrative being brought to life by seasoned actors, is set to infuse this Far Cry with way more oomph than the usual explosion-happy violence. I’m enchanted by what I’ve experienced so far. As a fan of great stories, my fingers are crossed for something that could become truly revolutionary.
Far Cry 6 releases on PC, Xbox and PlayStation on October 7, 2021
