Far Cry 2 is still the best one. It’s brutal, nasty, uncompromising, and has some of the most frightening gun battles in FPS game history. Ever since Assassin’s Creed 2 in 2009, it feels like every Ubisoft open-world game – or just open-world games generally – have followed a similar model, a model that’s gradually spoiled the Far Cry series. Check map. Drive to outpost. Kill everyone. Take over outpost. Repeat. If players rejected Far Cry 6 at launch, it’s because this formula had gone unchallenged and unchanged for too long. The experimental days of Far Cry 2 are long over. Nevertheless, there are reasons to try the 2021 sandbox FPS sequel, especially now, when it’s the cheapest it’s ever been.
What are the problems with Far Cry 6? A lot of them persist from FC5. Throughout its over-extended runtime, everything you do follows the same pattern, as you gradually ‘eat’ the world map borough by borough. It’s disjointed and chaotic – the series’ promise that you can do what you like, and that you’ll be confronted by unusual random events while out exploring, turns the FPS game into a bizarre, tonally undisciplined slapstick.
You’re casing an enemy stronghold, preparing to skilfully eliminate the perimeter guards with a silenced rifle, when a wild fox jumps onto your arm and you’re forced to beat it into retreat using a gag shop wooden paddle. The joke, as it were, of the Far Cry series since FC3, finally runs to ground here.
But there are still great moments. The overarching story is one of the series’ most compelling and the gun battles, when they’re allowed to exist without the overwrought, inadvertent sandbox comedy, are still thrilling and well produced. Like Far Cry 3, 4, and 5, FC6 lives and dies by your personal approach. If you lean into the absurdity and scale of it all, it’s perhaps more accommodating. But if you want a more grounded, convincing shooter, it’s possible to play the game that way, too – just with a little more effort.
You might have avoided Far Cry 6 until now, but if you’ve always been quietly curious, it’s suddenly cheaper than ever thanks to the summer Steam sale. Far Cry 6 just hit a historically low price of $11.99 / £9.99. At that rate, it’s definitely worth a shot. You can get it right here.
Otherwise, we’ve gathered together the other best bargains in the Steam summer sale, or you can try some of the greatest open-world games ever made.
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