The Far Cry games have always been synonymous with standard open-world affairs for some time now. The first game proved to be a great concept, one where key mechanics would get reiterated for quite some with newer entries in the franchise. That might not be a bad thing at all, as it allows for fans to get a firm sense of what to expect from each entry in the game. That being said, many have claimed that the series needs to make radical changes to the Far Cry formula if it wants to survive and thrive in today’s gaming landscape.
The highly anticipated Far Cry 6 seems to be doing a lot of right things, with a great cast of characters led by Breaking Bad’s Giancarlo Esposito. However, it should also use the opportunity to do away with a bunch of open-world problems that have plagued earlier games in the series.
Not something that specifically pertains to the Far Cry games, but is a general open-world concern found in many others. Many open-world games are guilty of recycling a handful of side activities set-dressed as side missions. The latest mainline entry in the franchise, Far Cry 5, seems to fare the worst in this regard due to its quest structure. To advance in the game, the player needs to draw out the area boss, which occurs when the player earns a set amount of resistance points. The best way to earn these is to pursue quests, but it’s very rare that the assortment of “main quests” would give the player the required points.
Often the player would need to engage with side activities, which can prove to be a lot of fun at times. However, the forced nature of pursuing such activities as well as the varying quality of them has come under scrutiny by many fans who’d rather not do some of the uninteresting content. Far Cry 6 could use its densely populated city of Yara to make the side content worthwhile and meaningful to the narrative. In addition to this, the game could also streamline the progression through the story to allow for a more flexible approach towards the game, one where players are truly free to tackle the game on their own terms.
Its been a given that most open-world games would more or less include crafting or a survival system of sorts. While it fits comfortably within some spaces, it can also feel weirdly out of place in others. The earlier Far Cry games, specifically Far Cry 2, make excellent use of such systems to keep the player tensed about his/her mortality at all times. However, later Far Cry games are guilty of making such systems feel more like a novelty rather than something that is essential to the game’s mechanics. Many fans would argue that it does help with the flexibility and player agency involved, but it’d be best if the franchise either doubles down on these systems or do away with them completely.
In the case of Far Cry 6, the protagonist Dani Rojas is already confirmed to be a native of Yara which is opposed to earlier games that featured outsiders as protagonists. Thus, it makes sense that Dani would know his streets inside out and wouldn’t need to craft Molotov Cocktails and health packs every time he goes to battle. Far Cry 6 could also tie in meaningful side activities such as questlines to discover new traders and get upgraded gear instead of running around to find the required ingredients to craft a bigger pouch.
A number of open-world games are guilty of falling into this trope, with Ubisoft games faring a lot worse at times. Many open-world games painstakingly create huge spaces filled with valleys, towns, peaks, and even some water bodies for good measure. However, not much thought is given to how space should be utilized in meaningful ways. Earlier Assassin’s Creed games are a great example of this, with entries such as Assassin’s Creed 2 aiming for bigger and bigger cities with nothing substantial in them to incentivize players to explore each nook and cranny.
Far Cry 6 is the first mainline Far Cry game to be set in a city, as opposed to isolated islands. Therefore, it makes sense to keep the scale of the city short, but make up for it by making each location visually distinct and having something meaningful on every turn. On the topic of scale, it’d be particularly interesting to venture deep into an abandoned house in some remote district of the map and hunt for stashes with vague clues. Instead of populating the city with a dozen different NPCs with little in the name of backstories, Far Cry 6 should instead focus on making them and their motivations feel well-realized.
Far Cry 6 is a great opportunity to tone down the scale and instead focus on the immaculate level of details, and from what’s known the setting and plot suit itself well to keep moving in the direction. Hopefully, the game carves out its own path instead of falling for overused open-world templates and tropes.
Far Cry 6 is in development for PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
![\"IT電腦補習](\"http://itteacheritfreelance.hk/test/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/logo2-2.png\"){kind=logo}
www.itsec.hk
www.itsec.vip
www.itseceu.uk
Leave a Reply