#I'll be quoting Juan's lessons for a while

[kyndaris]

Once a Guerrilla, Always a Guerrilla

Revolution is not an easy feat. It is not so simple as being idealistic. Nor is it simply seeing who has the most guns and the bigger army. To be a guerrilla takes grit, good leadership and an end goal. It also means having combat training, the funding and connections to ease the way. Just because you managed to defeat a tyrant, without sending our a counter-message, it is just as easy to be seen as a replacement dictator. For a revolution to truly take hold, one has to change the hearts and minds of the people. Those are the lessons I learned when playing through Far Cry 6 as the lucky one: Dani Rojas.

Now, I am no stranger to the problematic issues of supporting Ubisoft. The company, much like several other major publishers has been embroiled in controversy. NFTs, toxic workplace environments...the list goes on.

In so saying, the messaging from Far Cry 6 feels like a cry for help. And perhaps it is time for something to truly shake up the culture of game companies so that they can retain staff and make the games that everyone loves so much.

But, back to Far Cry 6, shall we?

The game starts with Dani Rojas and their friends planning to escape to America. They enjoy one last drink, only for it to be interrupted by several soldiers. Alejo antagonises a group and is shot dead. Fearing for their lives, Dani and their friend: Lita flee for the boat that would be their ticket to a world of poor pay and being judged for their accent and colour of their skin. Sound familiar to any real-world examples? But even being paid to stock supermarket shelves can be seen as a blessing for many illegal migrants to the USA. And even if they might never achieve the dream purported by the land of the free, at least they are free of the conflict that might engulf their very lives.

Unfortunately, their escape via boat does not go as planned. El Presidente boards their little fishing boat to reclaim his son, Diego. After a tense conversation, the two leave and everyone else is condemned to a watery grave.

Somehow, through the powers of plot convenience, Dani survives, washing ashore on the Isla Santuario. There, they meet Clara Garcia and the rest of Libertad. So begins their bloody journey to retake their home from the power-hungry Anton Castillo.

From a narrative standpoint, Far Cry 6 keeps many of their serious moments quite light. Yes, there’s plenty of murder and gunning down soldiers of Anton’s regime, but there are many lighthearted moments such as the Yaran Story missions in order to recruit amigo: Chicharron. Then, of course, there’s Bicho, or Paz as he is later called. 

Thank goodness for not having Hurk, or a version of him, being inserted into this title.

I did, however, like seeing the interactions between La Morale, Libertad and the Legends of ‘67. They brought a sharp contrast to the different factions that fuel why people may seek change, but they also highlight all the similarities between both revolutions. Many of the main players were students hoping to make changes to the country that they love.

Bella Ciao is also a great song given its history and how the game is also focused on routing out fascist leaders. As I was playing through one operation that involved burning tobacco leaves, my mother overheard and she did as the Leonardo DiCaprio meme. Sometimes I forget that she’s actually lived through quite a few things and what sounds novel to me is something she actually knows from real-life history.

Also, on a musical front, I really liked how Dani would sing to several songs on the radio. I did a double-take when I first heard them sing to Havana by Camila Cabello before subsequently YouTubing it to see if others had noticed. 

From a performance perspective, I liked all the little vignettes with Anton and his son, Diego. But from a story standpoint, it never felt as if Anton had much bite. Giancarlo Esposito shines in the role, but it is always far removed from Dani’s actions. There were only a few occasions where the two crossed paths but none of them had me sweating in my seat as much as the confrontation between Vaas and Jason. Nor did I get terrifying but sexy chills like I did with the Seeds.

(Kyndaris, you need to stop reading Jacob Seed x Deputy and Joseph Seed x Deputy fanfiction!)

On a gameplay front, Far Cry 6 is a lot more streamlined than previous titles. No longer are there radio towers to visit to reveal all the dots on the map. Rather, missions can be discovered by chatting to guerrilla fighters at camps or liberated outposts. There’s also no skill tree. Nor does Dani Rojas have to go hunting in order to craft more weapon holsters, healing syringes and ammo pouches for specific weapons.

Everything else played out as smoothly as one could expect from the franchise. The guns were weighty and packed a decent punch. The wingsuit was a great tool to soar through the skies and most of the vehicles handled quite well. My one gripe was the default controls for planes. After fiddling with them, I was able to fly much better and smashed through Yami’s race.

Far Cry 6 doesn’t stray too far from the formula established in the previous titles. There’s nothing that’s incredibly innovative and the twist at the end with Diego made some kind of sense. The Far Cry series is never content to give players a ‘good’ ending. In the worlds that they create, nothing is ever truly black and white. Just because one despot has been overthrown, it doesn’t mean that the world can right itself. Look no further than Far Cry 4 or even the apocalyptic ending that came when the Deputy fought back to save Hope County.

While I never quite connected with Diego as I would have liked to, it also felt like he was an authentic thirteen-year-old boy that was out of his depth and who wanted to live in a better world. And hey, who wouldn’t want that?

On a side note, the whole Jose threatening to poop on something belonging to Diego as he slept reminded me of something I read once. Probably something from the annals of Horrible Histories. But at least we got to underscore what a terrible and entitled person he was.

[hinge]

Hinge presents an anthology of love stories almost never told. Read more on https://no-ordinary-love.co