Far Cry 6 will be set in the fictional Caribbean nation of Yara as player character Dani Rojas takes part in a revolution against the country's iron-fisted dictator, Anton Castillo. The heart of Castillo's regime will be Esperanza, Yara's capital city that the revolutionaries have nicknamed "the Lion's Den."
Far Cry 3 already featured a tropical island setting, while Far Cry 4 explored a complicated revolution in a Himalayan nation. What could distinguish Far Cry 6 from both games - and every Far Cry game so far - is the size of Esperanza. For now it is unknown just how much of the map will be taken up by Yara's capital city, so here are the pros and cons of a big city taking center stage in Far Cry 6.
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In Far Cry 6's cinematic trailer, Anton Castillo takes his son an heir apparent Diego to the roof of the presidential palace in Esperanza before forcing him to drop a live grenade onto the revolutionaries below. While the cinematic focuses on the pair's dynamic, it inadvertently points to one of the key advantages Far Cry 6 could reap from a centralized city setting.
The Far Cry games have enjoyed a vertical aspect to their combat for some time, particularly in the form of ziplines. High-rise buildings, however, open up a new world of possibilities. As well as taking down targets from rooftops, players could find themselves fighting their way up through skyscrapers held by Anton Castillo's forces. Most Far Cry games so far have prioritized open spaces, so the confines of city warfare could diversify the next game's combat.
Tall buildings will be more exciting the more flexible they are. Assuming players have the ability to break through windows on any level, high-rises could form interesting fortifications which Dani Rojas could take on from the bottom up, top down, or middle out. Running over rooftops and swinging between buildings may be more in line with an Assassin's Creed or Spider-Man game, but many Far Cry fans would be excited to see the series take full advantage of Esperanza's skyline.
On the flip side, explorable buildings have the potential to be far more repetitive than enemy bases in former Far Cry games. Not only that, but if Ubisoft doesn't implement some flexible new ways to get around it could find itself limiting the ways players can approach enemy bases compared to previous installments in the series. While it is very likely that Dani will be able to take down more traditional Far Cry bases in the Yaran countryside, Esperanza opens the door to new kinds of combat, but also the potential for that combat to feel more restrictive.
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Driving is one of the Far Cry series' underrated stars. The games' vehicle controls are tight, and the radios often offer a great mix of dissonant but setting-appropriate songs that help create scenes that feel straight out of an action-comedy. Like all great video game vehicles, Far Cry's cars also have a penchant for exploding.
Far Cry 6 could be a blessing for classic car fans. The cinematic trailer focuses heavily on a classic car burning in the streets of Esperanza, and like Cuba Far Cry's Yara is said to have been subject to a brutal embargo that froze many of its imports in time. If fans can drive around Yara in a range of cars from the '50s and '60s the game is bound to cultivate a unique aesthetic and some memorable moments.
However, the cinematic trailer's burning car raises a question - will players be able to take advantage of Far Cry's vehicle system in the far more restrictive confines of Esperanza's city streets? In previous Far Cry games it was often advisable to stick the road, whether the player was driving through the jungle, the mountains, or even the open fields of Hope County, Montana. Some of the most exciting gameplay moments would often come, however, when in the heat of combat players were forced to tear their way through tough terrain, swerve to avoid an enemy convoy, or leap from their vehicle moments before it flies off a cliff.
While a forest or jungle can be difficult to navigate, it still has far more flexibility than most cities as long as players can avoid colliding with trees. Huge city blocks have no such flexibility, and players may find that driving through Esperanza makes them too vulnerable to attack to make it worthwhile. Once again this will depend on the game's countryside to city ratio, but players may find that driving in rural Yara ends up being more exciting and rewarding than in the country's capital.
Stealth has always been a part of the Far Cry franchise, but a city like Esperanza could place it at the forefront of Far Cry 6. When discussing the inspirations behind the upcoming game, Far Cry 6's narrative director simply summarized that "when you're talking about guerilla warfare, you go to Cuba." It seems likely that combat in the Yaran countryside won't actual resemble realistic rural warfare. After all, if the next Far Cry doesn't allow players to zipline their way into the middle of an enemy base, set a conveniently caged wild animal on the guards, and fight their way out guns blazing, it might not feel like a Far Cry game at all.
However, without a clear basis for city warfare in previous games, the influence of real-world guerilla fighters could have a very interesting effect in Esperanza. Players may find that Yara's capital encourages a very different kind of playstyle, prioritizing stealth, planning, ambushing, and quick escapes in a way that previous Far Cry games left optional.
A city like Esperanza comes with its risks and potential rewards. If nothing else, a central city will help distinguish Far Cry 6's tropical island from the one found in Far Cry 3, and its revolution from the one found in Far Cry 4. Whether it will end up opening new possibilities or constricting some of the series' staples remains to be seen.
Far Cry 6 is currently in development for PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.