Assassin’s Creed Valhalla will introduce new narrative elements for the Animus that provide lore justifications for new gameplay possibilities, namely the ability to switch the gender of the player character at will, as well as bring modern-day protagonist Layla into the historical open world.
A recent hands-on demonstration of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla I took part in featured the ability to swap Eivor’s gender from a menu. But it turns out this isn’t a demo feature to allow journalists to show both male and female versions of the character to readers. Talking to IGN, Valhalla’s Narrative Director Darby McDevitt explained – while avoiding any story spoilers – that this is a new gameplay feature to ensure both male and female versions of Eivor are considered canon. The feature is backed up by new lore that upgrades the abilities of the Animus, the machine that allows Assassin’s Creed’s characters to explore the memories of their ancestors.
“You can go into the Animus layer of our game,” he said. “There’s an option to change the memory stream. To explain why would spoil a long-running secret, but I will say that the whole reason for why you can switch [Eivor’s gender] back and forth fully embraces the often overlooked science fiction nature of our series.”
“We’ve got this thing that’s called genetic memory, and we’ve got this Animus,” he added. “What are all the ways you can play with that? And how could we leverage that to make a character that you could choose male or female? We found a way that we think is pretty satisfying.”
While McDevitt would not explain the story reasons for the Animus doing this, it seems reasonable to predict that this is an continuation on from an idea explored in Assassin’s Creed Odyssey. In that game, when the Animus scans DNA found on Leonidas’ spear, it finds two potential matches in siblings Kassandra and Alexios, hence your choice of protagonist. For Valhalla, we may be dealing with a damaged DNA sample that cannot determine Eivor’s gender, and so the simulation fills in the blanks based on what Layla/the player asks it to do.
The Animus also has another new ability: to bring modern-day protagonist Laya into the simulation itself, allowing you to control her in the Anglo-Saxon open world. It’s an innovation designed to solve a problem previous games have had.
“The modern day story often grinds the experience to a halt,” McDevitt said. “Taking you out of whatever historical period you’re in and putting you into the present day where you have a bunch of different characters with different skills, different affordances, and different abilities. It really has this kind of hard stop.”
Layla being able to explore the open world prevents that hard stop. “The story is that there are anomalies inside the stimulation. And when you find them as Eivor, Layla and her handlers will pause the simulation, and set up this big thing for her to deal with. It’s a big puzzle, lots of intense puzzle solving and parkour so that you can acquire a bit of interesting data and then close this rift.”
“And so that the experience is much more comfortable,” he adds, “you’re not just going into a loading menu, going into a small office somewhere in the present day. You still get to be Layla, but you get to be Layla in the past. And so that means that all these interesting skills that she may have learned – the parkour, the epic vistas, and the puzzle solving – you get to float right into that without any kind of hitch.”
Watch Dogs Legion was originally meant to come out on March 3, but saw a lengthy delay (and will now arrive on October 29) – thankfully, creative director Clint Hocking says that allowed the game to improve, even allowing the team to incorporate ideas it thought were out of reach before the original release date.
Speaking to IGN, Hocking explained that the delay was due to “reasons external to the project”, and described the mixture of emotions upon being told the release would be pushed back: “Obviously the day the word came down was devastating because you put yourself in the mental mindset of ‘We’re going to close this and get it out the door.’ And that takes a little bit of time to undo but after a few days of stewing in it, it’s like, ‘Oh yeah, actually, this is great. This is great.'”
The reason those extra months worked so well for the team was seemingly in how it allowed to team to take its near-finished systems to the next level, particularly its standout “Play As Anyone” idea, where every AI character can be recruited and used for their own generated stats and abilities.
“We were very close when we were ready to ship,” explains Hocking, “and the delay has allowed us to really look at the things that were out of reach for us back then, and how to incorporate those things and add a layer of polish and realization and clarity to the game.”
“So the most important thing I think we’ve done is added a lot more refinement to traits and the abilities that you find on characters in the world, and better ways for aggregating those into individuals. As a consequence of that, we have a lot of cool characters that kind of emerge out of these great traits.”
The idea is that the kinds of characters – and the skills they offer you should you recruit them – will be more varied and interesting, and that they suit the characters themselves better. For instance, an architect with construction site safety gear would be able to enter a restricted construction site – but a construction worker who works on the same site may have the same privileges, but come wielding a nail gun, and able to call in a cargo drone that could let them access hard-to-reach areas.
It turns the population of London into something like a strategic smorgasboard of gameplay opportunities, and potentially a more immediately readable one, where the kinds of clothes someone wears, or the job they have translates to your needs as a player. In a similar vein, progression systems were also tweaked so that players wouldn’t feel punished for experimenting with lots of recruits, rather than specialising in a few.
On the widest level, Hocking says the delay has also allowed the game to better translate its biggest moments, such as uprisings. Each London borough in the game includes activities that weaken the Albion corporation’s control in the area. “Once you do all of those activities in a borough,” explains Hocking, “you get a borough liberation mission, a really custom beat with unique gameplay and a really cool challenge. And then that causes the people in the borough to rise up and that makes them much easier to recruit, and it gets rid of the Albion checkpoints and reduces the Albion presence in the streets. It really makes it feel like you’re actually taking the city back.” The delay apparently allowed the team to turn these from unique missions into moments that communicate the sense of the population rising up to take the city back from their oppressors.
Watch Dogs was already an exciting set of ideas, so the fact that the extra time in the oven has resulted in even deeper systems should hopefully make that wait a little more palatable.
If you want to learn more about Watch Dogs Legion, check out our hands-on preview, where we explain why, “The lack of a primary main character doesn’t detract from the story. Instead, it incentivizes exploring and immersing myself in a world I otherwise may have ignored in favor of mainlining the story.”
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Joe Skrebels is IGN’s Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to [email protected].
I guide my longship along the waterways of East Anglia, one of the regions of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla’s Anglo-Saxon map. Ahead is the shoreline of Beodericsworth, which will soon be the stage for one of this Viking-themed entry’s flagship features; raiding. With the blow of a horn, my crew begin bailing out, charging up the sands and crashing into the shields of the village’s unprepared guards. Wood splinters, blood gushes, and heads drop from shoulders. It’s exactly the kind of skirmish you’d expect from a Norseman raid.
Inside, we hack apart the guard leaders defending the village’s treasures and take it for ourselves. Amongst our findings are two caskets so large it takes multiple vikings to get them open, filled with raw crafting materials. It’s a bounty that will, at the very least, get a knowing nod from Odin, if not a smile.
Raiding in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla feels smaller scale than I expected, but is nonetheless good fun, and a vital part of fulfilling the Viking fantasy at the heart of the game. It’s also not the only way to pillage a Saxon settlement. The first time I approached a raiding target in a recent three-hour hands-on with Valhalla, I actually bailed out of the longship on my own, snuck around the back, and crept from guard to guard, taking them out silently. Stealthing the entire camp was overly easy due to the enemies standing perfectly still at their posts – something I hope will be upgraded with patrol paths by the time of full release – but some satisfaction remained thanks to the fact that Assassin’s Creed’s iconic hidden blade has been restored to full power once again, killing instantly with a generous splash of crimson.
Post-raiding party, I take protagonist Eivor to meet up with fellow clansman Finnr, who sets us on a course to assault Burgh Castle in Northwich, where we’ll face a rival clan. This transitions into what is effectively the boss fight version of raiding; Valhalla’s siege assaults. This one begins with a Viking variant of D-Day, with landing craft exchanged for longships and machine gun fire swapped out for volleys of flaming arrows.
[poilib element=”quoteBox” parameters=”excerpt=The%20iconic%20hidden%20blade%20has%20been%20restored%20to%20full%20power%2C%20killing%20instantly%20with%20a%20splash%20of%20crimson.”]As the boats hit the shore and the first set of walls are blown apart, I become tangled up in the first phase of the main assault. It’s here where Valhalla’s combat really shines, despite the rough edges of the work-in-progress build. It’s an iterative upgrade of the system first introduced in Assassin’s Creed Origins, but one with enough Norse-flavoured garnish that it feels just right. Active abilities return, including one that has Eivor hurl half a dozen throwing axes into a collection of nearby enemies, and another that’s basically a charge-and-tackle manovre that lasts for as long as there’s still yards left to sprint.
Such abilities can only be triggered by spending adrenaline, which is built through performing standard attacks and parries. But the moments between those super-powered blows are no less entertaining. Enemies have a stun meter, which when worn down allows you to follow up with finishers such as beating them over the head with their own shield, or swinging your axe up through their chin. Foes knocked to the floor can be leapt and stomped on as if they were a bed at a child’s slumber party. And if they refuse to fall over, they can be gleefully booted across the battlefield with the Kick of Tyr; essentially Odyssey’s Spartan Kick in all but name. In moments like these, the spirit of the berserker really starts to shine through.
With the first courtyard clear of enemies, I’m able to use a battering ram to break down a timber perimeter fence and progress up to the gate. There are three phases in the assault (frustratingly without checkpointing in this preview build, meaning a full restart on death) with each introducing a new wrinkle of complexity. At the next gate, contained within a stone archway, archers fire arrows from wall-mounted ballistas and pour gallons of burning oil over the ramming crew. On the other side in the final courtyard, the castle’s hardiest occupants do their best to scupper your assault.
By this point, I’m feeling fairly exhausted (I’m on my third attempt) and Eivor is feeling the burn. There’s no regenerating health in Valhalla, nor an HP boosting ability like Odyssey’s Second Wind. Instead, you have rations; effectively health potions made up of food gathered from the open world. While the grounds of the castle have a few mushrooms to nibble on, by the last phase of the assault I’ve picked both the land and my pockets dry of food, and have sustained a dent to my HP meter. In other words, I’m not well equipped for the boss battle the game then throws me into.
Rued is a rival Viking armed with a longsword he can set ablaze, and is accompanied by a pet wolf. Like with many of Assassin’s Creed Odyssey’s boss fights, it’s in this battle where you can detect some potential Soulsborne influences. Eivor has a stamina meter, depleted by dealing heavy melee damage, dodging, and absorbing enemy strikes with your shield. While light attacks may come for free, in a tight boss fight arena populated by a walking mountain and a ravenous wolf, it means stamina is constantly in need of attention.
The wolf is able to grab hold of my shield in its maw, opening me up to heavy cleaves from Rued while I try to wrestle my arm free. A few well-placed strikes and some throwing axes knock the wolf out of the fight, leaving just Rued and I to dance it out atop the castle wall. As the fight progresses Rued begins to throw his weapons at me, but the combination of his attack patterns and the gap between us means there isn’t enough time for me to pull out my bow and strike back at range. With the screen fading to black as my health drops to critical levels, I’m just able to dodge a blow and generate enough adrenaline to perform Dive of the Valkyries; a leap that brings both my axe and shield down on Rued in a bone-crunching slam. He’s done for.
Before I can bury the hatchet in his skull, though, my hand is stayed by Oswald, an Englishman ally who we’ve saved from Rued’s clutches. He preaches of fair trials before God, and I’m offered the choice to kill or spare my enemy. I do the sensible thing and slice open Rued’s neck with an axe, much to Oswald’s distaste.
A bug in the demo – something not uncommon in pre-release builds – means I have to reset the game. I continue from where I left off, but am told that in this save game Eivor has abided by Oswald’s request and spared Rued. Fair enough, I think, that’ll keep him happy for his wedding, which is Valhalla’s next quest.
Very much following in Odyssey’s footsteps, Valhalla – at least in this showing – has a well-judged balance between light and dark. After a gloomy castle siege I’m treated to a wedding filled with fun conversations and mini-games. I’m challenged to shoot a field full of targets after downing a flagon of ale, and take part in a drinking competition in which I need to neck no less than three horns of beer and not fall over in the process. It’s a delightful time to celebrate Oswald uniting with our clan as he marries Norsewoman Valdis. At least, it is until Rued crashes the party.
It appears that Valhalla has ambitions to take the RPG side Assassin’s Creed up a notch; this moment feels like the kind of narrative consequence akin to what we’d see in games like Dragon Age. Because Rued had been spared, he turns up at the wedding looking for vengeance (had he died, I’m informed I’d instead be enjoying a race around the town). But rather than my blood, it’s Oswald’s he’s here to claim. At this point I’m offered another choice; I can let Oswald fight, or I can be his champion and kill Rued on his behalf. I take the latter option, and while I cut down Rued for good this time, Oswald seems slightly disappointed in me taking his place. I wonder if, in later hours, this will have a negative effect on our relationship. I also wonder if this is not just a one off event, but a promise that Valhalla is filled with these kinds of choices and repercussions.
[poilib element=”quoteBox” parameters=”excerpt=There’s%20a%20drinking%20mini-game%20that%20demands%20you%20neck%20horns%20of%20beer%20and%20not%20fall%20over.”]Along with narrative choices, Valhalla also iterates on the RPG stats systems its predecessors added to the Assassin’s Creed mix. Alongside the familiar active abilities is a constellation-style map of skill upgrades that provides a variety of passive upgrades. Some improve your basic stats – higher damage, increased health – while others unlock new combat moves such as stun attacks and finishers; those additional attacks that make the combat that extra bit more flavourful. Together, all of your upgrades increase your Global Power rating, a numerical indicator as to how powerful you are that replaces standard levelling.
Alongside the introduction of further RPG mechanics, Valhalla’s world is also significantly more traditional of the genre, too; when galloping around it on my horse, or sailing down rivers on my longboat, it was easy to mistake England for The Witcher 3’s Velen. This means, visually, Valhalla is less striking than Odyssey or Origins, with its practically Tolkien colour palette feeling less fresh than the sands of Egypt or mediteranean greenery of Greece. Yet, perhaps because I’m English, I can’t help but get a thrill out of exploring just-about-recognisable versions of my own homeland.
It should also be noted that Valhalla embraces British folklore perhaps more than it does Norse Mythology; as I explored this small chunk of the world I came across Black Shuck, a huge black dog that’s part of classic East Anglian folklore, as well as two members of the Daughters of Lerion; Gaelic women dressed in skulls with a fondness for sacrificial rituals and the supernatural. As with Odyssey, exploring uncovers optional bosses and other fun activities, although this time it’s all a lot more goth.
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla looks to be, as is the tradition of the series, an iterative update on its predecessors. If the new approach to RPG design and gear-based progression has put you off the series, this slice of the game indicates that you’ll likely be unconvinced by Valhalla’s barely altered direction. But the few changes it makes to those systems suggests developer Ubisoft Montreal may have a newfound confidence in its RPG abilities, and a willingness to embrace more of the genre’s toolset. If its branching story points are frequent occurrences, it may be that Valhalla’s real innovation comes from player agency in the narrative, rather than any mechanical revisions. Provided the game delivers on that promise, my only genuine concern is that the return of the lethal hidden blade hasn’t resulted in instantly satisfying stealth. It currently feels underbaked due to those stationary guards, and so needs some extra challenge to make it a worthwhile alternative to the entertainingly barbaric combat encounters. Fix that, and Assassin’s Creed Valhalla might well be able to both reclaim its lineage and further its admirable RPG ambitions.
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Matt Purslow is IGN’s UK News and Entertainment Writer.
Watch Dogs: Legion follows the series’ established hack-heavy formula, but the new recruitment system adds a refreshing layer of intrigue underneath your run of the mill missions. All of which still have the fun of outsmarting enemies or finding the right angle to solve a puzzle, download a key/file, or wreak havoc from afar. But the most appealing part of Watch Dogs: Legion is finding and recruiting new people. From potential new weapons to lovable characters with fascinating backgrounds and recruitment missions, you have nothing to lose and everything to gain by expanding DedSec.
Watch Dogs Legion’s Degrees of Dystopian
Set in near-future London, the bombings DedSec was framed for have led to an authoritarian state in which Albion – a private military corporation – has taken over policing while an intelligence community, led by Signal Intelligence Response Service (SIRS), spies on London’s citizens. In an attempt to clear DedSec, you’re tasked with finding out who is responsible for the London bombings. Villains include Nigel Cass, CEO of Albion, and Mary Kelly, leader of an organized crime syndicate in London.
In keeping with the series norms, Watch Dogs: Legion operates in the extremes of tech-gone-too-far and corporations-up-to-no-good. It’s what I expect, but as an exaggeration of where society could head, some storylines are more believable and intriguing than others. An Albion security guard making a janky deal to get medicine felt like a natural extension of the current ways governments fail their people, but an evil CEO shooting someone with a room full of high-powered witnesses felt more cartoonishly evil than cleverly dystopian.
Making every character playable is a narrative risk, but it’s one Watch Dogs: Legion seems to pull off based on what I’ve played so far. Those who felt Marcus Holloway’s cutscene persona didn’t match his mid-mission murders may have a hard time buying into the idea of convincing anyone on the street to join what’s publicly viewed as a terrorist organization — favors aside.
The script differences highlight each character as a unique individual rather than a generic stand-in. From the reserved yet no-nonsense attitude of the old lady I added to my team to my recently recruited Albion guard frantically chatting while she drives through London as if to say “Oh my god; I can’t believe I’m actually doing this.”
And at the end of the day, there’s nothing wrong with things being a bit video game-y if the ends justify the means, and in Watch Dogs: Legion they seem to do just that. Playing as anyone goes as narratively smoothly as it can, given the gameplay, and the experience of recruiting randos makes for a joyous open-world experience.
Operation After Operation
While there are plenty of new elements to Watch Dogs: Legion, such as ridable cargo drones, the fundamentals are still present. Take over cameras to redirect power, download data, or interact with nearby objects to create distractions or explosions. Distract enemies by sending something to their phones. Or go straight into combat, which leans even more heavily on player choice with enemies only using melee attacks against you until you pull out your gun and decide it’s time for a firefight. This is particularly convenient for those looking to stealth and hack their way through encounters.
My demo dropped me to the midpoint of the game where missions were a routine to-do list of heading from location to location, hacking drones to scope out the area, and then hacking cameras to download access keys or cause mayhem. At this point in the game the ability to cloak enemy bodies was available, allowing for a more aggressive playstyle, with stealth easier to pull off without alerting foes. London’s various buildings, tourist spots, and construction sites made for a fun playground to strategize my way through each gig.
The loop may be familiar, but that doesn’t make it any less fun. As usual, I found that causing destruction without getting my hands dirty was far more amusing than doing stealth takedowns of less than intelligent A.I who have dull walking patterns and are easily lured or distracted. Seeing how many enemies I can kill by stringing hacks to set off carefully timed explosions before I even step foot in a building never ceased to satisfy. If I was spotted, I found it easier to lean on whatever guns I had available than to bother regaining my cover or fighting hand to hand.
Driving in London
Fast travel still exists and some characters even have their own vehicles (often equipped with useful tech), but otherwise there’s good old-fashioned carjacking. A clever, futuristic touch is the option to steal a self-driving car (just look for the icon on the windshield). No driver or passenger punching required!
Driving still feels arcade-y at heart but some vehicles control better than others. The narrower and more roundabout-filled London streets make for a slower, more challenging drive than speeding down San Francisco. Of course, there isn’t much of an immediate penalty for running over lampposts or even pedestrians.
However, upon closer examination you’ll notice that running over someone makes them like you less. Good luck recruiting the person you just hospitalized (still possible! But an awkward icebreaker once they recover). Albion may come after you if they see you commit a crime, but losing them isn’t too difficult as long as you put enough distance between the two of you. Some nice touches include the fact that they can follow you into buildings — your safe house is inaccessible when you’re under pursuit — and if you’re cornered, an electrical device can latch onto your car, rendering it undrivable.
Making Your Team is a Dream
By far, Watch Dogs: Legion’s biggest and most impressive differentiator is the ability to play as anyone. Though getting complete intel on a person (down to their schedule) requires you to upgrade the DeepProfiler by using Tech Points you find hidden in the world. Getting to know them will tip you off to what they’re looking for and unlock their recruitment missions to turn an initial No into a Yes.
The borough uprising system lets you take on missions to empower a borough and give them a more positive outlook on DedSec.
Some recruitments will be mandatory as part of the campaign, such as an Albion guard, but you mostly have free reign. If you just want to get the best of the best, DedSec will mark a few people of interest on your map who have been predetermined as good recruits, such as a Drone Expert and Bee Keeper. But you’re also free to recruit whoever is roaming around London.
The first person who caught my eye was an adorable old lady who was looking for some Darts competition. To recruit her, the first step was to go to the pub and play her in Darts, which is one of the most appealing mini-game side quests I’ve ever had the option to do. Hell yes, I want to play this old lady in Darts to get her to join DeadSec! Winning led to her recruitment mission of investigating how her job replaced the 300 workers who were laid off.
I could see this recruitment loop getting stale over time but, during my brief session, I adored every moment of it because I was doing it for my new recruit and my reward was having her there for the rest of my adventure – despite the fact that the mission itself was nothing special.
Unfortunately, she was arrested shortly after being recruited. Despite previous plans for mandatory permadeath, no one dies in Watch Dogs: Legion unless you opt-in to play with permadeath on. Instead, they just get arrested or hospitalized and locked by a timer. You can go to the police station and potentially get them out early but the easier solution is to just switch to a different operative. Having certain operatives on your team such as Albion guards, police officers, or EMTs will decrease your time in jail or the hospital.
A Dynamic and Diverse Group
Each character has their own loadouts, perks, professions, personalities, and backgrounds. Weapons and tools are shared across your team and can be swapped, but there are some gadgets and guns that are locked to certain types of recruits.
Uniform Access allows for certain characters to enter restricted areas more easily. So walking into a construction site as a construction worker means I can more freely walk through the area and it takes longer for enemies to detect my presence. However, they can still realize I don’t belong there so it’s not an instant win.
My assassin had a slew of powerful guns at her disposal but the graffiti artist had a paintball gun and would spray folks in the face after executing a takedown. Even across folks from the same background there’s some level of variation. For instance, one construction worker will have a different set of tools than another.
There were some rough edges in the build I played. When characters are defeated the animation looks a bit goofy, and there are some questionable drivers. But some of these may be cleared up by launch. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed my time with Watch Dogs: Legion and grew attached to the different characters, their arsenals, and their sparkling personalities. The lack of a primary main character doesn’t detract from the story. Instead, it incentivizes exploring and immersing myself in a world I otherwise may have ignored in favor of mainlining the story.
Watch Dogs: Legion’s gameplay follows the established formula of hacking devices to accomplish your task at hand with the option to go in guns blazing – though it’s the less enticing route when you have plenty of gadgets at hand and drones overhead.
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Janet Garcia is IGN’s associate guides editor. Follow her on Twitter @Gameonysus to see who she recruits next.
Far Cry 6 has been officially revealed for a February 18 2021 release date, and is coming to Xbox Series X, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Stadia and PC (via Epic Games Store and Ubisoft Store). Free upgrades will be available on PS5 for PS4 owners, and Xbox Series X for Xbox One owners.
After a leak this week, Ubisoft showed off the game’s intro video and a cutscene introducing us to Antón Castillo (played by Breaking Bad’s Giancarlo Esposito) and his son, Diego, who he’s preparing for leadership of the totalitarian island state of Yara. Players will take on the role of Dani Rojas (who can be played as a male or female charcater), a Yaran guerrilla revolutionary.
Incidentally, we got to speak to Giancarlo Esposito, who explained the backstory of the character he created, as well as the country her rules.
The game doesn’t just bring Hollywood quality power on the acting side. The score is by Pedro Bromfman (Narcos), and the opening sequence comes from Emmy Award winner Patrick Clair (Westworld, True Detective).
Developed by Ubisoft Toronto (the first time that studio has led a Far Cry game), the game will take place across Yara, including its capital city, Esperanza – an unusual urban setting for the series. The game will see the return of Fangs for Hire, in cluding Chorizo, “the cutest wiener dog on wheels.”
Pre-orders for the game have opened, with Standard, Gold, Ultimate and Collector’s Editions revealed – we’ve got a Far Cry 6 pre-order guide for you.
This is presumably the mystery AAA game Ubisoft mentioned that it would reveal between 2020 and 2021. We awarded the last mainline Far Cry game an 8.9 review, saying Far Cry 5 was “another wide-open playground with all the necessary ingredients for causing a real ruckus”, but said its story was “not the most memorable in the series”.
Joe Skrebels is IGN’s Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to [email protected].
Far Cry is a series that radiates a tropical vibe – it’s always been pitched as something like a morally grey adventure holiday (some cases more literally than others). So much so, in fact, that it’s easy to forget how long it’s been since the game’s actually had us fight across a picture-postcard paradise, after trips to the Himalayas and Montana in recent years.
With Far Cry 6, it seems we’re heading back to the series’ roots, with the Cuban-inspired, fictional Caribbean island of Yara providing a blue-skied backdrop for Far Cry’s usual mixture of violence, surreal interludes and magnetic villainy.
I spoke to the game’s narrative director Navid Khavari, and asked what it was that drew lead developer Ubisoft Toronto back to a classic Far Cry location.
“I think it was two things,” he explained. “There was a feeling among fans of being excited to go to a tropical setting once again. But also, I think for us, [there was] this idea of looking at revolution. And the moment you start looking at revolution, you think guerrilla warfare. And the moment you start thinking guerrilla warfare, you think Cuba.”
Khavari explains that the team visited Cuba for a month, spoke to real-life Cuban revolutionaries, and became fascinated with the idea of an island that became frozen in time because of forces outside of its control.
“So when we were looking at making our fictional Yara, we loved this idea of the dynamic of ‘here’s an island that’s been under a blockade – that has these old vintage cars, and is almost a living postcard’. And then you bring in a modern guerrilla revolution aspect – which is so Far Cry – inflicting chaos on this monolithic power structure. It felt like a perfect fit.”
That sense of frozen time will affect the gameplay too, it seems. Screenshots for the game show weaponry being seemingly upgraded with home-made elements – a rifle using a laser pointer as a sight, for example.
“One of the interesting things we took from visiting Cuba was this idea of making do with what you have,” says Khavari, when I ask him about if those are player-crafted upgrades. “It’s such an interesting concept. It goes from the vintage cars, I saw bicycles with chainsaw motors that were turned into motorcycles.
“What we wanted to do in this game was bring that into the weaponry. The types of weapons and toys you’re going to get to play with definitely have that sense of ingenuity and creativity that you kind of expect from a guerrilla movement – but it feels very fresh in terms of Far Cry.”
Joe Skrebels is IGN’s Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to [email protected].
Far Cry 6 was confirmed during the Ubisoft Forward live stream, after being all but confirmed earlier in the week via links and an official teaser later on. Far Cry 6’s main protagonist is played by Giancarlo Esposito, with “an opening sequence directed by Emmy Award winner Patrick Clair,” of Westworld and True Detective.
There are 4 editions of Far Cry 6 to choose from: the standard edition, Gold Edition, Ultimate Edition and Far Cry 6 Collector’s Edition.
If you purchase Far Cry 6 for Xbox One or PS4, you can upgrade to “a next-gen platform at no additional cost.” In other words, your Xbox One version upgrades to Xbox Series X and your PS4 version upgrades to PS5 for free.
Far Cry 6 Preorder Bonuses
Preordering Far Cry 6 for any platform entitles you to the “Libertad Pack,” which gets you a “Libertad Outfit” and Discos Locos “weaponize disc launcher.”
Here’s every edition, and what’s included, according to Ubisoft.
Far Cry 6 Standard Edition
The standard edition includes the base game and comes out February 18, 2021 for Xbox Series X, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC and Stadia.
Far Cry 6 Gold Edition
The Far Cry 6 Gold Edition includes the base game as well as the Season Pass.
Far Cry 6 Ultimate Edition
The Far Cry 6 Ultimate Edition includes the base game, Season Pass, and the “Ultimate pack,” which includes the “Jungle Expedition pack, the Croc Hunter pack, and the Vice pack.
Far Cry 6 Collector’s Edition
In addition to the base game, Season Pass and Ultimate pack, the Far Cry 6 Collector’s Edition includes a “high-end display model” of Tostador, “the flamethrower from the game, as well as an assembly guide by Tobatron and a “unique Collector’s Case” based on Tobatron’s “iconic art style.”
Additionally, the Far Cry 6 Collector’s Edition comes with a 64-page art book, soundtrack, map, stickers, and a “Chorizo keyring.”
See the Far Cry 6 Collector’s Edition at the Ubisoft Store – $199.99
We recently had a chance to play three hours of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, and there is a lot to unpack and understand about Ubisoft’s latest entry in its stealthy-stabby series.
In a new video, Jess, Ed, and Jordan speak about their impressions from playing a chunk of the game, covering things like historical accuracy, fantastical elements, and, of course, the combat. Ed says he found the combat to be more complex than in past entries, leaning more towards a Dark Souls-style experience. Valhalla has dual-wielding weapons, too, and epic finishing moves that emphasize the game’s overall focus on highlighting the brutality of the Vikings.
Also in the video, we discuss Valhalla’s various skills and abilities that you can unlock. It looks like Ubisoft is going very deep again this year to let you play with style and flair. Valhalla also includes a new Raid feature where players can take their crew to an encampment and wipe out its inhabitants and then scour the location for treasure. Be sure to watch the full video to hear everything that Jess, Ed, and Jordan had to say about their time with Valhalla.
Valhalla launches later this year for PS4, Xbox One, and PC, while people picking up the PS5 or Xbox Series X will be able to play the game on those next-gen consoles, too.
