After what feels like an eternity, the next Far Cry game has been revealed. Far Cry 6 is a massive expansion of what the series has done in the past, offering all-new elements, characters, and more. With the game releasing next spring on current-gen and next-gen consoles, the possibilities feel pretty much endless.

While Far Cry 6 leaked a few days ago, fans got their first official look at the game during the Ubi Forward event, showing off a new trailer and introducing Anton Castillo, the game's antagonist, and his son Diego. Game Rant sat down with Far Cry 6 Narrative Director Navid Khavari during a press event to learn more about Diego, Anton, the protagonist Dani, and the game's setting, Yara. Parts of this interview have been edited for clarity.

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What can you tell me about the protagonist, Dani?

Dani Rojas is the main character in Far Cry 6. What we really wanted to do with Danny, you know, you can play as both male and female, it’s up to you. With Dani, we wanted someone who is born and raised in Yara, in the capital city of Esperanza. Dani is a former military drop out, really didn’t want anything to do with the revolution, didn’t want anything to do with Anton, but gets swept up in the guerrilla movement that is Libertad. And I think what’s exciting is we’re doing full performance capture and voice.

DAni, Guerrilla Fighter, and Chorizo

 

What Prompted the change back to a named protagonist?

It actually started with the idea of revolution, to be honest. When we went and looked and did our research, when you’re looking at a guerrilla revolution, it’s so personal. To be so swept up in that, you need to feel it and understand where that character came from, and what brought them to be pushed so far that they have to pick up a rifle and actually fight. It came from a story point of view. I think what’s exciting for us is that you’re going to be able to see Dani in the third person, in cinematics and other elements of the game, and during that it became almost a necessity to have a fully voiced and performance captured character.

What kind of depth can players expect from the setting, Yara?

I think what was important to us was the idea that you can approach the story and the world from any angle. We have a massive open world. We’re talking about a country with a capital city, which is a first for the brand. And it was very important for us, in terms of how you approach the story, if you wanted to start on one part of the island, or you wanted to start on the other side of the island, the story would adapt to how you approach it. And also, in terms of the guerrilla fantasy, this idea that we have a character who is really going to feel like they’re part of a large movement. And that came from a point of research of, if you look at revolutions around the world, you often think they’re monoliths, but in reality, they’re different groups, and regions and a huge wide range of characters. So that became very important to us, to allow for that freedom of marrying the open world to the narrative together and sort of bringing everyone together to fight against Anton.

Esperanza is a pretty big departure from what fans have seen in the past. What kind of ways is that going to affect gameplay?

We’re going to be talking a lot more about gameplay at a later date. What I can say, for sure, is that it really changes the way you play. Not just gameplay, but in terms of narrative. To have a revolution that begins in the farmlands, begins in the jungles, and having that ultimate goal of taking the capital city, which is so critical to any revolution, is really interesting. And when you walk into the city, it’s an amazing feeling to feel the imposition and power of Anton’s forces. And also, just in the verticality that a city brings with it. I can give you that as a little tease. It’s really exciting for us.

Esperanza

Ubisoft described Yara as a location “ frozen in time.” Can you expand on what that will mean for the narrative?

Well, our primary inspiration is the island of Cuba. I spent about a month down there with the team, researching and talking to locals and falling in love with the culture, but also meeting with real guerrillas. In doing so, what we became inspired by was this idea of the island of Yara being almost like a living postcard frozen in time, where you would have the vintage cars from the 50s and 60s. And that’s interesting in a narrative sense, but in a gameplay sense, the idea of an island that’s been blockaded and cut off from the rest of the world for so long, and this idea of people making do with what they have, so that not only applies to things like vehicles, but it applies to the type of weapons that you’re going to find in the game that we’ll be talking about much more at a later date.

Is there anything you can tell me about the antagonist Anton?

Anton Castillo was the son of a former ruler of Yara who was executed over fifty years ago, and so right from the beginning, from when he was a teenager, he sort of felt that the country was stolen from him and his family. With Anton, what we found really interesting, is that someone who is intelligent, charismatic, and watching someone like that sort of use twisted logic to justify doing some horrible things to their people was fascinating. And on top of that, with Anton, you have someone who rises up to power with this promise to rebuild paradise. And for Anton, Paradise doesn’t necessarily include everyone. So those that dare speak out with him, those that disagree with how he’s approaching rebuilding Yara, so to speak, are rounded up into this forced labor state, one that Anton believes is necessary to see his vision through.

Anton’s son Diego is a very interesting extra layer for the narrative. How broadly are you going to explore that relationship?

It’s crucial to the story and the game. What was especially exciting working on the trailer with Giancarlo and Anthony Gonzales is, it’s kind of a prequel, a way to tee-up the story. It’s really just the first of many lessons he’s passing down to Diego. What’s really exciting, and I think sort of fascinating in terms of complex motivations, is that Anton is a dictator, he’s ruling his country and he wants to see his vision through, and he’s using these brutal methods, but he’s also a father, he's a father who loves his son and wants to see his son succeed. But he believes these lessons are really what’s necessary for Diego to rule the way that he would.

Anton and Diego in a car

Can you give us any perspective on how Diego views his father at the beginning of the game?

It’s actually one of the most interesting parts about working on this, was getting to explore Diego’s psyche. With Diego, you know, we’re talking about a thirteen-year-old teenager. I think we all remember what it’s like to be thirteen. You’re trying to figure out the world, and what does it all mean, and ‘Do I hate my parents, do I love my parents,’ and we really wanted to capture that with Diego, that not only is this kid grappling with the struggles of being a teenager, but he’s doing as the son of a dictator, which adds a whole layer of complexity to explore. And Anthony Gonzalez has really approached that character from such an empathetic place, where you really have someone that’s riding that razor’s edge of does he follow in his father’s footsteps, does he forge his own path. And Giancarlo, of course, really took Anthony under his wing. Really seeing them foster sort of a beautiful relationship was amazing to watch unfold.

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Is that relationship something players can help shape throughout the narrative or is that something that will develop independently?

We’re going to be talking more about that at a later date. I have to be careful on that one.

It seems you’re introducing a much greater human element. How are other people explored throughout the story? Will we see a lot more of the guerrilla fighters throughout, or is mostly going to be focused on Dani, Diego, and Anton?

There’s a whole wide range of characters, incredibly diverse, and an amazing cast of characters that are going to be in Far Cry 6. We’re going to be talking about them more at a later date, but what I can tell you is really our touchstone was the guerrilla revolution itself. If you look at modern revolutions, or revolutions in general, We like to think of them as this sort of monolithic structure. There’s one rebel group. That’s not true. These revolutions, often, are multiple groups that are all fighting for roughly the same things with different motivations, so for us, it was incredibly important to try and capture that feeling of not everyone necessarily gets along, not everyone necessarily is using the same methods, but they all want that same goal. And in terms of complexity and character, which is so integral to the Far Cry DNA, was just a joy to get to explore.

It's clear that the revolution is an important aspect of Far Cry 6, not just in terms of gameplay or narrative, but at a much deeper thematic level. The Far Cry franchise has tackled revolutions before, specifically with Far Cry 4's Golden Path fighting against Pagan Min, but this seems like a major overhaul of that conflict.

It helps to have so much talent attached to the project. Giancarlo Esposito already has an amazing presence as Anton, demonstrating a fidelity for the role in the Far Cry 6 reveal trailer. With the game launching in February next year, Far Cry 6 will be one of the first heavy hitters on next-gen consoles, and it'll be exciting to see where Ubisoft takes it.

Far Cry 6 releases on February 18, 2021, for PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.

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