While most of the Far Cry games are in at least semi-realistic settings, several spin-offs have been absolutely anything but. Whether that's Primal, Blood Dragon, or New Dawn, the Ubisoft formula works really well when the chosen setting is something unique.
Far Cry Primal might not have been the best game out there, but it's pretty clear that the developer had a bit more freedom to do whatever it wanted to do with that title. The next spin-off and its setting could offer up that same level of freedom, but a lot of it hinges on what Ubisoft chooses. There is a huge selection, of course, but the following would make a great Far Cry spin-off game.
Early To Mid 1700s
Setting games in the period of time when pirates ruled the seven seas is not a particularly new idea, but it feels as though the Far Cry franchise could do this better than most. That's because the next spin-off could basically do something that feels quite a bit like Pirates of the Caribbean without actually using Jack Sparrow and his friends as the center of the story. In fact, the next Far Cry spin-off shouldn't take the Pirates of the Caribbean name like Sea of Thieves did, but instead just copy the time period, the general feel of the world, and goofy it up a bit.
Outer Space
It's true that Far Cry 5 went into space in the form of DLC, but it feels as if there's still some untapped potential there when it comes to having the Far Cry character battle against aliens in a fun way. Like the pirates setting, this doesn't need to be all kinds of heavy. This particular version of the next Far Cry spin-off could offer up some humor when it comes to taking on an alien civilization and perhaps some kind of over-the-top ruler of that civilization. The key here would be that the game would have to make sure the alien is someone like a Bond villain from another world.
Australia
Australia is just one of those places that is often thought of as magical and interesting. It's also full of things that are quite deadly. That sounds like quite the recipe for another Far Cry game if ever there was one. There's also the fact that the stereotype of the average Australian is pretty over the top. That would certainly seem to fit in well when talking about Far Cry villains. The baddies in this series have always been a bit cartoonish, and it feels like that kind of Far Cry enemy would fit in well in this locale. More than that, the other obstacles such as a rather massive list of animals and insects that would be out to kill the player would make this a fun location that wouldn't really have to be based on reality. An exaggeration of what most people think of when they think of Australia could work very, very well when it comes to the next spin-off.
Underwater Sea Lab
Imagine if there was actually a concern that an errant shot at the enemy forces might actually rupture the underground lab where this new spin-off takes place? An Underwater Sea Lab could be a truly unique Far Cry setting. Maybe there could even be some sort of mechanic built-in, where causing flooding in certain parts of the chamber was actually an extra weapon that could be used when the player finds themselves outnumbered. Far Cry: Blood Dragon was so popular that Ubisoft actually brought it back. One of the reasons it was so popular is because it was such a totally weird romp. It feels like setting the next spin-off in an area that's never really been done before in the franchise and that can allow players to mess around with mechanics such as swimming and breathing in a brand new way could be a fun kind of palate cleanser for the franchise.
Haunted Mansion
When it comes to doing things quite a bit differently, it feels like Far Cry is the kind of franchise that absolutely does not need to be tethered to reality in any real way. After all, Far Cry 5 allowed players to roam the countryside using laser weapons from the story DLC to disintegrate enemies if that's what they wanted to do. It's actually just a hop skip and a jump from using laser weapons against religious cultists to using some kind of energy weapons to fight off ghosts and ghouls and other creatures of the night.
Zombies have long been a staple of shooters, but ghosts are an area of the undead that doesn't get tapped all that much in video games, comparatively. This doesn't need to be cutesy like Luigi's Mansion 3. It could be closer to something closer to Phasmophobia. Only instead of running away when the spooks and specters come close, players would open fire in true Far Cry fashion.
Far Cry 6 is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.