Ubisoft has managed to break the typical mold of marketing when it comes to the Far Cry series. Most games will sell players on the hero and their struggle against an unspecific antagonist or threat. For Far Cry, the first thing players will ever see is the main villain. He’s usually plastered on the box art with barely a hint of what the player character looks like. That may be because the games have shifted more towards player customization (Far Cry 5, in particular, lets you pick different characters), but it’s very interesting that our first impression is always something so evil.
Initially, I thought Far Cry 6 was going to repeat a lot of the same mistakes that its predecessors did. Far Cry 3 may have hit upon a formula that is unique, but it failed to make proper use of Vaas, a character that should have been the big bad. For each of the following sequels, the villains fell into the same traps Vaas did. They introduced players to an exotic location, prodded them into exploring this unknown land, then peaced out until practically the ending. There was barely any closure after all kinds of build-up.
Recent comments from Ubisoft in an interview with Press Start have indicated that the team is listening this time around. Either because it wants to finally make right on the promise of an intense villain or because the esteemed Giancarlo Esposito is involved, Far Cry 6 is going to feature the treacherous Antón Castillo in a larger capacity. Here are some ways the team can make sure Castillo doesn’t end up as disappointing as his predecessors.
Create An Actual Character Arc
The main way Ubisoft can improve Castillo over Vaas, Pagan Min, and Joseph Seed is by giving him a character arc throughout the story. Vaas was kind of a means to an end -he was recruited by Hoyt to strike fear across the Rook Islands-, but he didn’t develop as a character. He simply started off insane and kept that going until his unsatisfying death 2/3rds of the way through Far Cry 3.
Min and Seed were a little better in that they were present until the very end, but they both had next to no change over the course of the game. It is fine to have a villain of strong convictions that believes in his twisted plan, but what is their real motive? Why did they become so evil, to begin with? How do they relate to the player (either directly or indirectly)?
Stronger Boss Fight
For a more gameplay focused way that Castillo can be better, why not create an interesting boss fight scenario? Far Cry 3 tried its best at incorporating drugs into its plotline and used that as an excuse for Vaas to get all trippy with the player. A similar thing was done in 5 with Seed, which resulted in a fairly lame final showdown. Min’s was even worse in 4, having the player simply stroll up to him and shoot him in the face with no resistance. It’s deflating, to say the least.
I wouldn’t want Castillo to suddenly become superhuman and take hundreds upon hundreds of bullets, but there are certainly better ways Ubisoft can design a battle between the player and the main villain. The quickest way would be to put him in some kind of vehicle, but Castillo seems to be cultivating a nation of civil unrest. Why not have him use the crowd to his advantage? Get him to turn the unruly masses against the player through propaganda which results in a stealth mission to his hideout.
We’ve also never experienced actual choices when it comes to dealing with the villains. You could call the early endings in both 4 and 5 as neat ways to inject real-world logic into the affairs, but how about adopting the design of Breath of the Wild to let players influence their own odds against the final boss? If you take out Castillo’s subordinates, there will be fewer of them to protect him in the final battle. You could just say screw it and go for it right from the beginning.
Give Him More Screen Time
This one might be redundant considering the comments from the Press Start interview, but just give Castillo more screen time. Despite being the driving forces behind the destruction of their respective islands, all of the villains in the Far Cry games are barely given the time to remain threatening. Vaas was the closest since he actually got in the player’s face during certain missions, but Min and Seed disappear for the entire middle sections of Fary Cry 4 and 5 and it sucks.
Without an ever-present threat to your survival or a reminder of why these villains are being so cartoonishly evil, the characters have ended up falling flat. They fizzle out over the 20-hour duration of these stories and you’re left wondering why you’ve invested so much time in this particular game. Nothing was learned and nothing was gained, so why should I continue to care?
Whatever does happen with Castillo, it seems Ubisoft is finally aware that players want a more story-rich experience when it comes to Far Cry. There’s always room for a first-person shooter that puts narrative design first and Ubisoft has the perfect chance to hit it out of the park with Far Cry 6. Giancarlo is an excellent actor and he’s sure to make even the cheesiest of writing sound intense. Let’s just not repeat the same mistakes again.
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