Far Cry 6 Confirms Series First Gameplay Feature That Could Prove Controversial

Far Cry is a series that unravels from the first-person perspective, but for certain parts of the game, Far Cry 6 will be in third-person. For Far Cry 6, Ubisoft has decided cutscenes will no longer play out in first-person, but third-person. However, this shift in perspective isn't limited to cutscenes. For example, during moments of combat and when the protagonist enters guerrilla camps, the game will shift to third-person as well.

According to the game's narrative director Navid Khavari, this decision came down to wanting to spotlight Dani, the game's protagonist, who can be both male and female, and customized.

"In cinematics, [third-person] is something the team tried early on, and it felt surprisingly seamless," said Khavari while speaking to GameSpot. "It instantly felt like there was more of a connection to Dani's journey in the world, more of a connection to this epic story in Yara."

Khavari continued:

"Players will also be able to see their character customizations in these highly-realized story beats. In Guerrilla Camps, this is also an opportunity for players to be able to see their fully customized character, everything from their backpack to their clothes."

In addition to cutscenes and while in the guerrilla camps, the other time the game will shift to third-person is when players use the Supremo backpack, a brand new item type that unlocks powerful abilities.

"In the Supremo backpack moments during gameplay, the third-person transition is intended so players can see all of the backpack's effects, and better feel its impact in action," Khavari writes.

For now, it remains to be seen how Ubisoft will pull all of these changes off. It's making several bold decisions with Far Cry 6, and making several changes nobody asked for. This obviously can turn out very poorly, but they could also come out the other side looking like geniuses.

That said, from the outside looking in, I'm skeptical. There's nothing wrong with putting more emphasis on the protagonist, but in Far Cry, the villains are the stars of the show. Nobody cares about the protagonist, and that's okay. To change the whole formula to allow for this change is, at the very least, risky.

Far Cry 6 is poised to release worldwide on October 8 via both generations of Xbox and PlayStation consoles, plus PC and Google Stadia. Below, you can continue to read more about the open-world first-person shooter, courtesy of an official pitch from Ubisoft itself.