Far Cry 6 Collapse review: Sins of your past

Since its inception back in 2004, Ubisoft's Far Cry series has been known for its exotic location. Over the multiple interpretations, the series has become synonyms with iconic antagonists and has driven the series to focus on powerful three-dimensional characters who strive for greatness.

From Vass Montenegro to Pagan Min to Joseph Seed to Antos Castillo, the series has made us question the protagonist's true intention multiple times. The latest iteration of the iconic series, Far Cry 6, is arguably one of last year's most entertaining and engaging titles.

The game perfectly encapsulates the authentic "far cry" experience and presents players with an exotic and diverse location to spread chaos in. The title received high praises, including from us at Sportskeeda.

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As part of the game's three-part expansion, the developers at Ubisoft Toronto and Ubisoft Shanghai decided to explore the franchise's history and expand upon the previous titles' antagonists.

The first of the proposed expansions, Insanity, explores the story of Vaas Montenegro from Far Cry 3 and how he, along with Jason Brody, was manipulated by his sister Citra. On the other hand, the second expansion, Control, probes the duality of Far Cry 4's Pagan Min and how the only thing he truly strived for was a family.

The third and final expansion, Collapse, promises to look at Far Cry 5’s antagonist, Joseph Seed the Father of Eden’s Gate, and expand on his character motivation and devotion. But, how does the game feel? Does Collapse truly expand upon Joseph’s faith, or does it fall short of excellence?

Far Cry 6 Collapse review: Is this a vision, a dream? No, it is a chance

Collapse is the third and final season pass expansion of Far Cry 6. Like Insanity and Control before it, Collapse brings back another antagonist from a previous Far Cry game, this time, Joseph Seed from Far Cry 5.

Image screen captured from Far Cry 6 Collapse

Far Cry 5 walked an exciting aspect of religion, never explored before. Through the Seed family, Far Cry 5 asked a simple question, when does a man lose himself in blind faith in pursue of religious devotion? Joseph Seed and the other Seed family members, John, Jacob, and Faith, symbolise the different aspects of a religion. Acceptance, power, and belief.

Joseph Seed makes us question religious belief and how far we would go in the name of God. Far Cry 6 Collapse builds upon that devotion of Joseph and the origin of his religious conflict and promises to expand on his character.

The characters and the narrative

Far Cry 6 Collapse brings back multiple characters from Far Cry 5 and Far Cry New Dawn. While all of the character performances, including Greg Bryk returning as Joseph Seed, were amazing, strangely, something felt missing.

Both Insanity and Control build upon the rapporteur of antagonist and protagonist, carrying it over from previous iterations of the franchises. However, that dynamic felt missing to me in Collapse, hurting the narrative.

The main narrative of Joseph focuses on his devotion to religion and how he wanted to shape the new world order. Joseph is guided by his inner voice throughout the title to atone for his past mistakes and reprimand them.

I wasn’t a particular fan of Far Cry 5 and New Dawn ditching a characterised protagonist favouring blank no-name Deputy (Far Cry 5) or Captain (New Dawn), and it is further emphasised in Collapse.

While there are a few returning characters, such as Ethan Seed from New Dawn, and the story focuses on the internal conflict of Joseph Seed, the lack of other notable characters felt noticeable.

The world design

While not as dystopian as that of Insanity or as picturesque as that of Control, the world of Far Cry 6 Collapse is reminiscent of Hope County, Montana. While Insanity displays a cloud portrait of Pagan Min in Control, Collapse displays a cloud formation of the cross, which signifies Joseph’s devotion towards his religion rather than lust for power or greed for wealth.

In a way, the calmness of the world reflects Joseph’s mind, even in his death, when he has lost. The world is populated by corrupt versions of Joseph’s own New Eden members, who have turned against him.

This is what you have made us father

The world felt like a part of Hope County, and in a way, the game felt like a continuation of Far Cry 5, more than New Dawn. The short dialogue exchange between the members of Eden Gate does flesh out the motivation behind their devotion. All in all, the world of Collapse does give me a calming natural feel, a feeling of bliss.

Gameplay

The Far Cry 6 Collapse brings back the roguelike element of Insanity and Control. As Joseph Seed, I started the game at his church and explored the world to collect three pieces of the golden cross.

While it wasn’t something innovative or drastically different from Insanity or Control, I immensely enjoyed the gameplay of Collapse. It brought the fun, action-heavy gameplay of Far Cry and added the element of a roguelike that increased the stake.

Conclusion

All in all, Far Cry 6 Collapse was an authentic Far Cry experience in a roguelike shell. While Collapse sometimes felt short for the good characters, Joseph Seed burdens the heavy load of weaving the narrative and maybe even saved it.

Far Cry 6 Collapse is worth playing for fans of Far Cry 5, but it may seem a bit confusing to new players from the narrative perspective. However, that gameplay is undoubtedly enjoyable, and this expansion trilogy was quite fun to explore the Far Cry formula in a roguelike environment.

After playing through Collapse, the game urged me to revisit Far Cry 5 and play that game with new understandings.