Video game sequels are difficult to get right and developers often struggle between refurbishing familiar gameplay while introducing fresh elements that are welcoming to newcomers and reassuring to fans. Making sequels of critically acclaimed titles is a far more tricky process, as it comes bundled with high expectations. Tthe recently released titles Far Cry 6 and Life is Strange: True Colors travelled that same road.
Both Far Cry 6 and Life is Strange: True Colors are the latest entries in two popular and successful modern video game franchises, and while they cater to different audiences, they both face a similar issue. Far Cry 6 and Life is Strange: True Colors eacg try to recapture what made their critically acclaimed predecessors - Far Cry 3 and Life is Strange - so successful, but instead end up feeling like predictable sequels.
The Predictability of Far Cry 6 and Life is Strange: True Colors
Neither Far Cry 6 nor Life is Strange: True Colors are bad video games by any means, though a common issue plagues them both. Far Cry 6, just like Far Cry 5 and Far Cry 4 before it, takes a safe route that makes it structurally similar to Far Cry 3. There are plenty of interesting tweaks, such as the addition of Supremo and the removal of a dedicated skill tree, but the feeling of familiarity and predictability never leaves players' side in Far Cry 6's 30-to-50 hour runtime.
Despite great performances from Giancarlo Esposito, Greg Bryk, and Troy Baker respectively as Anton Castillo, Joseph Seed, and Pagan Ming, this predictability means they don't have the same impact as Vaas from Far Cry 3. Far Cry 6 was never going to reinvent the wheel, since Ubisoft's Far Cry formula still provides a fun and frantic experience. However, it's more disappointing how the latest Life is Strange game is handled.
Life is Strange: True Colors could have been the evolution of episodic narrative games, though it misses the mark by taking a familiar turn. Helmed by a different development team, Life is Strange: True Colors tries everything in its power to have the same emotional impact the first game left on many fans. It takes a similar path, including taking place in a quaint American town enveloped in a mystery. It introduces romantic interests that felt natural and believable in previous games but here feel more awkward. Life is Strange: True Colors is so structurally similar to the first Life is Strange that it makes the game's antagonist obvious from the start.
Life is Strange: True Colors tries so hard to checklist the attributes that made the first Life is Strange game special that it fails to form its own identity. This results in an experience that feels dated and predictable. While it certainly could enthrall and surprise newcomers, Life is Strange: True Colors feels like deja vu for veterans, which is a shame because tucked beneath Life is Strange: True Colors' disjointed nature is stuff that True Colors does better than previous Life is Strange games. These include some incredible voice performances, tackling complex themes, and detailed facial animations.
By sticking to the formula for both Far Cry 6 and Life is Strange: True Colors, the respective developers took an approach that lessened the chances of failure. However, by pursuing the ideologies of video games that were successful nearly a decade ago, the developers robbed their modern games of a risky, yet powerful attribute often needed to be highly successful: the element of surprise.
Despite their shortcomings, Far Cry 6 and Life is Strange: True Colors are still good games that offer something for long-time fans and newcomers. However, for Far Cry 7 and Life is Strange 4 to be breakout hits like Far Cry 3 and Life is Strange, the respective developers need to make more rigorous changes.
Far Cry 6 is now available on Amazon Luna, PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
Life is Strange: True Colors is now available on PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. A Nintendo Switch port is in development.
