Recently, Ubisoft revealed that it would be releasing 5 triple-A games by March 2021, with three of those being previously delayed games like Watch Dogs Legion and the other two remaining unconfirmed by the publisher. However, rumors and leaks point to these games being Assassin's Creed Ragnarok and Far Cry 6.
With Far Cry 6 leaked and all but officially confirmed, it seems safe to say that fans are excited to see the franchise on, presumably, the PS5 and Xbox Series X. There's little doubt that early success on the consoles could be big for Ubisoft itself, but for that to happen, Far Cry 6 needs to stick the landing. Here's how that can happen.
Far Cry 6 Villains
Ubisoft once perfect the open world action-adventure formula with its past games, namely by focusing on an interesting and eccentric villain to push it forward. An attempt at this can be seen in every game, although arguably, none are able to live up to Far Cry 3's Vaas Montenegro. Far Cry 4's Pagan Min and Far Cry 5's Joseph Seed are still good sources from which Far Cry 6 can learn, but aside from Vaas, perhaps Ubisoft should look closely at Seed and New Dawn's Mickey and Lou.
Seed created a legacy, put his family first, and had conviction in his beliefs (that turned out to be right). This idea that his insanity was actually based in something took Seed to a new level, leading fans to be happy with his surprising return in New Dawn. This added a new layer to the character, perhaps giving him more depth than others, and is something Ubisoft should replicate. The antagonists of New Dawn, Mickey and Lou, were the opposite though. They really had no depth and committed evil for evil's sake; in other words, the Far Cry 6 villain should take more after Joseph Seed than Mickey and Lou, replicating success and learning from mistakes.
Far Cry 6 Location
Another detail in this formula is an exotic location, as each game has included a location that was intriguing, seemingly realistic, and incredibly dangerous. Far Cry New Dawn was a spin-off like Far Cry Primal, which explains the post-apocalyptic setting, but it's not something that should be expected in Far Cry 6. Instead of something "out there," a grounded location for Far Cry 6 would work wonders.
After all, Far Cry 5 didn't have a definition "exotic" location, it made a location exotic. Many were surprised when they learned it was Montana, but eventually, it was a clear choice. The cult of Joseph Seed took a seemingly common and okay location and molded it into Ubisoft's formula, and so Far Cry 6 should mimic this. In other words, instead of choosing something incredibly exotic, a real-world location with a twist is all it really needs.
Far Cry 5 and New Dawn
Perhaps the biggest lesson Far Cry 6 can learn from its predecessors, Far Cry 5 and New Dawn, is the overall structure, but a middle ground. Far Cry 5 had a great story, intriguing gameplay, but the overall design of the missions was enough to turn off some players. Essentially, players would need to complete side activities in specific regions until their character was kidnapped and something would happen causing their release. This was repetitive, and while not overall damaging, it was detracting.
On the other hand, New Dawn presented a straightforward story structure that came to be expected of the series, yet it's overarching story, perhaps because of Mickey and Lou, was not that invigorating. As the old idiom goes, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." Far Cry 6 should take the best of both worlds, combining the classic story structure found in New Dawn and older games, but make sure that the story is on-par with Far Cry 5 as well. Overall, if Far Cry 6 manages to nail these things, it'll be a strong next-generation start for the franchise.
Far Cry 6 is rumored to be in development.