Far Cry 6 is worth picking up in 2026 if you want more Far Cry, and it is less essential if you wanted the series to change its mind, because it is a good open-world shooter that does not take many risks, and that is the whole story with this one. It is the biggest and most polished entry in the series, with a colourful setting and a deep arsenal, yet it leans hard on the familiar formula and rarely surprises you, so if you simply want more of the loop it delivers, and if you were hoping it would evolve it largely stands still, which earns it a solid four out of five with my eyes open.
Yara, Dani Rojas, and a dictator the plot leans on
You play Dani Rojas, a local caught up in a guerrilla revolution on Yara, a fictional Caribbean island ruled by a dictator, and the setting is the standout, lush jungle, sun-bleached towns, a sprawling capital city and a real sense of place. Yara is bigger and more varied than past Far Cry maps, and it looks fantastic, while the story is a fairly standard tale of building a resistance and toppling a tyrant, the dictator is a memorable villain, and the beats around him are predictable. As ever with this series, the world itself does more heavy lifting than the plot, which is why the island stays with me longer than the story does.
The arsenal, which is where I keep losing the evening
The arsenal is the highlight, because Far Cry 6 hands you an enormous range of weapons and the homemade Resolver gear, which lets you experiment far more than previous entries, and there is real joy in tuning a loadout for the way you like to fight. The sandbox is generous, with outposts, checkpoints, hidden caches and roaming patrols keeping the free-roam loop ticking, and the island is dense enough that you are rarely short of something to clear. The shooting is satisfying, and the variety of approaches, stealth, vehicles and explosives, is the best the series has offered, which is why the weapon depth is where I have spent most of my time.
I put the heavy-hitting options through their paces in Armour-piercing sniper in Far Cry 6, and for a louder, messier approach there is Incendiary sniper in Far Cry 6, which is where those loadout experiments actually live.
Where the loop turns into a checklist
The honest problem is repetition, because the structure is the Far Cry template you already know, liberate, capture, climb, repeat, and the map fills with icons, the activities recycle, and after a while the loop can feel like a checklist rather than an adventure. The story also pulls you out of free-roam for forced missions that interrupt your own pace, the AI is competent but not clever, and the whole package, while polished, plays it safe. There is nothing here that will win over someone already burned out on this style of game, and that caveat belongs beside the four out of five rather than underneath a prettier island.
Who I would hand this island to
This is for players who like the Far Cry loop and want more of it on a bigger, prettier island, so if you enjoy building loadouts, clearing camps and roaming a dense open world solo, you will get plenty out of it. If you are looking for the series to reinvent itself, this is not the entry that does it, and you may want to wait for a sale before you pay full price for another lap of the same template.
I play Far Cry 6 the same way I play the rest of the series, solo, free-roam, and in no rush, and I tend to wander off the main path, pick a corner of Yara and clear it on my own terms. Most of my runs start quiet, lining up stealth takedowns and picking off patrols, before things inevitably go loud and I lean on whatever Resolver weapon I have been testing, and the weapon variety is the part that keeps me coming back. That experimental loadout loop is where the game is at its best, and if you want more open-world picks in the same mould, have a browse of the Far Cry 6 hub or the wider open-world shelf.
Far Cry 6 is a big, good-looking, polished open-world shooter that plays well solo, and it is also content to repeat what came before, so it is worth it in 2026 if you want more Far Cry and less essential if you do not, which is why I land on a solid four out of five with my eyes open.
FAQ
Is Far Cry 6 worth buying in 2026?
Yes, if you want a large, polished open-world shooter and do not mind the familiar Far Cry formula, because it is good rather than essential and it is best picked up when the price is right. I would buy it for another lap of the loop on a bigger island, and I would wait for a sale if what you wanted was the series finally changing its mind.
Can you play Far Cry 6 solo?
Yes, the full campaign can be played solo, and you can bring an animal companion along, though you are never required to play with another person. I do most of Yara on my own, wandering off the path and clearing a corner before the story decides I have had enough quiet.
Is Far Cry 6 better than Far Cry 5?
It is bigger and more polished, but it plays it safe, because Far Cry 5 has the tighter setting while Far Cry 6 offers more content and weapon variety. Which you prefer comes down to setting and scale, so the tighter county and the bigger arsenal are different evenings rather than one automatic winner.
Who do you play as in Far Cry 6 and where is it set?
You play Dani Rojas, a local caught up in a guerrilla revolution on Yara, a fictional Caribbean island ruled by a dictator, and the setting is the standout. Lush jungle, sun-bleached towns and a sprawling capital city do more of the work than the plot, which is a fairly standard resistance tale with a memorable villain and predictable beats.
What is the best thing about Far Cry 6?
The arsenal is the best thing about it, because it hands you an enormous range of weapons and the homemade Resolver gear, which lets you experiment far more than previous entries. There is real joy in tuning a loadout for the way you like to fight, and that is where I keep disappearing for the evening.
What is the main weakness of Far Cry 6?
Repetition is the main weakness, because the structure is the familiar liberate, capture, climb, repeat template, the map fills with icons, and after a while the loop can feel like a checklist rather than an adventure. The AI is competent but not clever, and the story also pulls you out of free-roam for forced missions that interrupt your own pace.
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