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Far Cry 6 is set in the fictional island of Yara, which will not be a “simple black-and-white world” for its more complex themes to play out.
Narrative director Navid Khavari revealed the island’s inspirations and influences in an interview published by Ubisoft. “It was clear that a lot of our fans were excited to go back to a tropical setting,” admitted Khavari. “We wanted to tell a story about revolution, and when you tell a story about revolution, you’re talking about guerrilla warfare. When you’re talking about guerrilla warfare, you go to Cuba,” he continued, and explained that the team had spent a month in the country, soaking up its culture and history, and meeting “so many amazing people.”
Though this isn’t a “black-and-white” world, there is a lot of contrast in Yara. The island is “frozen in time,” with beautiful beaches, mountains, and rivers, like “a living postcard from the ‘60s that players can experience and walk through.” Yet, Antón Castillo’s oppressive rule tarnishes and spoils everything it touches, and turns the island into a battleground. “We wanted to contrast that with a new sort of leader who’s been elected with this promise to rebuild paradise, you know, to take the island back to being rich, like it was 50 years ago,” said Khavari. “And with Antón, really what he’s saying is, ‘I’m going to build paradise, but paradise isn’t for everyone.’”
A long time ago, Antón was favoured by Yarans, and they believed that he would restore glory to their downtrodden home. “The idea with Antón is he definitely lulled people into believing this was the only answer for them,” revealed Khavari. “That he was the one that was going to solve all their problems. And so for us, it became super-interesting on the character side to explore the idea of, you know, there definitely were some people that voted for him, that believed in him, that now are regretting that choice; and there are those that still support him. The intersection of those demographics and worldviews and opinions is something that plays out in the story as well, and it felt that, as a means to tell a mature story, a complex story, we sort of had to go there.”
The dictator also has a young son, Diego. He intends for Diego to follow in his footsteps, and in the cinematic trailer, hands the teenager a grenade to throw at rioters. “What we did with the trailer that was super-fun was that it's kind of a prequel of what's going to come in the game,” said the director. “It sort of tees up the story in the game, so there's going to be a lot more moments where he's passing down lessons to Diego of how he thinks Diego will have to someday rule… I think the crucial line in that trailer is when Antón tells Diego, ‘Prove it,’ at the very end. That’s sort of the beginning of Diego's journey in the game. ‘Not only am I just telling you this stuff, but you're going to have to prove that you're worthy to really run this country how I would.’ There’s going to be a lot more to come on that front.”
Far Cry 6 will launch for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and Stadia on February 18, 2021.
