I don't really understand Far Cry 6, but that's largely because Far Cry 6 doesn't seem to understand itself. Let's take Ubisoft at its word - the studio released a lengthy statement some months ago explaining very clearly that Far Cry 6 is political. I'm happy to ignore the fact Ubisoft games - and Far Cry in particular - have toyed with politics before and choked when it came to saying something meaningful, as well as the fact that being so clearly directly inspired by Cuba yet wanting to distance themselves from Cuba's individual politics feels like trite political tourism. I've been told Far Cry 6 is a deeply political game, and with a grand total of zero minutes of playtime to my name, I'm not really in a position to argue. So why is the post-launch content all about rescuing your dog from Stranger Things' Upside Down?
I have no problem with games being silly. My favourite Saints Row is the fourth one. Games have no rules, they can be as weird or off the wall as they like. I was full of praise for The Artful Escape recently, and even spoke to the game's director about the ridiculousness of controlling a prog-rock prodigy on a journey through outer space. It's not like silly things can't have meaning either - The Artful Escape has a lot of profound ideas about identity. But there is a balance. You can't, especially in our current, divisive climate, argue you are making a staunchly political game then promote it with Netflix crossovers about rescuing a stupid dog. And yes, the dog is stupid. As I've already explained, it is the worst thing about Far Cry.
I like dogs, for the record. They're no cats, but sure - most dogs are cool. The problem is silly little dogs in waistcoats that you recruit for your cause completely blunt the seriousness of your points. You can't one minute show the unflinching violence of fascism and then next give me the Explod-o-Matic 3000 and team me up with a friendly alligator mate and expect me to take anything you have to say seriously. Politics is ridiculous enough to be fertile ground for comedy; see The Thick of It, Thank You For Smoking, and Donald Trump. But this is not satire, and it feels like the joke is on us. Giancarlo Esposito even said the game’s villain, Anton Castillo, takes inspiration from infamous figures like Adolf Hitler, so the politics are unashamedly clear. Last I checked Hitler didn’t have a pet alligator eating his enemies.
But okay, it's just one DLC pack. Given that Stranger Things directly tackles the Cold War, it's not like it's completely apolitical anyway. Part of me is just annoyed that Stranger Things is so perfectly suited to a video game and has to keep settling for crossovers, with its own cheap tie-ins barely worth remembering. Mostly though, the issue is Far Cry 6. It doesn't matter how political Stranger Things might be, nor how political Far Cry 6 claims to be. All will be washed away in a sea of triple-A bullet spray.
Stranger Things is not the only property teaming up with Far Cry 6. Rambo is also joining the fray. While Rambo began life as a political examination of a soldier's post-war trauma, it has since dissolved into BLOOD, AND BOMBS, AND EXPLOSIONS, AND MASSIVE PENISES BECAUSE I AM A REAL MAN WHO LOVES REAL MAN MOVIES. Even worse, the most recent Rambo saw the series eat itself, with Rambo embracing the anti-immigrant mentality of the Trump era. Given that this pack is called Rambo: All The Blood, we can expect that it's the modern version of Rambo we get here.
Most disappointing however is the first crossover, because just like so much around this game, it feels like it could be great if it was just taken one iota more seriously. The crossover is with Danny Trejo - not any of his characters, the literal actor playing himself. Off-screen, Trejo runs a successful taco business, and the pack is all about making deliveries to hungry citizens. Though it's a transparent advert for Trejo's business, the idea of feeding a guerrilla army, and an examination of the food of different cultures, might be exciting. Unfortunately the trailer makes it look like standard fetch quest missions with a taco commercial on the side, as military NPCs gun you down. Plus of course BLOOD, AND BOMBS, AND EXPLOSIONS, AND MASSIVE PENISES BECAUSE I AM A REAL MAN WHO LOVES REAL MAN VIDEO GAMES.
In admitting its political inspirations, Far Cry 6 has gone further than most other Ubisoft games before it. But what's the point of that if the politics are explored in such a shallow way. Nobody is asking for these games to be political - most people who play them would rather switch their brain off, and most people who want games to front up on social issues aren't drawn to first person shooters. That's fine, not every game needs to be political. But if you say you are, you better make sure you actually are. Rescuing dogs and delivering tacos in long, playable commercials doesn't sound like something anybody has been asking for.