It’s been barely a month since we got our hands on the remarkable Far Cry 6, and Ubisoft’s roadmap for post-launch content is already in place. In addition to the cosmetic packs already released earlier this month and the special operations (Danny Trejos to Frame), now is the time to get serious and immerse yourself in the first expansion included in the Season Pass You at Vaas: Madness.
The premise of how the iconic villain fits into this new story is seen at the beginning of his introductory cinematic, which is linked to the end of his story in Far Cry 3 in the hands of Jason, our avatar at the time. Upon waking up in a room full of television screens (like the torture rooms he himself used), we hear the voice of our sister Citra who has taken control of our minds, and the entire landscape of the Rook Islands appears to be nothing more than a projection of our head. Hence our goal Escape from the mental prison in which he keeps us. And for that we have to destroy all enemies and get stronger while we are after the three parts of the Dragon blade, the sacred dagger Jason stabbed us with. With this clear vision, the disturbed Vaas walks out the door … and nothing would prepare us for what we would find. Because now Far Cry is very different.
I was very surprised at how they planned this expansion because made Far Cry an experience Roguelite. At the beginning of the first game we get the gun and we choose one of the 5 skill lines to place a permanent upgrade. Any of these skill branches can be unlocked as long as we save enough money and manage to get back into the same game Vaas mirror where to unlock, but that’s never easy. Every kill we make gives us money and ammo and sometimes power-ups that give passive abilities when equipped. But when we die, we lose what we achieved, including most of the money, and we almost have to start over. On the way out we only have a simple pistol, and by killing and opening chests scattered around the map we get enough money to unlock booster rooms, weapon accessories (essential) and some permanent improvements, with which we can gain strength, but they won’t come cheap.
To expand our arsenal we will first have to complete a special chest challenge where we can endure waves of enemies until we kill a certain number of them and then get a new type of weapon that will also be available in the store when we buy one make a new “run”. In addition to the normal opponents, there are also the projections of our archenemy Jason, a formidable enemy that we will find in the main mission areas, and the toughest enemy in all of the DLC.
The setting is another of the things that attract the most attention for their attention to detail, with many nod to the seasoned players on the series. As we walk through the stage, we see that it is a later version of the same island from the third part, and the menus and signs and the gun shop are all from Far Cry 3. Even the character of Vaas, with David Robles ‘Voice in the original is there. Everything is similar, but with an important setup for the new era, with a Heavenly environment that wants to be explored beyond the limits of the DLC.
And so the games in this DLC gradually go through trial and error (you’ll die very often). The difficulty level is also a surprise and, in my case, very grateful, as in the base game we immediately went over to secretly dodging the most humble guard, only to shoot down a helicopter and 5 heavy enemies in 10 seconds two hours later.
On the other hand, Replayability is guaranteed, both for the challenge and for the unlockable elements for the base game. There are 5 levels of difficulty, each of which will be unlocked when we complete the previous one and I assure you that the game will be challenging from the first level onwards.
Vaas: Madness It has the elements that we missed the most while playing the original Far Cry 6: difficulty and something new that will change the play style of the Far Cry franchise. That’s all a breath of fresh air this is sure to keep you entertained for hours and bring so many players back to try it out.