Far Cry 6: The Vanishing - Review

Once again, Yara calls us back. We’ve helped Danny Trejo, we’ve experienced the minds of some of the series most iconic heroes, and we’ve overthrown an autocratic dictator to free Yara and bring about the revolution. This time however, we’re going to an entirely different dimension, hidden deep within a Russian bunker.

The Vanishing is a Stranger Things cross-over mission that will be free to experience and play. A short affair, is this going to be enough to bring you back to the game and get you reinvested in the world of Yara in Far Cry 6?

The Vanishing is a quick additional mission, that is self-contained within itself. You will get alerted to the new mission by a call from Juan, who tells you that a group of Guerilla have gone missing and asks you to check it out. Upon arrival you come across an old analog TV set with white noise and someone speaking in Russian. This is the start of your descent into the world of the El Devorador, the Devourer, and the Shadow Place.

The Vanishing is a three-chapter mission, that will take you about an hour to complete. The Vanishing, however, is without a doubt, one of the best additions to the game, and one of the best missions I’ve played in the entire game. Upon entering the bunker you’ll find yourself instantly invested when Chorizo is taken away by El Devorador, and you have to get him back. A Russian woman, with telekinetic powers guides you, and you begin your journey into the Shadow Place. A mirrored world of Yara that exists in darkness and controlled by these demons, the Chernabog, Kukly and the iconic Demogorgon.

The Vanishing is an incredibly tense, almost horror-like experience. You are stripped of your weapons and given a restricted arsenal. A silenced pistol, a shotgun that shoots incendiary rounds, a standard assault rifle and a flamethrower. You slowly collect these as you progress through the chapters and get closer to finding Chorizo, fighting off Russian secret soldiers, the Kukly, who are Yarans who’ve been corrupted by the Chernabog and trying to survive against the unstoppable Demogorgon. The atmosphere is intense. The world is visually impressive and adds to the unease that you’ll experience. This mission almost feels like a tech demo for a potential horror/thriller experience. The Vanishing almost has a The Evil Within feeling to it. Whilst I never felt particularly in danger, as most enemies never really got close enough to hurt, the chase sequences with the Demogorgon were incredibly intense. Taking away your ability to fight and forcing you to try and outright a creature is faster and hitting you in the back can be very stressful and scary.

The final segment of the mission, which is reminiscent of the firefight waves of the DLC, was actually one of the most difficult segments of game I’ve ever played. Being restricted to weapons that are specifically balanced for the mission itself, whilst creating enemies that are not killed by a single head shot, creates an incredibly intense atmosphere. Having to defend yourself in such a small area with wave upon wave of enemy coming in, is one of the better designed segments of the game.

As someone not intimately familiar with Stranger Things, there is still a lot here to be enjoyed. It doesn’t require you to have a deep knowledge of the Stranger Things universe, and I found that this mission actually felt much darker than I was expecting. The heart wrenching feeling of potentially losing Chorizo in this world filled with demons is a great touch also and adds some desire to continue on with the mission.

From the giant spider demon in the sky, to the Demogorgon charging you down. There is a constant threat, and the deep heartbeat bassline that plays constantly in the background keeps the tense atmosphere up at all times, and the disparity between Dani and her guidance in Stsahs, the Russian telekinetic who has been talking to you the whole time, is almost comedic without breaking the immersion. There is a rawness to their interaction, and makes the mission feel even more emphatic. While there is only another hour worth of gameplay here, it is definitely one worth checking out.

The Vanishing is a great little love letter to the Stranger Things fandom, and a good way of preparing for the new season later this year. Far Cry 6 has had its ups and downs, but if The Vanishing is the last major content update, then this is a great way to go out. The team that worked on this, really should put their heads together and begin working on a horror game of their own, as there is some great groundwork laid here, that could easily be fleshed out into a deeper and greater piece of work. The fundamental horror aspect is impressive.

The Score

8.0

Review code provided by Ubisoft

The Pros

+Great atmosphere

+Unique weapons perfectly crafted for the experience

+Chorizo as a main character

The Cons

-Short

-No real danger threat

-Demogorgon should have been more dangerous