Far Cry 6 Is Full of Fascinating Vehicles, Here's an In-Depth Look

I have played almost all Far Cry games and I believe Far Cry 6 is one of the best in the series, even if it doesn’t come up with new stuff in terms of gameplay. Everything is bigger, better, smoother and nicer. That includes the vehicles that you’ll be seeing roaming the streets of Yara.

As many of you probably know already, Far Cry 6 is set on the fictional Caribbean Island of Yara, a reimagined Cuba specifically designed to fit the game’s plot. It’s a country frozen in time, which is why when it comes to cars, a trained eye will immediately recognize vehicles that were predominant in the 60s, while others come from the 80s and 90s. It’s an interesting melange of automobiles that lets you experience 30-40 years of car history from a part of the world hidden behind an iron curtain.

Meet the fabulous cars of Far Cry 6

Since Cuba heavily inspires far Cry 6's world, it's certainly not unusual that Ubisoft has decided to include replicas of some of the cars that made a splash in this part of the world half a century ago. But Ubisoft went beyond that and added a bucketload of other vehicles, not just classic cars.

“With Far Cry 6, the game is simulating a much more cohesive and massive world than any previous Far Cry, with cities, highways, dirt roads, rural areas, industrial and mining zones all needing their own sets of vehicles,” Greg Rassam, Associate Art Director Ubisoft Montreal, told me in a recent interview.

Although I didn’t notice a certain order that these vehicles are introduced into the game throughout one’s playthrough, many of the cars can only be seen in certain regions. Also, compared to the previous games in the series, Far Cry 6’s number of vehicles is truly overwhelming. What’s really amazing is that you can basically drive them all. You can fly a helicopter or a plane, just as easy as you would drive a tank or a muscle car. They certainly drive differently, but the fact still remains that you can have all these experiences while playing the game.

In Rassam's words, “from classic cars, delivery trucks and rikshaw taxis populating our cities and small villages, to tractors and utilitarian vehicles working in our rural areas, to fishing boats and jetskis loitering on our shores, to Anton’s fully equipped soviet-inspired military armada with troop transports, helicopters and tanks, and finally our group of Libertad rebels who have conceived their own means of travel and warfare with 3 very special makeshift resolver vehicles, this surely is the biggest offering of vehicles Far Cry has ever produced!”

It wasn’t too long before I got access to the first of the four hero cars that you can customize in Far Cry 6, the so-called 1956 Beaumont Valentina, which is the in-game version of the 1956 Buick Century. There are a couple of other variations of this specific car in the game, including a convertible model.

I got my second hero car after finishing one of the vehicle race competitions on the Island of Yara, the 1962 Verrazzano Bravo, a truly beautiful muscle car that we all know as the 1962 Ferrari 275 GTB/2.

Far Cry 6 is not just about vintage/classic cars

Although the game lives and breathes Cuban culture, this is still Far Cry we’re talking about, so gameplay remains a priority. It means that developers had to accommodate a much larger roster of vehicles for fans to play with, so while every car, plane, helicopter or boat has been designed to fit the Yaran theme, they may occasionally seem out of place.

And there’s a good explanation to why that might happen: “the embargo of vehicles on the island was a main factor in designing the range of classic American cars that fit the 1950’s era, whether that be the classic Coupe or the Sedan, or the civilian cargo trucks.” explained Greg Rassam. He went on to say that while some of the vehicles might be surprising to see in this fictional setting “these black-market or illegally imported vehicles like the Sports Coupe are there to give the player different driving styles that they can enjoy and experiment with.”

One of the terms often used in Far Cry 6 to refer to repurposed items is Resolver. It’s something that people usually do when they lack certain products that are available in other parts of the world.

“Because of the embargo isolating the island from the rest of the world, people have to make-do and repurpose every object they have. So, we took this improvisation spirit and imagined how this would translate for guerrilla vehicles. For example, you’ll find yourself driving a buggy that can fly or a nimble ducted-fan ultralight aircraft and what not. Each of them offering a unique driving experience for the players.”

Even though almost every vehicle in the car has been designed and tweaked to fit the setting, car lovers will certainly recognize many of the vehicles in the game. I’m not sure about the helicopters, military trucks and tanks, which have all been recreated after real-life models, but I’m pretty sure many of you will immediately recognize the 1995 Dodge Avenger, Far Cry-esquely disguised as the Yarapunk Street Samurai.

It's hard not to think of Cuba and Fidel Castro when you play Far Cry 6. The resemblance to Yara and Anton Castillo (marvelously played by actor Giancarlo Esposito) is striking, yet not limited to the setting and main characters. It's common knowledge that Cuba was under Russia's influence for many years, so many of the vehicles in Far Cry 6 are of Soviet origin.

“We referred to the soviet influence on the island to design and populate Anton’s military arsenal, and to provide an obvious contrast to the civilian vehicles. […] this was the perfect opportunity to introduce our take on vehicles like the imposing and recognizable MI-8 helicopters, Ural trucks, UAZ transports, and even our own custom designed T-55 tank. If you’re eagle-eyed, you might even spot a reference to the ubiquitous MiG-15 flying around,” says Greg Rassam.

Of course, tweaking and designing such a massive roster of vehicles for a specific theme usually poses some challenges. While I couldn't tell you how accurate driving or piloting tanks, helicopters, and planes really is, I believe Ubisoft did a good job faithfully recreating some of the vintage cars that we get to drive in Far Cry 6. They don't just look good visually, but they also drive differently enough to spice up your driving experience in the game.

“Overhauling our vehicle production pipeline was the biggest priority to be able to create so many higher-resolution and better-looking vehicles from scratch compared to previous Far Cry games, especially since we would be dealing with very sleek, curvy and smooth vintage car designs that needed to shine properly. We also pushed our shaders and tech to allow for the consistent white and red theming and decal work that you see on all our military vehicles, and at the same time allowing more customization on our most iconic vehicles.”

One other important thing that both Far Cry games and cars have in common is “customization.” While it’s not unusual for a Far Cry game to let you customize your weapons, I’m here to talk about car customization.

All four hero cars that you unlock in the game can be customized and fitted with decals, rams, gun brackets, and even turrets. Obviously, you must first unlock these cosmetic items, which is why you’ll want to divert from the main path and do some side-questing too.

I’ve seen some downright hilarious customized rides made by Far Cry 6 players, and I’m pretty sure it’s one of my favorite parts of the game. It’s hard not to notice how much work has been put into making Far Cry 6’s setting as faithful as possible to a region and era. More importantly, the massive roster of vehicles waiting for you to drive isn’t just a bonus for Far Cry fans; it’s one more reason to play the game.