When Ubisoft released the Vaas DLC for Far Cry 6 I thought it was a clever use of the rogue-like formula for a character whose popularity was based on his “definition of insanity” speech. I was curious to see what they would bring to the table for Pagan Min that would similarly sync with his character arc from Far Cry 4. Disappointingly, rather than try to make a gameplay loop that evoked Min, they just took the same rogue-like formula from the Vaas DLC and changed the aesthetics to match Far Cry 4 (which is, admittedly, quite pretty and colorful).
The insights you get into Pagan Min’s mind, and his warped views on what happened in Far Cry 4 are worth the price of admission if you already have Far Cry 6. Even though I only vaguely remember the events of Far Cry 4 I found this character piece on Pagan to be engaging, and I felt like it added quite a bit to the story. I still think he is a less interesting villain than Vaas, but this does improve my view of him as an antagonist.
The formula for the Far Cry 6 DLC Control is the same as the last. You have to clear three levels and a final boss encounter, and if you die you start over from the beginning with naught but whatever currency (“respect”) you earned. You eventually buy enough abilities and acquire enough weapons through challenges to progress through the levels safely. Depending on your skill level, it will take about four hours to get to the point where you can clear the adventure. It works well enough, though this is now our second time doing this on top of the more meaty adventures of Far Cry 6. It does, however, not feel like Far Cry since your special abilities have been stripped out and there are no vehicles to drive, which are two core elements that separate the franchise from its competitors. That, combined with this style of game not fitting with Min the same way it did for Vaas, does drag the DLC down a bit. But, the gameplay is otherwise as strong as any other Far Cry game.
Far Cry 6 DLC Control Review (Pagan Min) Final Thoughts:
Just like the Far Cry 6 Vaas DLC, I think this should have been a stand-alone release, and not saddled to the otherwise unconnected Far Cry 6. If you have fond memories of Far Cry 4 and you already own the most recent entry then I’d say pick it up, but it’s not worth buying Far Cry 6 just to get access to this. Further, I can’t say this is worth playing if you haven’t played Far Cry 4 as most of the storytelling is reliant on you having at least some understanding of the events of that game. The final announced DLC will predictably star Far Cry 5‘s Joseph Seed, and we will have to wait to see if they mix the gameplay up a bit, or if they stick to the same formula as Vaas’ and Min’s adventures.