So we got to play the second DLC of Far Cry 6’s Season Pass content, and boy it is not what you might be expecting. If you have already got the FC6 Season Pass, then this DLC will be included so you can experience it right away. And for the rest of you still thinking about getting the paid Season Pass or not, this review will help you in making a decision. Read this Far Cry 6 Pagan Min Control review to know my views about this DLC.
Table of Contents
Far Cry 6 Control DLC Review
Plot & Setting
FC6’s Control DLC takes you right into the fictional country of Kyrat. And best of all you get to play as Pagan Min and get to know him better. Voiced none other than the world-famous Troy Baker. Troy Baker once again shows his amazing talent and brings Pagan Min alive in a spectacular way. In my opinion, this DLC surely makes up for all the missed opportunities in FC4.
If you have played the 1st DLC of the FC6 season pass, Insanity, then you might be happy to know the Control follows a very similar path. The DLC starts off with Pagan Min having a happy lunch with Ishwari, their daughter Lakshmana, and even Ajay Ghale. Suddenly the evil dark side manifestation of Pagan appears and kills Lakshmana, before shooting Pagan. You wake up in the trapped mind of Pagan, trying to find ways to suppress your dark side and rejoin your family.
Just like the previous DLC, as the events are taking place in the mind of Pagan, the entire Kyrat is based on the location from FC4, but somewhat different. The full open world has been replaced by a big large map which you and replay to gain better loot each time. Yes, that’s right. The gameplay follows the rogue-lite structure of the previous DLC and the game difficulty is divided into 5 different mind levels.
You, as Pagan Min, try to hide the cruelties of your past but end up accepting them as your own mistakes. This involves talking it through the inner dark side throughout the game, owning up to the mistakes, empathizing & making amends with them. The entire events are manifested in the spirit world of Kyrat, with manifestations taking shape of Golden Path soldiers. But unlike the FC4, the soldiers are covered in the enemies are covered in vibrant colors, and when you shoot at them they disintegrate into colorful smokes too.
Ajay Ghale makes an appearance from time to time, acting as mini-boss in between quests, as he is the epitome of your destruction (the DLC follows the FC4 ending where Ajay shot down Pagan’s helicopter). So your aim is to fix broken statues, collect the pieces of your face mask, protect your family, and unite with Lakshmana. As explained by Pagan in the “Spare” ending of FC4, Pagan only visited Lakshmana’s shrine as a sane man and came out of it as ‘like this’. Indicating that the death of his daughter is what is the cause of his ruthless dictatorship, and this is the cause of all the cruelty against Golden Path & the People, as his revenge against Mohan (who killed Lakshmana).
Troy Baker provides an amazing voice performance, mentioning and talking us through every feeling of Pagan as a true human. If you enjoyed FC4, and wish to explore more of its world and details, then the contents this DLC has to offer you is worth it. And most importantly it takes you directly into the mind of one of the main antagonists, second only to Vaas.
Graphics & Gameplay
Unlike the Insanity DLC, which tried to stay closer with the original FC3, Far Cry 6 DLC Pagan Min Control looks like they turned up a notch and kept it similar yet different from the main FC6 game. In my opinion, the overall graphics and details looked better and cleaner than before. And by ditching the massive open world in the DLC, you feel like the field of view is better (mainly due to reduced map boundaries), and the overall foliage and other details look better.
The main focus this time again is on the gunplay. And the devs nailed that part. Being a rogue-lite, you start off with just a pistol and complete your runs to gather more weapon crate, respect (which is integral to the gameplay), and even major powerups, giving making you stronger every time you complete a run. The only caveat, you lose any non-permanent stats and weapons, unless you reach one of the several safehouses before your death.
The Mind Level 1 is the best way with limited difficulty to ease you into the new gameplay. Every time you complete a major quest (like finding mask pieces), you will get to see a cutscene giving more insight into Pagan’s mind, his emotions, and his love for his daughter. These moments add and act as a fitting end to the overall arc of Far Cry 4.
Verdict
FC6 dev’s choice of revolving the Season Pass contents around the villains of the previous games is one of the best choices in Far Cry DLCs’ history. Mixing the guns and Far Cry recipe with rogue-lite is a fresh take on the game’s recurrent gameplay of unveiling check-posts & liberating locations. This fresh take on the gameplay deserved its own standalone game, if not for the limited runtime, and restricted story elements. Nevertheless, you take back a complete closure on Pagan Min as a strong character in the series, and some goodies like unlockable clothing accessories back into your main FC6 game for Dani Rojas to rock.
So considering all the factors, in this Far Cry 6 DLC Control Review, we give a solid “YES” for you to play it, and it’s gonna be worth your while. And after playing this DLC, we could say now is a good time to get the Season Pass, which also includes Vaas’s Insanity and Joseph’s Collapse DLCs. So if you are a fan of the previous Far Cry games, this one is a must-play.
The Mind of Pagan Min is Out of Control!
This DLC provides a fresh take by mixing the guns and Far Cry recipe with rogue-lite.
- Location Setting 7.5
- Plot 7
- Gameplay 8.5
- Map 8
- New Content 9