Which Far Cry is the Longest? Far Cry 6 Dethrones Its Predecessors

Ubisoft‘s open-world first-person shooter series has continually upped the ante with each new entry when it comes to scale, scope, and shenanigans. This escalation has naturally coincided with a marked increase in gameplay length and content–a dream come true for us completionist gamers. So which chaotic guerilla adventure will you be spending the most hours fomenting revolution in? According to data aggregated from multiple sources, Far Cry 6 is decisively the longest Far Cry game to date, with average playtimes rivaling even the meatiest RPGs.

The Vast Lands of Yara: What Makes Far Cry 6 a 50+ Hour Epic

Per user submissions on HowLongToBeat, clearing all of Far Cry 6‘s story missions, side quests, outposts, and obscure collectibles takes approximately 51 hours. This represents the main campaign alone, without factoring in post-game content or DLC. For context, that‘s nearly double the length of top-tier linear shooters like Call of Duty.

Now what exactly contributes to this wealth of content? As the first Far Cry built natively for PS5/Xbox Series X, the developers could realize their ambitions without technical restraints. The result is the series‘ most diverse open world yet in the island nation of Yara–a lush tropical paradise combined with urban sprawls. Spread across 11 unique regions, solo gamers can spend dozens of hours simply touring the sights.

But breathtaking backdrops alone don‘t account for 50+ hours of intensive guerilla warfare. To put it numerically:

• 95 Main + Side Story Missions
• 45 Military Bases to Liberate
• 20 mini-games like fighting rings
• Over 100 Treasure Hunts and supply raids

With so many activities to pursue at your own pace, days can easily blur by just fooling around in Far Cry‘s dynamic sandbox systems. Armored convey ambushes at 2 AM? Why not! The critical narrative path clocks in at 23 hours, but completing all challenges easily doubles (or triples) that.

Mapping the Series‘ Evolution from Linear Shooter to Time-Vanishing Open Worlds

The original 2004 Far Cry pioneered free-roaming FPS action, but remained largely confined to individual levels. With Far Cry 2 in 2008, the series leapt into contiguous open settings in Africa, teasing the future scale while still limiting player freedom via malaria attacks. Far Cry 3 then smashed this restrictive structure by fully embracing open-world design philosophies.

Far Cry Game Length Over Time

The table above compares how the playable content has swelled over time. Far Cry 6 tops out at over 4 times longer than the original for completionists.

So why the huge jump? As games transform into ever-more profitable services filled with microtransactions, padding playtime keeps players engaged and spending. And by adopting the "Ubisoft formula" of towers, collectibles and map uncovered, Far Cry‘s shift to open worlds has skyrocketed its length. Yet none have reached the ludicrous scale of Far Cry 6‘s island-hopping expanse.

Completing Yara: A Guide to Maxing Out Your Far Cry 6 Hours

While individual playstyles will differ, focusing on a few key activities can easily drive that 51 hour average to 70+ in your revolution against Anton Castillo‘s regime. Based on my completionist playthrough, here‘s an overview of everything you can do to extend your stay in Yara:

Story Missions

• Critical path runs ~23 hours
• 30 Side Operations add depth/context to the world
• Play at slower pace, explore during objectives

Military Takeovers

• 45 FND Bases provide epic guerilla set pieces
• Plan creative approach – go loud or silent
• Far more complex than outposts in FC5

Treasure Hunts

• Silly but rewarding side activity
• Over 100 caches to track down
• Have unique piece of gear/weapon as reward

Miscellaneous

• 20 mini-games like fighting rings
• Ambush convoys across the world
• Photography/hunting challenges
• Gather collectible records, graffiti etc.

By mixing up activities, I invested almost 80 hours toppling Castillo without growing bored. The secret lies in the diversity between stealth, combat, exploration and mini-games. So strap in for a wild ride should you desire to wring everything out of chaotic Yara!

What About Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon and Primal?

Alongside the six core entries, Far Cry has seen numerous off-shoot experiments grafting the open-world shooter template onto new settings. Blood Dragon took us to a neon-lit ‘80s future for hammy B-movie pastiche, while Primal transported players back to the Stone Age as a tribal hunter.

More compact spin-off experiences, both clock under 10 hours for main quests and ~15 hours total. They condensed Far Cry‘s mechanics around new themes, rather than chasing scale. An interesting comparison point is Primal‘s world, which feels more fully-realized as a unique historic era than Blood Dragon‘s superficial retro-future.

While future entries could potentially eclipse its vast breadth, Far Cry 6 currently reigns as the apex of Ubisoft‘s formula. Dropping players onto the doorstep of a modern guerilla revolution, it‘s staggering how one can vanish for days in its chaotic sandbox fighting to liberate Yara.

Just don‘t blame me if you suddenly wonder where that weekend went upon seeing the 50+ hours on your save file…