Far Cry 6: Insanity DLC is totally different, but a bit short

Insanity is the first big DLC drop for Far Cry 6. It takes a totally different approach from the main game and plays more like a roguelike: Going through the same level over and over again while keeping some form of progression to make a new run slightly easier.

If you think about it, this is actually the perfect genre for a game featuring Vaas. You may recall his famous quote from Far Cry 3: Did I ever tell you what the definition of insanity is? Insanity is doing the exact… same f*cking thing… over and over again expecting… sh*t to change…

The definition of insanity

The game has five mind levels, each with increased difficulty and even the first one will pose quite the challenge as somehow it seems the enemy AI has received quite the upgrade since the base game: enemies spot you from a greater distance and they shoot with deadly accuracy.

While you lose a lot of things when you perish, you, fortunately, get to hold on to a few permanent upgrades like weapon enhancements and personal traits like a larger health bar or a larger amount of cash that you keep after dying.

Anything else is lost upon dying though, including any of the three dagger pieces that Citra, your sister/lover, requires you to gather to escape Vaas’ mind and that you may have gathered during your previous run. This makes dying really demotivating so best try your best to stay alive.

Getting around

Usually, roguelikes have randomly generated levels to keep you on your toes, but in Far Cry 6: Insanity you only have one map layout, and places you’ve visited do get remembered and marked on the map.

While players may have gotten used to fast-traveling and dropping in with a wingsuit and a parachute in the main Far Cry 6 experience, Insanity makes you travel the entire distance on foot. Luckily, the map is not too large and there are a few doors that teleport you across the level.

As mentioned earlier, you’ll need to find three scattered pieces of Citra’s blade and there will be a difficult challenge waiting for you at each location. To better prepare yourself you should upgrade Vaas’ stats and overcome the trials that give you a 1UP, but even that won’t be easy.

You can also find several weapon challenges on the map that will reward you with a new gun to use when you’ve beaten X amount of enemies. The downside is that these weapons are also lost when you die, but it IS possible to just buy them from the starting Safe Zone if you prefer.

A trip through the mind of Vaas

The DLC takes places moments after Vaas loses to Jason Brody, the protagonist of Far Cry 6. While he obviously doesn’t survive that encounter, it’s like we’re playing in a state of limbo and Vaas has to come to terms with the events in his life that made him his charming criminal self.

The way this is told is masterful, with among others a hotel you visit and each room requiring you to reconstruct a memory from his past life. Because we’re not exactly in the realm of reality, however, the environments are exaggerated and look simply stunning. The supernatural elements really make each location feel distinct and discovering them is almost a reward in itself.

Without a doubt, the true star of Far Cry 6: Insanity is Vaas himself, voiced by Michael Mando. He talks to himself and has funny quips throughout the game like whoops, my hand slipped when performing a takedown on enemies or praising his own writing when he rediscover a letter he once wrote to Citra.

While encountering a hill covered in blood with arms growing out of the soil like the undead are about to walk the earth again, he makes light of the situation with a snappy High five.

Random elements

Like I’ve mentioned before, it’s usually the random elements in roguelikes that make each new run exciting but these aren’t present in Far Cry 6: Insanity so it may be hard to motivate yourself to go for the higher mind levels after beating the game once. Outside of the achievements and some items you unlock to use in the main game, there is no reason to keep revisiting this content and that’s perhaps the biggest strike against it.

The only thing that truly alters your gameplay are the hearts you find dropped by enemies, in chests around the world, or when you shoot rare golden rodents. These hearts offer bonuses like faster reloading, more ammo dropped by enemies, or getting extra Cash from performing takedowns, to name a few.

How long to beat and complete?

How long does it take to beat the Insanity DLC? Not counting all the times you’ve possibly died trying to beat the episode, it should take around 2 hours to beat the game and see the credits roll.

If you want to fully complete the DLC, including getting all achievements, however, it will take several playthroughs. There are a lot of additional challenges like getting a specific score, beating mind level 5, or finding all the bobbleheads.

There’s also one for completely upgrading Vaas and his weapon loadout, so prepare to grind it out if you’re a completionist.

How can I acces the Insanity DLC episode?

It’s a bit weird that I even have to include this bit in the review, but it seems like a lot of people have issues with playing the DLC even if they already own it through the Season Pass.

You can start the DLC from the main menu or from any of the TVs in one of the many Home Base locations in the main game, but it won’t be able to trigger the download of the content. Clicking it will only change the message from you own this already to a coming soon. So how do you access the DLC?

You download it. You’ll manually have to search for the DLC episode by browsing to it in the store on the platform you’re playing on and only after it’s fully installed will you be able to play. Makes sense, but it’s weird that the in-game options don’t allow you to do so.

Final thoughts on Far Cry 6: Insanity

Final Score: 4/5

Far Cry 6: Insanity is a perfect example of DLC done right. It offers an entirely new gameplay experience in a fantastic-looking setting that doesn’t feel the need to stay grounded in reality. You’ll visit a few amazing-looking places and Vaas will be narrating the entire time with funny quips and hilarious jabs. If anything, this DLC episode only cements him further as the best Far Cry antagonist of all time.

DLC Episode 1 Insanity can be purchased separately for $14.99 or as part of the season pass. If you want to find out the upcoming content and if the season pass is worth it, be sure to check our Far Cry 6 content Roadmap.

Far Cry 6 is available on PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PS4, PS5, Luna, and Stadia. All costing around $59.99 for the Standard edition. For $99.99 you can get the Gold Edition, which includes the Season Pass, which you can now also buy separately for €39.99. You can check our review of Far Cry 6 here.

*Disclaimer: Reviewed on Xbox Series X. Far Cry 6 Season Pass code provided by Ubisoft for the purpose of this review.