DLC REVIEW: “Pagan Min: Control” Feels Familiar (PC)

Far Cry 6’s latest DLC from Ubisoft puts players in the shoes of Far Cry 4‘s antagonist Pagan Min. The DLC features a structure identical to the previous “Vaas: Insanity” DLC. This structure injects some rogue-lite elements into the typical open-world Far Cry mayhem where players roam about completing objectives to earn Respect, which can be spent on permanent upgrades. Any weapons or character upgrades, however, are lost on death. 

The DLC gets into the action quickly after setting up that its narrative will center around Pagan Min coping with his past and trying to break free from the cycle of impulsive decisions made in anger and the consequential regret that has defined most of his life. These include exploring Pagan’s relationship with the game’s protagonist Ajay Ghale, his abusive father, and more. With how essential antagonists have proven to be for Far Cry, fans will undoubtedly be more than happy to not only revisit Pagan Min but learn more about him and his history. 

While “Control” is more effective at delivering its narrative than its Vaas-centric predecessor, most of the package is largely the same. The weapons unlocked throughout runs are the same but with vibrant pink and gold skin. The overarching objective for players to focus on is again exploring the map to piece together three parts of an important object. 

During the journey, players can come across numerous side missions to gain Respect to spend on upgrades, points of interest that reveal more about the character, and golden doors that act as a two-way fast travel system to specific landmarks. Upgrades can be divided into transient equipment, and permanent unlocks. Transient equipment includes a variety of perks that can be found and push the player to approach each run slightly differently, as well as gadgets like Molotov cocktails.

Permanent unlocks help keep the DLC from becoming too difficult. These include challenges that unlock new weapons that can be purchased on subsequent runs, upgrades to those weapons, and traits that allow the player to increase their health, keep more Respect upon death, and more. 

While “Control” offers an experience that is wholly pretty similar to “Insanity,” some noticeable improvements have been made as well. The most instantly noticeable is in the unique map. Set in Pagan Min’s mind, the map is a psychedelic rendition of Kyrat. This helps the DLC’s map be one of the most beautiful of any Far Cry map thus far. The vistas are frequently stunning with a cohesive design featuring incredible architecture, pops of color, and floating elements that blend in well with the overall design. Where “Insanity” had randomly floating sharks, “Control” has pieces of a temple that can be brought down to construct a whole structure as part of a side objective. Other environments, especially in memory missions, have striking designs with some architecture even feeling as though it belongs more in Remedy’s Control than Far Cry’s.

This new DLC has also improved the side objectives and memory missions. The side objectives remain essentially unchanged from what was present in Insanity.” Still, the few new objectives that have been added help add much-needed variety with combat arenas that change up how the player has to approach the challenge. Likewise, the memory missions have been improved by having more variety. Many of them have the player make a choice that determines which memory they visit, not only making repeat playthroughs more interesting but also enabling the DLC to explore more of Pagan Min’s past. 

Beyond those improvements, it is a shame just how similar “Control” is to “Insanity.” After exploring the new revelations regarding Pagan Min, little differentiates the two DLCs. Instead of “Control” feeling like its own distinct experience, it ends up feeling like a re-skin of its predecessor. It would have been great to see the DLC take a bolder approach to the experience or even to push the player to play in a way more akin to Pagan Min’s personality rather than playing exactly the same as what fans of the series are used to. 

There is no doubt that fans who just want an excuse to shoot more things in Far Cry 6 or who are really looking to dive into Pagan Min’s background will be satisfied by “Pagan Min: Control.” However, it is disappointing that the DLC did not take the opportunity to create a more diverse experience than what came directly before it. 

Far Cry 6’s “Pagan Min: Control” DLC is available on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S on January 11.