DLC REVIEW: “Joseph Seed: Collapse” Does it Again (PC)

Ubisoft has released the final of its trilogy of rogue-lite DLCs with “Joseph Seed: Collapse.” Following Far Cry 5’s antagonist Joseph Seed, the DLC takes players on a journey across his shattered psyche as he struggles to atone for his sins and redeem himself for misplacing his faith and getting every member of his family killed in the process. 

To do this, you have to explore a reasonably sized map to power up, build a loadout of gear, and reclaim the three pieces of Joseph’s cross. This requires you to tackle missions and challenges to unlock weapons, revisit Joseph’s old memories, unlock safe houses, and collect a currency to purchase upgrades. However, the experience is a self-contained rogue-lite, so if you die at all during your playthrough, you have to start again at the beginning. 

Starting over requires replaying the same challenges and points of interest that you already completed again. However, the game’s gunplay is fun enough that they don’t start to feel overly repetitive until the third or fourth time. The more cinematic memories are the missions that really grow on one’s nerves quickly. Instead of having you shoot your way through waves of followers, these instead have you watching cutscenes and completing simple puzzles, both of which are much less interesting on subsequent runs. 

Those memories, however, make up most of the narrative meat of “Collapse.” All three of Far Cry 6’s DLCs have promised to explore the mind of the series’ favorite villains, and this one is no different. However, the narrative side of this DLC lands a bit on the disappointing side of things because of how it focuses more on Joseph’s relationships and interactions with his three siblings rather than him as a character. In some instances, this approach works, but both Vaas’ and Pagan Min’s DLCs gave players a much better understanding of those characters and their motivations. Instead, “Collapse” repeatedly states that Joseph just wanted to save his siblings and is sad that they died. 

As you play through your run, you’ll also get the chance to pick up randomly spawning runes that give Joseph abilities like moving faster after being shot, dealing extra damage with pistols, or having increased damage resistance while it’s not raining. Upgrades like these are commonplace in rogue-lites, and “Collapse” does a decent job of implementing them to push players to use different playstyles and loadouts on their runs. Unfortunately, however, they and all guns that you have purchased in the run are lost upon death. 

The upgrades that aren’t lost include your ammo crates (which allow you to purchase and upgrade guns for later runs), your rune slots, and your handful of skill trees for Joseph. The skill trees are five of the seven deadly sins, each having a different focus. For example, one focuses on allowing you to keep more currency upon death, another focuses on giving you more equipment, and a third on raising your health in small increments. These upgrades are helpful, but many of them feel lackluster to spend currency on as their improvements are not very impactful and tend to be less valuable than the runes you’ll constantly come across. 

For better or worse, all of these systems are identical to those in the two previous DLCs. So, the only differences between “Collapse” and the other DLCs come in the form of its villain, narrative, and map. The map in this DLC is a twisted rendition of Far Cry 5’s Montana, including irradiated wastes from dropping nuclear bombs, fields of white flowers, and plenty of rocky outcroppings. The map is less vibrant and eclectic than Pagan Min’s, but it still effectively characterizes Joseph’s mental struggles and creates unique visuals. There are massive smoke pyres in the shape of Joseph’s cross, floating farm animals, warped houses in a featureless void, and crucified people dotting the countryside. It is as desolate as one would expect, and the DLC uses it to great effect. 

For Far Cry 6 players looking for a reason to play more of the game and just want more of its satisfying gunplay or enjoy the structure of the previous two DLCs, “Joseph Seed: Collapse“ is an easy recommendation. However, players hoping for it to do a little more or introduce a unique aspect to the rogue-lite structure to reflect Joseph’s inclusion will ultimately be disappointed. However, Ubisoft has said there is more coming to the game in the future, so hopefully, that content will bring something new to the experience. 

Far Cry 6’s DLC, “Joseph Seed: Collapse,” is available on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S on February 8.