Whatever you may think of the Far Cry series, there is one undeniable fact about it – it has some of the best bosses in gaming.
Even if you walk away from recent entries in the series noting how similar they’ve all become, you still remember the taglines, eccentricities, and nefarious deeds of its big bads. There’s a very good reason that from a certain point in the series it was the villains adorning the game covers, not the hero.
From a self-proclaimed king who ends up being your dad to a crazed pirate who revived a classic quote for a new generation, let’s take a look back at the Far Cry series and rank all its bosses, from worst to best.
12. Mickey and Lou (Far Cry: New Dawn)
Mickey and Lou from New Dawn are easily the worst bosses in the series, for a multitude of reasons.
First up, they lack the presence and intimidation factor of all other Far Cry Bosses. It is just impossible to be scared of them. They come across as obnoxious teenagers trying oh-so-hard to be edgy. But in the end, their main motive comes across as “destruction for the sake of it”, because they think it’s… cool? It fails to make them resonate.
The other big flaw of these two is the fact that you would get to the final boss fight against them only to realize they are inexplicably twenty levels ahead of you and impossible to beat unless you now replay each enemy encampment 3-5 times for experience points to level up to their status.
Nice one, Ubisoft.
11. Dr. Krieger (Far Cry)
Dr. Krieger, the first end boss in the Far Cry series is, by definition, generic. He plays like a worn-out “evil scientist” trope. But it was clear Ubisoft was just getting their footing here, so we do need to cut them a little slack. This was but the first of many, after all.
Dr. Krieger had the thick German accent, so the only thing missing was the manic mustache twirling and maniacal laughter. A smart man who wants to make super soldiers for his own army to take over the world. It is a story we’ve heard a million times before.
Dr. Krieger is forgettable, if nothing else. He kicked this series off in a truly mediocre way. But he also was the O.G Far Cry boss so we had to show him a little love because without him, this list wouldn’t exist!
10. Jacob Seed (Far Cry 5)
Of all the bosses in Far Cry 5, war veteran, gun nut, and all-round asshole Jacob Seed is the least compelling of the bunch. That’s not to say he’s dull per se, and his scheme to brainwash followers of the Eden’s Gate cult into fighting upon hearing a song is Class A villainy.
While his screen presence isn’t as strong as some of the others, the sniper battle that is his boss fight could well be the toughest in the game.
9. Hoyt Volker (Far Cry 3)
Ahhh Hoyt, the big Far Cry 3 villain that no one remembers because a certain someone else – to be mentioned later – stole the show from him. And while his more iconic co-villain delivered an outstanding performance, the generic baddie South African kept things rather simple.
Relentlessly driven by profit at all costs – and seemingly engaging in genocide for the sake of it – Hoyt is unquestionably villainous, but in such a one-dimensional and ham-fisted way that he lacks that compelling quality of other Far Cry villains where you can’t help but kind of like them.
He’s not as obnoxious as the last entry on this list, but not nearly as charming as the rest.
8. The Jackal (Far Cry 2)
Far Cry 2 is where Ubisoft learned the power of a good antagonist. The Jackal served in the Navy during the Cold War and eventually moved on to arms dealing, seemingly playing both sides of the coin, aka selling guns to both sides in all the localized battles throughout Africa. You are tasked with killing him, but you learn pretty quickly you are in over your head.
What made The Jackal special was the fact that it was the first time you were presented with an option by the end boss: do the good guy thing and sacrifice yourself to save refugees or kill the Jackal, take his hoard of diamonds, and become the villain yourself? It was a cool twist that made you look back at the game differently.
It was the start of Ubisoft playing with heavy in-game decisions and consequences that are now a series staple. There was also a cool payoff for people who played the first Far Cry game, as we recently found out that The Jackal is actually the hero from the first game having chosen the “dark side” ending, which the series took as canon. It also reframes the first game quite nicely. And “keeping the bad ending as canon” is something Ubisoft ended up doing with the next entry, too.
7. Faith Seed (Far Cry 5)
No modern Far Cry game would be complete without a bit of dabbling in psychedelics, and in Far Cry 5 that job is mostly carried out by the Seed family’s head of production, Faith Seed – equal parts airy 60s hippy and religious fanatic.
Upon entering her region, you’re haunted by visions of the beautiful but deadly Siren, as you’re constantly battling with the effects of the Bliss flowers which the Eden’s Gate cult used extensively to control the local populace.
There are some excellent psychedelic sequences with Faith, such as when she sprouts angel wings and walks you off a cliff or her boss battle where she replicates herself and sends waves of maddened cultists your way.
6. Anton Castillo (Far Cry 6)
Some people who are loving Far Cry 6 right now may have some issues with Anton Castillo being as low as he is, but allow me to explain.
As President Anton Castillo, Breaking Bad alumni (a theme you will see return further down the list) Giancarlo Esposito gives a truly fascinating and layered performance as the megalomaniac president of the fictional Cuban island of Yara. He is captivating, stealing the show anytime he’s onscreen.
So it’s a shame that you hardly interact with him at all.
As sad as it makes me to say, Castillo honestly doesn’t even know you exist until about the last 25% of the game, which means you barely get to breathe the same air as him. While he is an amazing bad guy, he just doesn’t have that same weird obsession with the player as other series bosses.
You never feel a personal connection with President Castillo, which is a shame.
5. John Seed (Far Cry 5)
Of all the Seed family in Far Cry 5, John Seed is the one who exudes the most creepiness. His gentle, drifty way of speaking juxtaposes with his penchant for torture and baptizing sinners via blood rituals.
A soft-spoken sado-masochist is always going to do pretty well in our rankings, and his boss battle – which entails a dogfight followed by a shootout wherever you manage to gun him down – is one of the better ones in the came. He’s the only one of the Seed family who seems to have a backstory that warrants further exploration.
4. Joseph Seed (Far Cry 5)
Joseph Seed is one of the more divisive bosses in Far Cry for the simple fact that some people love his “Charles Manson at Church” vibe and some people found it heavy-handed and corny. Yours truly thought he was charismatic as Hell (pun intended), and though he was a little one dimensional, he certainly had a presence.
Portrayed passionately by actor Greg Bryk, Joseph Seed led the fanatical Eden’s Gate cult and wanted to make you a part of it. He also had three siblings who were all minor bosses with their own things going on, which helped further the feel that Eden’s Gate was a well-oiled machine. With each family member having their own region and boss fight, it broke up the gameplay and built up nicely towards the Joseph Seed showdown.
Love it or hate it, the “nuke” ending was intense and left quite an impression with many gamers. It was also the ending that was taken as canon, as mentioned in prior entry, which led to us to New Dawn.
3. Ull (Far Cry Primal)
It seems anytime people rank the bosses from the Far Cry series, no one ever gives Ull from Far Cry Primal any love, even though he is easily the most physically imposing of all Far Cry bosses.
Ull is the warchief of a tribe of warring cavemen, the Udam. Seeing that his people are dying due to their location in the snowy mountains, he decides to move them into your territory. Think East coast versus West coast rap rivalries, but with caveme.
And again to reiterate, Ull is physically terrifying, and makes it very clear that he wants what you have and has no issues leaving a trail of viscera in his path to obtain it.
It should also be stated that this is the best Far Cry boss fight. You run around a cave system with him chasing you while screeching war cries, and you have to shoot stalactites over his head to drop down and pin him so you can bludgeon him with your caveman club. Fittingly savage.
2. Pagan Min (Far Cry 4)
There are many elements that add up to make Pagan Min one of the greatest Far Cry bosses ever. From his insanely delightful fashion sense (dude knows how to rock a pink/purple suit like only Prince could) to his oozing charisma and charm, there is also something disarming about how initially kind and well-spoken he comes across. Pagan has that Hannibal Lecter charm where you don’t quite know if he likes you or wants to eat you with a nice Chianti.
You find out much later in the game that there is very good reason why he is so kind to you when you first meet.
And [SPOILER ALERT], in a shocking twist we find out Pagan Min is your father. He honestly does want to help you spread your mother’s ashes, and depending how you played through the game, you can get a pretty cool ending where you two fly off in the sun and do just that.
Now, for the reason we all came here….
1. Vaas (Far Cry 3)
While Hoyt Volker is the real final boss of Far Cry 3, he was given the impossible task of following Vaas, and for many people, he just lacked an real threat or bite in comparison. The Vaas to Hoyt downgrade was like wrestling a lion only to have to fight a chihuahua afterwards.
Vaas, played masterfully by actor Michael Mando (who plays Nacho Varga on Better Call Saul) embodies anarchy and manic energy like few not-quite-end bosses ever have.
Everytime you meet Vaas, you know something truly depraved is going to happen to you (from him killing your brother in front of you to tossing you off a cliff with rocks tied to your feet), yet you cannot help but get caught up in his Joker-esque monologuing. Here, I am going to try a social experiment with you readers.
Do you know the definition of insanity?
You just heard that in his voice when you read it, didn’t you?
That is how you truly know you are dealing with an iconic villain. In some ways, Vaas was the best worst thing that could have happened to Far Cry. Best because his performance is a big part of what makes Far Cry 3 an all-time classic.
Did you know there was a Far Cry movie once upon a time? It’s terrible, obviously, but you’ll find it in our list of video game movies you should (and shouldn’t) watch. Also, Far Cry in VR? We say why we want to see it happen in our classic games that need to come to VR!
