You can play the latest Far Cry game for free all weekend on PC, Xbox, PS4 and PS5

If you haven't already scrapped your weekend plans so that you can binge The Sandman, here's another brilliant way to be entertained all weekend: Ubisoft is making Far Cry 6 completely free to play until 8 August on every platform: PC, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PS4 and PS5. The offer includes the DLC, which you can unlock a few hours in, and it also includes two-player co-op mode so you can enjoy the game with a pal.

Ubisoft is doing this because it clearly believes that you'll enjoy the game so much you'll want to own it – and after the free period, you'll be able to buy the full game at a huge discount. Your progress from the free weekend will be carried across if you upgrade to the full game afterwards.

If you're new to Far Cry games, this is well worth checking out.

Is Far Cry 6 worth playing?

Definitely. The reviews are all very positive, and if the presence of Breaking Bad's Giancarlo Esposito wasn't enough reason to check it out the reviewers say it's the most fun Far Cry game in a decade. The basic model hasn't changed – you're on an island controlled by a crazed megalomaniac and have to blow up a lot of stuff – but this time you have the best Far Cry villain as well as tons of improvements over previous games. 

I'm currently playing through Far Cry 5 and I know that Far Cry 6 fixes some of the things I'm not so keen on, like the cutscenes: they're first person, unlike the third-person cutscenes in the newer game. That gives the acting talent more time to shine, especially if you go for the female protagonist Dani: played by Nisa Gunduz, she's every bit as compelling as Giancarlo Esposito is. And as a trans person I'm pleased to see a trans character who isn't just there to mine their misery for entertainment. Don't worry, Far Cry 6 hasn't gone "woke": it's just as deranged as before, with some odd choices including a mini-game that IGN calls "basically Mortal Kombat with chickens".

What matters here, of course, is the gameplay. And Far Cry 6 is by far the most satisfying game in the series if you're a fan of turning tanks, trucks and helicopters into fireballs; as satisfying as it is to sneak past trouble without being spotted, making enemies explode is much more fun.