When it comes to villains, there aren’t many franchises which can match Far Cry for its memorable and characterful antagonists. Ever since gamers first met Vaas Montenegro in Far Cry 3, the series has had a high bar when it comes to its villains. In the series’ latest outing, there isn’t just one villain. Rather, there’s two; twin sisters Mickey and Lou, the joint leaders of the Highwaymen, the enemy faction in Far Cry New Dawn.
What Sets Mickey and Lou Apart From Previous Far Cry Villains
After Vaas and Hoyt Volker in Far Cry 3, the Far Cry series has featured charismatic dictator Pagan Min, and most recently Joseph Seed, the ‘Father’ of the Eden’s Gate cultists. Seed himself will be making a return in Far Cry New Dawn, but he won’t be the game’s primary antagonist. That role will be filled by new characters Mickey and Lou. This marks the first time that the Far Cry series has had a female main villain (although there have been several female secondary antagonists; Noore Najjar, for example, and both most recently and perhaps most effectively, Faith Seed).
In a recent interview with PlayStation Magazine, Jean-Sebastien Decant, the game’s director, said that players will “love to hate” the new villains; “It’s super interesting to try and find new, fresh takes each time and it’s been a while that we were toying with the idea of having a female villain. […] I was looking for a way to change the dynamic of the moments you spend with the villain. We had a lot of [one-on-one encounters] so could we have something where there are two characters that are straight in your face? And the idea of two siblings, you know? They have their own world and you get into that world. That was the initial starting point… You’re going to love to hate [them].”
The Story of Mickey and Lou, Leaders of the Highwaymen
In a separate interview, scriptwriter and Narrative Designer Olivia Alexander spoke about the twins and their backstory with Geek.com. During that interview, she gave fans an idea of what has shaped Mickey and Lou into the villains which the players will be facing; “All the Far Cry villains are well-rounded,” she says; “maybe not well-adjusted, but they are well-rounded. A good villain always believes they are doing the right thing and they do whatever it takes to get there. Mickey and Lou were definitely shaped by the world they came up in. They were children when the bombs fell. They watched their own parents deal with it in completely separate ways.”
According to Alexander, it was Mickey and Lou’s father who founded the Highwaymen, the faction of raiders who will be the enemies of Far Cry New Dawn. However, the twins seem to have killed him and seized control for themselves; “Eventually the twins came upon a philosophy that there are only two kinds of people left in the world; people who make problems and people who solve them. Their dad became someone who was making a problem… and they solved it.”
When it comes to their mentality, the twins are apparently nihilists, but they aren’t all doom and gloom. Quite the opposite in fact. According to Alexander; “They’re about the party side of nihilism, where nothing matters so you may as well enjoy yourself even if it’s at the cost of people around you.”
It’s easy to see how people like that, with enough power at their disposal, could be excellent villains. Hopefully they can live up to the Far Cry standard for antagonists, but fans will be able to find out for themselves when the game launches on the 15th of February.