First person shooter video games have been a very popular genre, specifically with series such as “Call of Duty;” however, there is one series that takes the first-person formula, spices it up with unique gameplay changes in every new addition and throws a challenging story in as well. That formula is defined perfectly in “Far Cry 5.”
The “Far Cry” video game series has been regarded as a very popular series. Taking place in exotic locations such as tropical islands, Africa, the Himalayas and the stone age, each game focuses on a character who must survive their environment while fighting off villainous forces ranging from primate mutations, pirates, mercenaries, barbarians, drug lords and dictators. The series is also known for having complex main villains such as Vaas Montenegro, who has been regarded as one of the most iconic video game characters of all time.
With “Far Cry 5,” the series took a different approach by having the game set in Montana and its villains being members of a militaristic doomsday cult. When it was first announced on May 26, 2017, the game and its developer, Ubisoft, were met with controversy as people claimed that its depiction of the villains and white, non-military American cultists were depicting issues in today’s political climate; however, it’s highly unlikely that the inspiration for this game came from modern issues as it usually takes four years for a game like this to be developed.
When it was released on March 27, “Far Cry 5” quickly became the best-selling game in the series, as it made $310 million in sales in it’s first week. This made “Far Cry 5” the second highest first-week launch Ubisoft has ever had. It was also reported that Youtubers and streamers on Twitch streamed 55,000 hours of the game in the first week.
Not to mention, the game received positive reviews from critics with sites such as Gamespot giving it a nine out of 10 and IGN giving it an 8.9 out of 10.
Taking place in the fictional Hope County, “Far Cry 5” follows a U.S Marshal deputy, who the player can customize in a variety of ways, as they lead a county-wide fight against The Project of Eden’s Gate. After an attempt to arrest the project’s leader, Joseph Seed, goes horribly wrong, the deputy is trapped in Hope County with no means of communication to the outside world.
After being saved by a member of the resistance named Dutch, the deputy finds out that three of their colleagues are held hostage by the Eden’s Gate and they are stepping up their activities with Joseph, claiming that the world’s end is approaching. The deputy then bands with the resistance to rise up, take back Hope County, rescue their friends and bring Joseph to justice for his crimes.
Gameplay
There are a lot of changes and improvements to the “Far Cry” formula in this game, both big and small, that are catered towards personalizing the experience for the player. For starters, the open world of Hope County is majestic and enormous, allowing for near limitless possibilities in terms of exploration.
The county is divided into three regions and each region is controlled by one of Joseph’s siblings: the Heralds. In each region, you must earn resistance points by completing story missions, liberating outposts, rescuing hostages and a variety of other tasks. Each time you fill a specific point of the resistance meter, the Herald of that region will step up their attacks. When you finally fill the meter, you’ll be able to fight them head on.
This is another welcome change because it shows that what you do actually makes a difference compared to just following missions in order like a machine. It made me feel like I was inspiring the good citizens of Hope County to rally with me to take back their home.
Unlike past “Far Cry” games where the player must access radio towers to reveal locations on the map such as hunting spots and outposts, Ubisoft ditches that and allows the player to search for these locations themselves. This will make the player want to explore Hope County more, talk to other characters and get a sense of adventure, thus personalizing the experience further.
The XP system has also been replaced with a perk system. With this addition, players must earn perk points by completing challenges or finding perk magazines. The player can use these points to purchase upgrades, such as increased health, a grappling hook, a wing suit, increased carrying capacity and so much more. While a little tedious, I feel that it adds more to the exploration part of the game which is a refreshing addition.
Another unique change that I loved is the “Guns/Fangs for Hire” system. Now, players can recruit specific characters and animals to fight alongside them in the fight against Eden’s Gate. Each character or animal has their own unique set of skills that can be very helpful in combat and they’re very interesting to get to know.
They can even revive you if you go down during a firefight, but you’ll also have to do the same for them. If they die, they become unavailable for a few minutes. While it was annoying a couple of times, I really like this addition because it makes the combat more realistic, since your companions have limited health just like you.
Hope County is also littered with a plethora of other activities if you ever need a breather from fighting Eden’s Gate. Want to break out the old fishing rod? Head to a local fishing spot and fish to your heart’s content. Do you need extra cash or weapons? Go hunting and sell your skins in the shops or locate prepper stashes across the county.
My favorite aspect would have to be the fact that the story missions aren’t in any specific order. You can tackle any region you want and whatever missions you want whenever you want. This truly defines the freedom that this game provides and truly makes this journey entirely your own.
“Far Cry 5” is basically tailored to your desires and the gameplay is living proof of that.
Characters
Hope County is littered with a lot of interesting people. The Guns for Hire have their own unique methods, personalities and motivations, while the non-playable characters are just as remarkable. This makes sense considering that Ubisoft went to Montana to scout locations for the game and fell in love with it based on the landscape and the people they met.
However, the highlight of this game’s characters are the villains.
As stated earlier, the “Far Cry” series is famous for their villains. So much so that they are in all the advertisements and even on the cover of the games themselves. In “Far Cry 5,” not only is Joseph Seed complex and interesting, but his siblings, John, Jacob and Faith Seed are just as if not more intriguing than him.
Joseph Seed has a very disturbing yet interesting backstory that will send chills down your spine the more you learn about him. His belief of doomsday approaching and his claim that God chose him to save people becomes more clear and identifiable as the story goes on.
In addition, his transition from a calm, composed and confident leader to a full-blown, unhinged psychopath flows as perfectly as a river. His voice actor, Greg Bryk, does such an amazing job bringing Joseph Seed to life that he literally becomes The Father.
Joseph Seed’s younger brother and Eden’s Gate’s self-proclaimed Baptist, John Seed, is probably the most disturbing and sadistic individual in the game. Creative Director Dan Hay, in an editorial with IGN, described John Seed as a man who has been through almost everything. So much so that he embraces pain with open arms, sees himself as invincible and has nothing left to lose.
His belief in “The Power of Yes” is probably the most disturbing thing I’ve heard in this game.
When he meets the player and Joseph Seed emphasizes how special the player is to him, this adds more tension to John Seed’s character. Hay says this is because it makes him jealous of the player and is determined to find out why they’re so special.
“He looks at the player and says, ‘Why are you so special,’” Hay said. “‘Why does he give a shit about you?’ And then he says, ‘Well, I’ll find out. I’ll crack you open and I’ll find out what’s inside.’”
Jacob Seed, the oldest of the Seed brothers, is Eden’s Gate’s recruiter and head of security. A veteran of the Gulf War, Jacob Seed’s time in the military taught him one thing: only the strong survive. As a result, he dedicates himself to “culling the herd” to ensure that Eden’s Gate’s army remains strong.
While I have seen this motivation in countless other villains, Jacob Seed’s methods are much different and intimidating. His reliance on starving his victims combined with torture and psychological conditioning create a nightmarish aura around him. His backstory and war experiences also amplify that aura a hundred-fold.
While the Seed brothers are very intriguing and multi-layered, their adopted sister, Faith Seed is probably the best out of all of them. Known as the Siren, Faith Seed is a master of manipulation who poisons people’s minds with a drug called Bliss and convinces the newest captors of Eden’s Gate to take her pilgrimage.
Faith Seed’s title is well earned as she is very mesmerizing, angelic and charismatic. While she is mostly seen in hallucination sequences, her cutscenes are one of my favorite parts of the game. They reveal more about her heartbreaking backstory. Her dialogue, combined with the beautiful setting that lured me in flawlessly, makes the manipulation even more realistic.
Even after she commits some horrific and murderous deeds, Faith Seed is still a very tragic villain who the player will come to feel sorry for. So much so that they will wish that there was an option to redeem her.
If you’ve been looking for villains who challenge your thinking and seem more like real people instead of one-dimensional monsters, than the Seed family will be up your ally.
Story
Even though the narrative of the story is determinant by how the player chooses to play, the story of “Far Cry 5” is very compelling and challenging. As the story goes on and the player continues to meet new characters, especially the Seed family, they will be left questioning whether they’re doing the right thing.
Most games usually keep the narrative simple and the line between good and evil clear. “Far Cry 5,” on the other hand, makes the line blurred. Personally, I think that it was a great choice because it reminded me a lot of the story and development of Jason Brody in “Far Cry 3.”
Throughout the game, Brody transitions from an average young adult who is terrified of killing someone to a hardened warrior. Near the end of the game, he begins to question what he has become and what his desire for revenge is doing to him.
This was the same for me when I first played “Far Cry 5.” Before I played it, I saw the Seeds as a family of sick psychopaths who needed to be stopped. As I got to know them more, I began to wonder whether they were right about the world coming to an end and whether fighting them was the right thing to do.
This is an aspect of the series that I absolutely love. No matter what happens, there are always consequences for your actions, some worse than others. The stories really challenge your morality and make you think about your choices rather than show your decisions as entirely good or evil.
It’s very rare to find games that make you think, but the ones that do are some of the best games out there. The “Far Cry” series is a perfect example of that and I can’t wait to see what else Ubisoft will have in store with future titles.
A fun and morally challenging game
Overall, “Far Cry 5” is a refreshing, beautiful and risk-taking addition to the franchise. Its gameplay changes are incredibly welcome, its villains are perfectly fleshed out and the writing is very taxing on the player’s morality.
What I loved the most about this game is that there’s no pre-determined main character. Since the main character is customizable, it felt like I was putting myself in the game. “Far Cry 5” made me feel like I was the Deputy.
