Far Cry 5 has been released in March for PC, PS4, and Xbox One, so we wanted to give it a little time to truly embrace the aspects of the game, beyond any potential marketing hype. We hope you enjoy our review.
After Ubisoft has made a detour with their naming and numbering, with their previous game Far Cry Primal, they are now back with the newest title of the franchise called Far Cry 5. So what can you expect? For the development of Far Cry 5 the Ubisoft team had been making use of the Dunia Engine again, which is a modified version of the CryEngine.
A story like a movie
What’s happening in Far Cry 5? If you’re not a stranger to the franchise, you know that Far Cry games come bundled with a fantastic story that tells a tale as if you’re in the cinema. Each Far Cry installment is entirely independent to each other and never has anything to do with a previous part. So if you never played a Far Cry game before, don’t be afraid that you won’t be able to keep up with the story.
The game takes place in the rural fictional Hope County in the state of Montana, US. Over there, the region has been taken over by a pseudo-religious doomsday cult and paramilitary terrorist organization called “Project at Eden’s Gate.” Also going by the acronym PEG, the cultists are usually referred to as “Peggies” by townsfolk and protagonists.
You’re a rookie trying to help a US Marshall to arrest the cult’s leader as the story begins but of course, it all goes wrong, and you barely make it out of the camp alive. I’m trying not to write down any spoilers, but the rest of the story resolved around liberating the area from the cultists, and of course, a lot more happens while you’re trying to do that. The story is full of authentic characters, and overall I really enjoyed it.
The game also inspired a live-action series called Far Cry 5: Inside Eden’s Gate with Greg Bryk, Kyle Gallner, and Alexis Santiago, which is available on Amazon Prime Video right now. You can watch the trailer here.
Companions to bring along
In Far Cry 5 you can recruit a bunch of partners to join you. They are split into four groups. Fangs for hire are the three animals that can fight with you, being a dog, a mountain lion, and a bear. Guns for hire are specialists, including three male and three female characters. You also have three available slots to recruit random fighters that you meet on your journey. For me, the companions in Far Cry 5 are an essential part of the whole game, and I think the overall feature is implemented rather well.
While the fangs for hire and guns for hire are story-related characters with a more complex personality and known abilities, the fighters are random in appearance and skills. If you see a fighter that seems cool, you can hire them on the spot. If you don’t, you’ll not meet them again. You’ll be able to see what weapon the fighter is going to use based on the appearance but the unique traits will not be unlocked before they have defeated at least ten enemies. Could be something good – could be something that’s not useful. If you want to make room for additional fighters, you need to dismiss others before meeting new ones, or you will not be able to hire additional fighters.
Overall I’m pleased with the roster of specialists and the option to add in random fighters as well. They are fun to bring along, and they have very unique personalities and ways of fighting so you can change your team to match your gameplay and tactics. At first, you can only bring a single companion with you, but later in the game, you can unlock a second slot. Giving commands to your team members feels a little bit like in Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Wildlands but is a lot simpler than that. Bring a stealth specialist or a combat pilot, or both, it’s up to you. I ended up with Jess Black and Peaches the mountain lion as I enjoy stealthy, sneaky attacks, but you can change your team at any given time if the situation requires it.
Far Cry 5 Gameplay
I feel like Ubisoft had been trying hard in Far Cry 5 not to make players feel like the missions are repetitive. Repeating the same thing over and over was a point of critique for them in the past for various franchises, and I feel like they are trying to address that. There is a lot to do and explore in Far Cry 5, but I really didn’t feel like it’s just working down the list. I would dare to say that this latest installment of the franchise even feels a little bit like Fallout games when it comes to questing and exploring the open world map (and it is truly open).
They kept some of the classics like “capture the outpost” but mostly the challenges and missions feel unique and meaningful. If you ever feel like the game is being too hard, you can just decrease the difficulty. After all, we all play differently. Some like a challenge and others just want to flow through without too much sweating, and that’s fine. I also like how vehicles, including cars, helicopters, and planes, were included but it’s still fun to walk around.
Character progression
You can create your own character, including the option to play as a female. The character creation is very basic, but they give you some more options for your outfit at least. I guess that’s okay too, as you won’t see much of your character in a first-person-shooter (FPS) anyway.
As you level up, complete challenges, and fulfill missions, you are awarded with money and skill points. You can spend skill points on learning new traits, and you can spend money to buy gear, vehicles, upgrades, and customization. Of course, you can still go hunting in the mountains of Montana, but the crafting is limited to consumables. You can, however, sell animal skins and get money to buy new gear.
Overall, the character progression is classic and lovable. You start as the underdog rookie and fight your way up to help the resistance get rid of the cult and win back their towns.
Summary
I really enjoyed Far Cry 5 and spent many hours playing it. If you’re interested in playing the game with a twist, you should look into the DLCs as well which are seemingly about the Vietnam War (Hours of Darkness), a Mars expedition in the future (Lost on Mars), and a classic zombie apocalypse scenario(Dead Living Zombies). It’s also worth noting that Far Cry 5 comes with a multiplayer function and an arcade mode which is exciting but wasn’t in focus of this review.
If you’re intrigued now, you can play it yourself. Check your favorite store or online retailers for prices and sales. Right now Amazon has a 42% discount, allowing you to buy the game for $34.99 in the standard edition which is really good value in my opinion. Have fun and see you in Hope County! 🙂
YouTube: Far Cry 5 Launch Gameplay Trailer | Ubisoft [NA]
YouTube: Far Cry 5 Story Trailer | Ubisoft [NA]
Photo credit: All images used are owned by Ubisoft and were provided for press usage.
Editorial notice: The author has spent more than 20 hours playing the game before writing this review.
