Far Cry 5: Stupid Fun, But Wasted Potential

After the massive success of Far Cry 3, Ubisoft had set a high standard for any future installments, which led the mixed reception of Far Cry 4 as it didn’t change much from it’s predecessor. That being said, I’ve always seen the Far Cry franchise as the fun summer blockbusters of the gaming industry. They aren’t going to win Game of the Year, but gamers won’t deny that they had a blast with it. While Far Cry 4 wasn’t a huge step up from the previous installments, I still had a hell of a time. So now this brings us to Far Cry 5, and much hype has been built for this since it’s announcement in 2017. While Far Cry 5 can be adrenaline pumping and exhilarating, it’s also an inconsistent mess. For every great thing Ubisoft adds, it gets bogged down by one or two questionable design choices.

Far Cry 5 takes place in the fictional Hope County, Montana. Right off the bat, the biggest change to the series is the U.S. setting. While it’s a change in locale, players will still get plenty of the familiar Far Cry experience in the fictional Hope County due to its rural American setting. If there’s one thing Ubisoft excels in, it’s their environmental design. Far Cry 5 is no different. Exploring Montana is a joy to traverse through, from it’s large open fields to it’s lush green forests. With yet another fully realized ecosystem, Hope County is one of Ubisoft’s greatest achievements. The wide open landscapes had me in awe each time I parachuted down to my objective, and majority of the time I could actually visit a section I could see in the distance. The removal of a mini-map further improves exploration as it now forces the player to see what’s in front of them, rather than the objectives around them.

Far Cry 5’s narrative is relatively straightforward, as a Sheriff’s Deputy, we are tasked with heading Hope County and arresting Joseph Seed, the leader of a mysterious cult named Project at Eden’s Gate. Rumors have been spreading that the cult members have been kidnapping and mind controlling the citizens. Our deputy will look like how we want them to, as it’s a player made protagonist for the first time in the series. Unfortunately, the customization options are lacking in variety. Facial features are minimal, and there is only about 9 different hairstyles to choose from. After The Division and Ghost Recon: Wildlands, I’m starting to realize how terrible Ubisoft’s character customization options are. It would have been nice to at least give our character a voice, but sadly, we are stuck with a silent protagonist. The usual explanation is that we can reflect ourselves onto the character, but I’ve always found this to be a cop out answer. This is made all the more disappointing as the majority of Far Cry 5’s side characters are likeable and have three dimensional personalities. It’s sad when the random NPC driving a pick-up truck has more personality than our main protagonist, but I digress.

Upon trying to arrest Seed, things go south immediately (duh). The opening sequence really had me on the edge of my seat, and it was a great way to introduce Seed to the player. When it comes to the recent entries in Far Cry series, the villains are it’s biggest selling point. Joseph owns every scene he’s in and it always brings an unsettling presence. He spouts scripture and the end of times, which is enough to get an entire cult army to follow him and his ideals. It logically doesn’t make a whole lot of sense that he could recruit as many followers as he does, but it wouldn’t be a video game if there weren’t plenty of bad guys to take down. Joseph does serve his purpose to get the story going, but as the game goes on, him and his other 3 lieutenants (John, Jacob, and Faith) become an absolute bore. Joseph could’ve been a very interesting antagonist thanks to a wonderful performance by Greg Byrk, but he fails for one exact reason: a silent protagonist. A good hero always needs a good villain, and vice versa. The reason past villains like Vaas and Pagan Min worked so well is due to their connection with the main character. Jason Brody in Far Cry 3 wasn’t the greatest protagonist, but his motivations were still made clear. When Vaas is speaking to the camera, we all know he’s speaking directly to Jason and it enhances the context of the situation. The monologues in Far Cry 5 become long, drawn out, and even awkward since there is no connection from our player to them.

This is quite disappointing considering how much the narrative had been promoted by Ubisoft, even going as far as doing a short film prior to release. That being said, it doesn’t take away from the core Far Cry experience. As with past games, the appeal has always been giving players a giant sandbox and weapons to play with. How they choose to take the world on is their choice. Far Cry 5 also allows players to experience the entire campaign in co-op. Unfortunately, story progress only gets added for the host player, but perks and money will still carry over for the visiting player. In 2018, it is discouraging that these obstacles still exist in co-op, but nevertheless, experiencing this world with a friend is an absolute joy. The game also brings back the Guns For Hire system, making it actually appealing this time. There are 9 main companions to unlock, each with their own personalities and special abilities that give players an edge. Hurk was the most useful as whenever I was in a sticky situation, I would just tell Hurk to blow it up with his RPG. Explosions tend to be the solution most of the time in Far Cry. I appreciated how much character was given to these companions, as they always had some good banter during and between missions. The bow wielding Jess Black wasn’t a fan of how I brought Cheeseburger along with us. Cheeseburger is a bear by the way. Yes, the game has animal companions as well, and they are adorable!

After about 30 minutes of gameplay, players are given the entire map to explore, and can tackle the story missions in whatever order they feel like. Far Cry 5’s structure is what really sets this game apart from past entries. In previous titles (or most open world titles for that matter), all the objectives and side activities are laid out on the map for the player. Far Cry 5’s new approach is to make exploration more organic. This time around, sections on the map don’t open up until the player makes it there, replacing the radio towers from the past. This implements a satisfying feeling of adventure. Missions, characters, and outposts are not just thrown on the map from the start. They can only be found by either visiting that area, or hearing about them from random NPC encounters. The newest side activity, Prepper Stashes, were my favorite, which essentially mini treasure hunts that rely on environmental puzzles. These were a welcome change of pace from all the chaos. There is a common annoyance that occurs when trying to get these missions however. NPCs are scattered across the map that will give you missions, but if they are in conflict, be prepared to become irate. At any time, cultists will attack throughout the map. At first, the constant attacking of cultists was fun since it was so unpredictable, but after about 5 hours, it became irritating since all I wanted to do was talk to this NPC and be on my way. It almost made the game feel broken as NPCs would sometimes stay “in conflict” for a long time even after attack was over.

All this freedom in the game’s structure soon comes to a halt several times throughout the playthrough. Each of the 3 regions are controlled by one of Seed’s lieutenants. Completing missions and activities add onto a Liberation meter for each lieutenant. When each one of it’s four tiers are reached, the player is immediately dropped into a story mission for that lieutenant, disregarding whatever the player was doing at that time. I found this to be extremely frustrating since the game emphasizes player freedom so much. Add onto that, these missions aren’t even fun, aside from one mission on John’s side. Also, they all start with those boring monologues I mentioned earlier. The way the lieutenants just immediately captured me for the next mission is too unbelievable, and that says a lot coming from a Far Cry game. For example, a friend and I were in a helicopter in the air when I hit the next tier, and for some odd reason the screen starts to fade to black. We’ve been captured. While we were in a helicopter…these villains in the game would be amazing CIA agents if they can take anyone at a moment’s notice.

These story missions also pose another issue, which is the tone. Far Cry has always been about player made moments in a giant open world. Far Cry 5’s open world embraces this over the top nature, but yet still drops the player into sudden overly serious cutscenes that create a dissonance. Many of the side missions put me in some hilarious and ridiculous scenarios, but then the next minute I’m thrown into some significant cutscene that I couldn’t care less about. I just wanted to get back to stealthily taking down outposts with my mountain lion companion Peaches (she’s a good kitty).

Make no mistake, for all the issues Far Cry 5 has, I can’t say I didn’t have a ton of fun. The gunplay is still as solid as ever. Each of my shots feel weighty enough to make an impact, and the game also introduces melee combat. It’s a simple mechanic that doesn’t veer away from what’s expected in first person combat, but it’s a welcome addition. Traversal is as convenient as ever thanks to the introduction of helicopters and planes. The flying controls don’t require much skill, so it’s an accessible mechanic for anyone who wants to take the fight to the skies. Stealth once again is an attractive route to take as the player is rewarded with more money if an outpost is taken down without detection. I’ve always appreciated the simplicity to Far Cry’s stealth, and it hasn’t lost it’s charm yet. Enemy AI seems to more aggressive, as their field of vision is significantly enhanced. Whenever a dead body is spotted, they will tend to go in high alert, which makes the encounter that much more intense.

When missions are completed, the player is awarded Liberation points for the region and some cash. Notice I did not say XP. That is because XP is not awarded for completing missions or killing bad guys. Instead, skill points are earned by completing challenges. I’m okay with challenges that add another layer to the playthrough, but the fact that it’s required for leveling up is extremely irritating. Half of the abilities on the skills weren’t all that appealing either. At one point I had 19 unspent skill points that I just shrugged off. After the first half of the game, I had already acquired the abilities I wanted, meaning I didn’t have anything to truly look forward too. The animal crafting mechanic from previous entries has also been taken out, which is a disappointing in my opinion. It was the only time I would say the sentence, “I need to carry a 4th gun, so I need to go kill a bull shark.” Hunting in Far Cry 5 is only a necessity for gaining more cash. Cash isn’t too hard to come by, so I have to wonder why there are microtransactions implemented into the stores. Players can purchase Silver and use this currency to buy weapons and vehicles instead of using the cash earned throughout the game. It feels absolutely pointless and I don’t think it was the controversy it stirred up. Many gamers wrote this game off specifically for it’s microtransactions. This leads me to point out how much the gun selection is lacking. There’s no real incentive to buy Silver since many of weapons are generic and in short supply.

Far Cry 5 had the opportunity to revamp the series, but fails on many ends. This has nothing to do with the familiar feeling from past games. Quite honestly, I didn’t mind that it’s gameplay felt all too familiar, as I believe in the “if it’s not broken, don’t fix it” mentality to gaming. It’s the new mechanics and structure that had the chance to be something special, but were unsuccessful in their execution. It’s structure to exploration is it’s most innovative feature, but the constant and boring story missions bog it down. It’s intriguing and well acted villain is wasted due to a silent protagonist. Gunplay is tighter than ever, but the lack in weapon customization hinders it. I know there was a great game in Far Cry 5, but I can’t shake the feeling that it may have been unfinished. A large amount of missions felt uninspired. I think with more time, Far Cry 5 could have been something truly memorable. Nevertheless, there is so much fun to be had in Far Cry 5 with it’s cast of quirky characters and it’s large open world with so many possibilities. I would recommend Far Cry 5 once the price drops. To anyone who wants to have a good stupid time, go ahead and get the game, but be prepared for it’s irritating design choices.