Release Date: 27/03/2018
Played On: Win
Available On: PS4 / Win / XBO
Time Played: 36h 38m
Progress: 100% Complete
Developer: Ubisoft Montreal / Ubisoft Toronto
Publisher: Ubisoft
It's no secret that I’m a big fan of the big budget open world games we've come to expect from some of the most popular series in gaming. What I love most is the amount of detail and deliberate effort that has gone into creating a world. It's something unique to 'triple A' games in particular, as they have the team and budget to make it happen in a way that wouldn't otherwise be possible.
Of course, I'm always defending Assassin's Creed for their meticulous recreations of historical real world locations. I'm currently playing through AC: Unity, and running around a revolution-era Paris couldn't be more satisfying. As much as I am drawn to the creativity and unique innovations of lower budget games, the sheer scale of big hand-crafted open worlds seem to be the domain of large teams working on blockbuster series.
You might be thinking that Far Cry 5 is just another big open world to explore with little substance and a whole lot of collectibles and busy-work. You might be right, but I'm cool with that. In fact, I'd even go so far as to say that the Far Cry series manages to stand a little apart from most other big open world games, as it's had an odd trajectory over the years.
I remember bumping into a friend at a supermarket many years ago, and they were rabbiting on about this new game: Far Cry. At the time it was the system buster that benchmarked whether or not you had a top of the line PC capable of playing the most cutting edge games. It might seem weird to think about in those terms, but back then we didn't expect every game to run at full specs on every system. Plus, there was a greater difference between low and high-end graphics, while these days everything looks pretty good either way.
So I always thought of Far Cry as the kind of game that only serious gamers would play, as they'd have spent serious money on their rigs to get it running. It took me a year or so to build my own beastly PC, so one of the first games I ran to test it out was Far Cry.
Aside from the realistic foliage and mind-blowing lighting (for the time), this game felt unlike anything else I had ever played. We already had open world Grand Theft Auto games, but they were a little slapstick compared to Far Cry's serious mercenary vibe. The thought of being lost on an island and having to make your own way out, was pretty novel for me at the time.
However, the game that really sold me on the Far Cry franchise, was the second instalment that really got the series rolling. I always hear a lot of people complain about Far Cry 2, but I think it was because it tried to do a lot of different things that we hadn't seen before. The first game lost me toward the end, as it pulled a Return to Castle Wolfenstein and brought in monsters and weird themes. It was still hanging on to the kind of story telling that games were doing at the time, like that weird boss at the end of Half-Life that made no sense. It's like we hadn't figured out that you can tell a good story in a big game yet.
Thus, when Far Cry 2 started off with a long drive into a politically distraught African nation built on realism, it didn't take long to realise that something else was going on. Pretty soon you get to meet an ensemble of characters that inhabit this world, and learn more about the man that's pulling the strings. This was the reason you were here, to hunt the war-monger and take him down.
It's why I love Far Cry 2 so much, as it takes itself seriously and you have to approach every situation in a realistic way. It certainly had its own problems, but it was the start of something unique and wonderful in the big budget open world genre.
Unfortunately though, Far Cry 3 and 4 felt like cookie cutter clones of each other, and polished out some of the grit from Far Cry 2. I enjoyed 3 and 4, but their protagonists were annoying and the series fell into the traps of its own creation. There were towers to climb, bases to take over, and a whole lot of arbitrary collectibles that eventually felt overwhelming and pointless.
Even though I enjoy the loop of completing tasks and collecting junk in a huge open world, I'm not going to pretend like there are better things to be doing in games. I understand why there's a lot of noise about how much these games suck, but I have far too much fun running around big worlds to every be bothered by that stuff. So when I say that I think Far Cry 5 might be as good as Far Cry 2, it isn't without caveats.
Thankfully, the first thing about Far Cry 5 that shows a major improvement, is that it's not a straight clone of Far Cry 3 and 4. Some thought has been given to how this story could be told in a different way, and how the player might interact with the typical open world map filled with objectives and icons.
The basic premise of the game is that there's a cult of fanatics who are gaining power and control over a remote county in Montana USA. I heard that a lot of Americans found the local setting quite confronting, but as I'm not an American, it didn't seem all that different to any other. Although, I have to say that it's nice to be facing a white/western enemy instead of the typical fall back on crazy Asians or Arabs. Kudos to the writers for trying to change it up and not take the safe route of "acceptable bad guys".
Anyway, you roll into the county with your police buddies to arrest the cult's leader, and unsurprisingly everything goes wrong. Once again you're stranded on your own in a hostile environment and tasked with surviving and completing your mission. Story-wise it's the typical arc we've come to expect in the series, but it works well enough and provides enough context to keep the game moving.
This time though, the map is split into three main zones within the county, each controlled by a different mini-boss. It feels a lot like Ghost Recon: Wildlands, as you need to complete enough missions in each zone to then had a shot at taking out the boss. Once you take out all three, you get to go face the cult leader again, which completes the game's story.
The fun thing about this change is that there isn't always a single path to take if you want to advance the story, Instead, any number of actions in a particular territory will advance a danger meter. As the meter fills, the enemies will actively hunt for you more aggressively and with greater capabilities. Eventually they'll have helicopters and planes flying around to try and spot you, which really adds to the ever-present danger of each zone. Once you defeat the boss it gets a lot safer, as local militias and rebels take territory back from the cult's control.
Maybe you're like me though, and tend to ignore the main path in favour of side quests and exploration. In previous entries, it's been possible to rampage around the map for long stretches of time and never make a move on the primary questline. As much as that's how I tend to play, it can be a little disheartening when you finally go to face the endgame, only to learn that you're overpowered and steamroll the big finish.
With everything contributing to the overall progression to each zone's boss, it's impossible to avoid facing the main story. I tried to explore and complete side objectives for as long as I could, but after a while teams of enemies will be sent after you to hunt you down. It's possible to fight them off for a while, but even if you do, you'll be captured by an unseen foe and forced to face each boss.
Despite the lack of control and being forced into certain situation, I actually enjoy this change. Mostly because it makes sense that you'd only be able to hold out for a finite amount of time before a superior force manages to overcome you. It helped build a sense of unease throughout the campaign, as I was always keenly aware that my actions were pushing things forward whether I wanted them to or not.
Don't worry though, if you want to head off into the wilderness and explore, there are many opportunities to slow down and do whatever you want. Once an area's boss has been defeated, the zone is open to complete and explore. Plus, there's a significant chance to finish off everything before the final showdown, and it's signposted from a mile away. So if you're like me and want to tick everything off the list before the credits roll, you can still get it done.
The other noticeable change in Far Cry 5 is that it's clearly been built from the ground up with co-op play in mind. I'm not the audience for this kind of gameplay, so I don't know how well it works with a co-op partner, but there are a range of AI partners to find and unlock around the county. At the same time, just about any friendly NPC can be recruited as a gun-for-hire to accompany you on your journey.
I was sceptical about this system when I started playing, mostly because the co-op features that have been included in the past have been lacklustre at best. Besides, most games that have AI co-op partners tend to get annoying after a while thanks to repetitive quips and comments, and frustrating pathing that always traps you in corners.
Fortunately for Far Cry 5, they made the wise decision of creating three unique AI co-op partners who are animals. There are nine AI partners to unlock in the game, but the six human ones will drive you crazy with how much they rabbit on with the same few lines of dialogue. It's one element I never understand about big budget games, as they never seem to spend enough of the budget on recording more things for NPCs to say. Some of the AI partners in Far Cry 5 seem to only have three or four lines in total, and they repeat them every ten seconds or so. It's one of the most annoying things about the game.
However, there are three animal AI partners who say little more than a random growl or a bark here and there. Once I had two of the three unlocked, I never took another human partner with me for the rest of the game. It's a shame because each of the nine unique partners were designed to have different skills and abilities. There's the stealthy girl who uses a bow and arrow to pick off enemies. There's the redneck with a flamethrower who shouts and blows things up. There's a dude in a plane, a woman in a helicopter, and so on.
It would have been nice to change partners depending on what I was doing at the time, but they never shut up. Even during mission dialogues they would interrupt and start talking over whatever interesting information another NPC was talking about. So I eventually stuck with the dog (who can sneak into bases and spot enemies without triggering alarms), and either the cougar (stealthy and quiet killing machine) or the bear (loud and powerful tank killing machine). At least they could easily be ignored and didn't interrupt dialogue I was trying to listen to.
Speaking of which, the side quests in Far Cry 5 run the gamut of activities that we're all used to seeing, and were some of the most entertaining missions in the game. It's nice to see that the game leaned into its regional America setting, as there are some truly funny rednecks to get involved with. In a lot of ways is makes more sense to run into wackos out in nowhere-county-USA than the exotic foreign lands of previous titles.
On one hand it's the kind of open world structure that you will recognise, but on the other hand there has to be some kind of short-hand to understanding the complexity of all these systems working together. There are still enemy controlled bases that need to be liberated, and there are still collectibles to be found all over the map.
One of the more interesting collectibles involves finding 'prepper stashes', which are hidden in bunkers all over the county. Some effort has been made to try and make these treasure hunts a little more interesting, as it's not as simple as just travelling to a point on the map. Instead you must read a clue left behind that hints at how to access a nearby bunker. Some have been flooded and need emptying, while others need the power turned on from generators in other locations. Most are simple enough to figure out, but a couple made me scratch my head and think more than just following directions. I appreciate having to work for the reward, even if the work is easy. At least it makes life a little more interesting.
In a similar way, it feels like the developers have really enjoyed having drugs involved in each game since Far Cry 3. These opiate fuelled sequences are often some of the most memorable parts of the game, as everything is up for grabs. It's where Far Cry is allowed to go from authentic realism, to bat-shit crazy creativity. I really liked this aspect of previous games, and I really like it in Far Cry 5 as well.
Basically the cult spends a lot of its time developing a drug called "Bliss" that is an extract from flowers that can be found all over the county. It's refined into a form that has certain effects on behaviour when taken. It makes people more open to suggestion, while emboldening others to be stronger.
In some ways it could be seen as an easy device that explains why people would follow a psychotic religious cult. In other ways, it provides an excuse for stronger enemies and animals that offer different gameplay experiences. Apparently a hopped up moose really is a force to be reckoned with.
As far as playing the game is concerned, some of the most interesting moments had something to do with the drug. If you wander into a field of bliss flowers, your vision starts to distort and music starts playing in the distance. In fact, my favourite part of Far Cry 5 is largely fuelled by the inclusion of Bliss and its influence on the game's story.
Each zone's boss has a particular role to play in the cult's operations, which again feels a lot like Ghost Recon: Wildlands. There's the dude who runs the militia, the other dude who seems to recruit and brainwash members, and then there's the girl who manufactures Bliss and spouts propaganda.
The two dudes are typical bad guy dudes, but the girl known as Faith seemed to have a little more depth applied. When you're in her zone, she appears out of nothing and talks to you in a sweet, kind voice. Her presence is always accompanied by calming music and the distorted reality of the drug, giving her an ethereal identity that's a bit more interesting to me than the typical violent psychopath we see.
Although, Faith is without a doubt a psychopath, but she comes to you with smiles and blind faith in the saving grace of her religion. It's like looking into an innocent dog's eyes as they are taken with devotion. Except, Faith has a psychotic streak in her, which reveals itself more and more as you continue dismantling her influence over others.
What's more, thanks to her ties with the drug, the scenes where you interact with Faith are often unique and taken out of the typical authenticity. This is where the game is allowed to take you in any direction and get creative with its setting. The final fight against Faith is one of the most unrealistic (but ultimately enjoyable) fights in the game.
Faith's role in Far Cry 5 is an important one in my opinion, as she represents the creation of an excellent character, who isn't the main antagonist. While the cult leader you're always gunning for is compelling and interesting in his own right, he's a single note in the story. The series has done well at creating antagonists that you end up wanting to kill, but they've often let side characters fade away in relative obscurity. Faith might be the first time I've been more interested in a secondary character than the main villain; even if you consider Far Cry 3's Vas to be a secondary character.
I'd hate to take away the experience of getting to know Faith in her drug fuelled scenes, but there's more to her than I initially thought. She comes off as a crazy white girl, obsessed with religion and taken in by corrupt manipulators. After a while though, the veneer cracks a little and we are treated to Faith's inner monologue of distress and victimisation. Turns out she's just as messed up as you might expect, but not without an edge of sympathy. There's a tragic history to her story that stands at odds with the magical setting we see her in, but maybe I'm reading too much into her character. Let's just say that by the time I was done with Faith, I just about wanted to join her cult. The success of her character is that I felt sad for her by the time I had defeated her, which I can't say I've felt for many other video game enemies.
It needs to be said though, none of the game's characters would be as convincing if they didn't have such an incredible soundtrack to accompany them. Sure there's the typical range of licensed redneck rock songs on car radios and the like, but it's Far Cry 5's original score that really takes the cake.
I often overlook original soundtracks on big open world games, as they tend to favour a generic sound that does its job, but is forgettable once the credits roll. Even in previous Far Cry settings like Nepal, the soundtrack didn't really stand out that much and I have a hard time remembering it. However, I can't help hearing the ethereal drug induced Jesus music of Far Cry 5 involuntarily every now and then.
This is a soundtrack that seats the game perfectly in its setting, which seems difficult when it doesn't involve exotic sounds. Instead, most of the score is driven by steel guitars and gospel. Think of a lonely blues guitar being plucked on a farm in the middle of nowhere, add a whole lot of reverb and ambient foundations, and you might have an idea about what I mean. The audio landscape for the game is wide and expansive, while being instantly recognisable as regional America.
What really takes the cake though, is the theme that creeps in when Faith shows up, or you're losing yourself in a Bliss fuelled dream. It's probably just a matter of taste, but I could listen to that ambient dreamscape on repeat for hours on end. I often lament how sound design can be ignored sometimes in video games, so it's nice to be completely taken in for a change. Every now and then I found myself closing my eyes and listening to the simple refrain of the Bliss themed loading screen.
It would be enough to say that the original score in Far Cry 5 is excellent and compliments the game wonderfully. Then again, I don't think that does it enough justice, so let's say it's just about as good as I think a soundtrack can get. Even though I often listen to game soundtracks, I can't remember the last time I went looking for a big budget game's soundtrack. Usually it's the little indies that pull out the unique and beautiful scores, but I'm keen to add Far Cry 5's dreamy take on Americana to the library.
Despite all that, I'm not about to pretend that Far Cry 5 still has most of the same systems as before, and most of the mechanics feel the same. The bulk of the main gameplay loop is exactly what you would expect from a Far Cry game, which will go a long way to determine your enjoyment in such a game. However, I feel like there's enough of a shift in some key areas that make this one of the most compelling entries in the series.
There are still minor annoyances that might put some people off, like the constant harassment from generic enemy grunts. I remember people complaining about how quickly guard posts were repopulated in Far Cry 2, making them annoying to navigate around instead of fun to encounter. The same could be said for Far Cry 5's roaming groups of cultist enemies, but it kind of makes sense in the context of the game's world. Besides, once an area has been liberated, the annoying bands of enemies all but disappear, so I didn't get too bothered by them.
It's interesting to see how big open world games change over time, or how much they stay the same. Of course one of the downsides to big budget games is how safe they play it, as there doesn't seem to be as much money in taking risks. I'm not the kind of gamer who minds all that much though, as the benefits tend to outweigh the flaws. If you're the kind of gamer who hates how generic and predictable big budget games can be, then this probably isn't going to change your mind.
As a big fan of huge open worlds with heaps to explore and discover, I think Far Cry 5 can be applauded for being one of the best in recent times. It's not even as big as some of its contemporaries, but what it lacks in size is made up for with a little more attention to detail.
The writing is better, the treasure hunting is better, the original score is brilliant, and I enjoyed every minute I spent in Far Cry 5. For once I'm happy I bought a blockbuster game not too long after release, even if I did wait for a discount. I think I'd be just as happy if I'd paid full price, which says more than perhaps any other words can.
This is a GOTY contender, fair and square.