Far Cry 5

I wouldn't blame you if you forgot that I do videogame reviews too. It's been a while. 

I haven't reviewed a game yet in 2018 (a game that released in 2018 to be more specific) mainly because I was still playing Assassin's Creed Origins, dabbling in PUBG, and, perhaps regrettably, skipped over Monster Hunter World (which I may rectify this summer). And, if we're being fair, Far Cry 5 was the first major release of a year that's looking to very backloaded. 

As I glance over the game reviews I've done since 2013, Far Cry is tied with Assassin's Creed for the most iterations that I've covered. Assassin's Creed, also from Ubisoft, was a series that needed a major overhaul in order to survive and it paid off in dramatic fashion. Far Cry is a series that redefined itself with the all-time classic, Far Cry 3 and has focused a lot on its stories and worlds vs. its gameplay for quite some time now. 

Even still, I was pretty pumped for Far Cry 5 because this series has gameplay that was ahead of its time back in the day and fits in well with today's current games, but also due to its highly intriguing and potentially controversial setting. Ditching the common exotic locales (and time periods) of previous games, Far Cry 5 decided to go to the heart of the Montana Rocky Mountains to battle against a cult that has perversely twisted the Christian religion to their own agenda. For a series that honestly hasn't grown much in many years (but is still very fun), it seems their attempt to revamp interest was to make the impact close to home. 

But did it work? 

One big scope!

Fishing Simulator 2018

If you'd have asked me about 10-15 play hours ago I would have said, "Absolutely 100%". Now that I've made my way further in the decently long game -- and probably slightly tainted by the greatness of God of War too -- my answer is a bit less enthusiastic, but the series is still remarkably resilient. Even having enjoyed this last adventure though, I'm worried for the future because I think it's a series that has relied on unchanged gameplay for too long now and I firmly believe that, barring an unchanged course, it may bite them in the ass in a couple years. 

There's nothing blatantly bad in Far Cry 5. In fact, I'd go so far as to say there's nothing mediocre either. It's a great, unique experience in many ways that I'll elaborate more on below. That said, there is a degree of tiredness that begins to set in. It may be a personal complaint but I've felt it in each of the previous iterations to varying levels. I wouldn't say that the drop-off was as heavy as with Far Cry 4 to where I nearly stopped playing but after liberating my second of three portions of the map before facing off against the big bad, I had a brief moment of: "So I have to do all of this again?". Granted, I was never NOT having fun with the game but for a variety of reasons, I wasn't excited about what was next; the map is impressive, but largely the same, almost all weapons are unlocked and available early, and the skill tree is pretty standard with the best skills being easy to acquire before you hit the 50% mark. So truthfully it's the fact that the joy of the grind seems to come to a halt with far too much game left. Granted, I'm a bit of an MQA (Main-Quest-Avoider) so that I can beef up my character, so it's partly my own fault, but it's still a motivation drainer regardless. First step of this series overhaul may be to take the Borderlands approach and RPG the thing. If this series wants to survive, it'll have to figure out how to keep players coming back to their game in a world where there are literally "too many games".

Captures the Rocky Mountain country almost too well...

The supernatural/drug trip elements
didn't work for me this time

Far Cry's gameplay has always been a highlight, offering invigorating, often-intense gunplay through some awesome locales. Far Cry 5 doesn't add anything to that formula, but it's still amazing how tight all the controls are. Running, gunning, punching, climbing, flying, driving, etc. are all highly intuitive and feel great. Again, it's lost some of its luster given that there's been little addition, but I honestly can't complain here AND with my thoughtful RPG elements addition I think this is a super strong control base to continue build the series on. Similar to the gameplay, the world itself is exciting, particularly for someone familiar with the Rockies, such as myself. The game is technically set in Montana, but it might as well be Colorado all things considered and some of the accuracy in the aesthetics are eerie. One of the loading screens in particular (odd, I know) is a wooden church with an American flag out front, set against a vast green meadow within a mountain range. It connected with me immediately because those are some of the most grandiose moments you're likely to have in Colorado; when you're driving through the mountains and are simply looking out at the expanse of untouched land, wondering "What goes on here?". It's the landlocked version of looking out to the ocean and Far Cry 5's map captures the feeling of the midwest United States mountain region with great ease. The map itself may not be that varied outside of woodlands (I'm surprised there isn't a ski resort or something) so it does become hard to distinguish unique sections, but I found it to be consistently gorgeous, well organized, and memorable none the less.

Greeting the early morning sunrise. Murica!

Graphically, we have a similar situation too. Montana is a really impressive landscape and the vistas, animations, and effects are impressive, but largely unchanged from previous. Far Cry 3 wowed us with its, quite frankly, insane graphics back in the day but ever since the graphical improvements have been little by little. By now I may sound like a broken record when I say: "Yeah, the graphics are really solid, sometimes downright great, but they're not revolutionary." The same goes for the sound editing and music; it's universally really strong, but so have all the other Far Cry games (and a lot of other game series by this point). Where Ubisoft seemed to really push themselves with Origins and The Division in terms of graphical horsepower, I think they've settled for the status quo of their own game here. Luckily that status quo was already quite high, but...yet again...I'm not so sure that by the next game that'll be the case. 

Johnny Depp? Is that you?

So why then is Far Cry 5 my second favorite in the series (assuming you're not counting Blood Dragon) only to Far Cry 3? [This question becomes even more interesting when you look at my final score]. It's because of the antagonists. Ever since Vaas blew us away with an all-time classic villain in the third iteration, Ubisoft (and other games) have tried to capture that magic. This time around, it seems like the developers realized that recapturing the same magic was pointless/really difficult so a new type of antagonist needed to exist. Enter Joseph Seed and his cult, Eden's Gate, run by his family, John, Faith, and Jacob Seed. Joseph himself is a mysterious character that you rarely interact with outside of the first few minutes of the game, but his stoic tendencies of being calm and controlling his hatred and rage make him all the more dangerous. He's almost the polar opposite of Vaas. His family members, who each own a region of the map, fare from forgettable (Faith) to really strong (John) and each has their own distinct "thing" that makes them scary. The game, particularly John and Jacob, goes to some dark, perverse areas where the Christian region is twisted and mangled not all that much further past the Westboro Baptist Church (without really any focus on any particular politically risque topic) and you begin to wonder how this cult has gotten away with all of this within the United States. As things get fairly crazy, you're forced to realize this scenario would have been shut down 12 times over by the National Guard, but hey, that takes out all the fun. Much like Far Cry 3, the main thing I'll remember Far Cry 5 for is the story and its villains. It was a bold move to go in this direction, specifically within the United States, and while other elements of the game are unchanged and thus somewhat forgettable, some of the key elements of which the series is built on are reinvigorated. 

My gun is red, white, and blue! F**k yeah!

I'd also be remiss if I didn't mention the quirky multiplayer component. While I didn't partake in any of the co-op playthrough, I did dabble a decent amount in the solo/MP "Arcade" mode they've created. In this mode, you can play single player unique missions or MP maps in the traditional style -- some not remotely related to Far Cry at all. You can also go play "Arcade Hero" where you're essentially testing out player-designed maps/missions for bonus points. It's a super smart feature and despite almost every level I played being broken, it was zany to play a half-made level and still find myself having some fun. Or playing a Team Deathmatch on a wildly small map. Truthfully, this component will live or die on how Ubisoft fosters its growth and supports users who want to contribute. Currently I don't see much of that support, but Ubisoft has also been probably THE best company for post-launch support with many of their recent titles -- so it may just be a matter of time. 

Taking a moment to reflect...

Far Cry 5 was such an odd game for me because while I adore it as one of the strongest additions in a series that I love, I also feel fatigued by the sameness of it all. It aims high for its antagonist and setting, both of which land well, but its gameplay that's hardly changed in any significant way is beginning to catch up with it. Where it used to be the "Top of its class" there, it now sees heavy competition and other games pushing the boundaries of making the grind not feel like one and pushing players gaming satisfaction. Personally, Far Cry 5 feels like the last game in the series that could get away with some sort of substantial overhaul because by the time the next one comes out, it'll quickly fade to old news unless it reinvents. 

Only time will tell...

CONS

• The gameplay has only seen slight additions/changes since Far Cry 2. That's a long time
• While I enjoyed the map, it's not as varied as I was hoping
• Some of the Seed family works better than others. I found Faith Seed to be underwhelming
• The supernatural-esque elements really didn't fit into this game
• A unbalanced progression system. I had nearly every worthwhile upgrade unlocked by the time I ended the second of three regions and I'd also used every gun
• Progressively gets a bit tired after the 20 hour mark
• The stealth felt off in this game. Not "harder" but cheaper almost. There were times I was "found" by doing literally nothing
• Gorgeous loading screens ruined by dumb images/quotes from the Seed family

PROS

• Features the most memorable antagonist since Vaas with Joseph Seed and his family (whom are mostly also intriguing)
• Throwing away the details that this would have never escalated to the level it does in the U.S., the story is worthwhile and interesting given that it's in the mountains of the U.S.
• Exciting map that's vast and captures the look, feel, and often eeriness of the Rockies superbly well 
• The gameplay, while unchanged, is still great. All elements of it control like a dream
• Gun customization is new I believe and I always enjoy the ability to do that
• In classic Far Cry fashion, it still has moments of intensity that are often random and unexpected
• A unique MP experience that could turn into something really grand if Ubisoft supports it right
• Impressive graphics and sound editing. Original music is also surprisingly moving
• It's one of the best entries in one of gaming's best series -- but also one that is the signal that changes are needed next time around

Rath's Review Score | 8.5/10