Ubisoft’s reveal of Far Cry 5 shows us a game that promises to be the most polarizing installment in the highly successful franchise. The trailers and key art for the game have generated massive buzz within the gaming community, and also seen an outpouring of criticism from certain right-wing websites and conservative pundits for the depiction of its antagonists- a far-right religious militia cult that looks like a hip spawn of the Duck Dynasty.
Several on Twitter have even decried it as a ‘white genocide simulator’. Considering the exotic locales and indigenous enemies in the previous games, Far Cry 5 looks to make a prescient statement about the prevailing political scenario in the U.S., where extreme right-wing, chest-thumping, self-proclaimed patriot wackos like Richard Spencer and Alex Jones are increasingly finding relevance among the radical right.
Set in the lush, arcadian surroundings of the fictional Hope County in Montana, muscle cars, helicopters and right-wing militia rule the roost in Far Cry 5. The game has been developed by Ubisoft Montreal on the Dunia engine, a modified version of the CryEngine. Here is everything we know from Ubisoft’s reveal so far:
Plot- Domestic Terrorism
As explained before, a religious militia cult is at the forefront of Far Cry 5. You play as a Sheriff’s deputy who discovers that the doomsday cult, called ‘Eden’s Gate’ led by the preacher Seed has taken control of Hope County, using coercion and violence to forcibly convert the residents and keeping federal authorities out of bounds. Your job is to goad the locals into resisting Eden Gate with help from several residents opposed to Seed. But beware, several locals will join the militia cult group, so your task becomes more difficult than ever.
Open World Gameplay
Though more details have to be revealed for the gameplay, Far Cry 5 is expected to follow the same formula as in the previous versions. You can explore the open-world Montana, where there are wild beasts, bases to capture, heavy-duty vehicles to drive and even airplanes to get into dogfights. You can also hire non-playable characters (NPCs) and wild beasts through Guns for Hire and Fangs for Hire. A wide assortment of weapons, which includes new mêlée weapons like pitch forks, sledgehammers and baseball bats, as well as muscle cars, all-terrain vehicles, boats and planes.
Customizable Characters
For the first time ever, characters will be fully customizable in Far Cry 5. You can play as a man or a woman and select your race. To what extent the customizations would be possible, we have no idea yet, but the mere fact that you have an option to modify your character is exciting enough.
Solo and Co-Op Mode
In Far Cry 5, there will be an option to play the entire game in solo as well as co-op mode. This is a new development, since Far Cry 3 had a separate 4-player co-op campaign and Far Cry 4 had side missions for a 2-player co-op.
Map Editor
As in previous versions, you will be able to create your own campaigns with a map editor, which will have new features. What features these would be, have not yet been announced by Ubisoft.
Platforms
Far Cry 5 will be available on the PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC, with support for the PS4 Pro and Project Scorpio. PS4 players will have access to free bonus content while you will have to buy the content if on other platforms. Sadly, there won’t be any release for the Nintendo Switch.
Release Date
The game will be released on February 27, 2018.