Games
We recently had a chance to go hands-on with the first few hours of Far Cry 5, while also gaining access to the developers. Here's our thoughts so far, and all you need to know!
We’ve talked a bit about the development side of Far Cry 5 already. But words are just that. What we’ve needed is substantial time with the game to really know just how far off their own design leash Ubisoft Montreal has let themselves get.
First the negatives. Not so much the negatives with Far Cry 5, but the series on the whole. Carefully crafted repeat gameplay in a seemingly open-world. Various degrees of mess with main leads and baddies. Plus the people around them, and crafting a story that is (or has been), largely linear, inside that seemingly open-world -- all and more have struck the series over the years which has still remained a top-tier gaming IP because of its polish in the visual department, its focus on a believable and interactive ecology and its rewarding and open gunplay.
Oh, and towers -- those pesky towers. They’ve always been a problem.
We’ve seen with Assassin’s Creed Origins what can happen if you drastically redesign your interactive purpose. Exploration hasn’t usually been at the fore of design with the AC series, but in Origins it was as important as combat, parkour and assassinations (to be fair, it played heavily in Black Flag, too). And here with Far Cry 5, there’s a real sense of design maturity that has emerged, similarly to that of ACO. Maybe it’s in the wake of so much commentary about the series, maybe it’s because this one is a bit closer to home given the location, or maybe it’s just because. It’s certainly something Far Cry 5 lead Dan Hay agrees with and we had a chance to ask him about that and a number of other things, but that chat will come a bit later.
For now, after spending just under four hours with the game -- completely open and from its riotous, unbridled opening sequence -- we’re here to tell just what you can expect with this latest instalment in the see-saw series.
Baddies -- Far Cry 5 has them. And then some.
Vaas from Far Cry 3 was crazy. Like, really crazy. He was a scary kind of person; unhinged and therefore unpredictable (unless expecting chaos can be a form of prediction). While Pagan Min of Far Cry 4 fame was more Bond villain than absolutely scary bad. We mean, Bond villain scary is still scary, but he just didn’t rightly fit that setting, at least in our opinion.
Joseph Seed, however, is a different kind of cat. He’s justifiably bad. And what that means is that his ‘way’ is dictated by what he perceives as directives from a higher power. The control he seeks isn’t so much about greed or oppression, it’s about control of the masses for a “greater good”, which roughly translates to a “cleansing”. Add to this the reality of cults in the real-world, and that Eden’s Gate could justifiably exist outside of digital walls, and all of a sudden Far Cry 5’s big-bad is, well, a real big-bad.
Freedom -- It’s the name of the game.
While other Far Cry games have always touted an open-world, often these ‘open’ spaces have been gated with regions that require a form of unlocking through climbing towers, or lighting beacons (as was the case with Far Cry Primal), or some such. Far Cry 5, however, does away with all that, to a degree, opting instead to just amplify the “enemy camp” side of the series’ design where getting rid of the cultists helps free Hope County of their presence. And while that might sound the same, the whole game-world is largely (heh) open to you from the outset -- there’s basically no gating and therefore your playstyle is rewarded through practically no hand-holding.
Preparation -- It’s only natural.
Ever watched the defining “Doomsday Preppers” show that Nat Geo released, and was then copied by various other channels? Far Cry 5 embraces the reality around that sub-culture and even throws in a number of exploration puzzles around finding “prepper stashes” to help you out on your quest.
Ever watched the defining “Doomsday Preppers” show that Nat Geo released, and was then copied by various other channels? Far Cry 5 embraces the reality around that sub-culture...
It’s a nice addition to the game and while the puzzles themselves are enjoyable, how they’re wrapped up in a visual sense is truly fascinating. This is a real movement and something that just helps sell the fictional location of Hope County and its surrounding areas all the more. It also adds to that scary real-world concept that is immediately sold through the dark concept that a Joseph Seed couldn’t just ‘maybe’ exist, but probably does.
Friends and Animals -- Always work with animals.
The game adopts a hiring system for people you’ve saved from the Eden’s Gate cultists who’re willing to work with you. This is helpful and, after some time with the game ‘seems’ dynamic and responsive enough. At times they kind of enter the enemy line-of-sight but it looks like the team adopted the same system Assassin’s Creed Origins did where, AI doesn’t immediately aggro baddies. It might be too early at this point to say otherwise, but as it stands, this writer didn’t have an issue with it.
Recruiting animals is the more fun part though, specifically where Cheeseburger the bear is concerned. Basically, a ‘show bear’ named Cheeseburger got diabetes from eating too many cheeseburgers as part of his act (again, this seems like it *could* be true given the location, and America in general) and so now can only eat salmon. Because, you know, actual nature. At any rate, there’s a quest around gaining him as a companion that also introduces the player to the game’s incredibly fun fishing system and you can also pat him. Adorable.
Fishing -- Because fishing.
Yeah, you can go fishing. It’s kind of easy early on, but there are different rods, different baits and lures. Different lakes and rivers. Different fish. It’s just a compelling reason to play the game.
Personality -- You decide your own level of involvement.
10 points if you can tell us where that quote above came from without Googling it. Anyway, in Far Cry 5 you’re not a set character, sort of.
Well, you’re a character -- you play a rookie US Marshal. But, as another first for the series you’re a voiceless US Marshal and you’re also non-gender specific. Or, in a way more easily put -- players can choose and create their own character, male or female.
How deep this goes and what impact it’ll have over the course of the game will remain to be seen, but just having the option in the first place is another forward (or common-sense) step for the series.
Random -- Or, what happens in Hope County, stays in Hope County.
Adding to the dynamic nature of companions, be they human, dog or bear, is the idea that sometimes they need to react to situations. You see, these cultists are always driving around the place, and they don’t like you or your friends.
On-the-fly, explosive action is almost always expected as a result and the outcomes are always fun and insane. At one point I was leading two liberated-now-hired survivors to a quest marker when along comes a convoy of Eden’s Gaters (or “Peggies” as the game refers to them). One group in a truck, another two groups in two utes (Australian for “pick up”, ‘Murica). My companions took cover, but I threw a grenade and blew one of the utes up. As it flipped, it knocked the other ute off the road. A firefight ensued and the baddies accidentally blew themselves up. Or at least, that’s what appeared to happen. Either way, it was chaotic and over-the-top moment in a game steeped in some scary realism. And all the more welcome as a result.
Arcade -- Anyone got 40 cents?
Finally we have Arcade Mode. This is a unique user-generated generous (deliberate alliteration) sidebar to the game proper. It’s essentially a set of tools that allows users to create what Ubisoft refers to as “bite-size” Far Cry 5 moments. What you can add to this, however, is that they can be played Solo, Co-Op or even in 6v6 Competitive ways. We played one Solo Ubisoft-designed ‘example’ that was like a cross between a Resident Evil game, Alice in Wonderland and someone’s weird obsession with clocks and mazes.
Imagine an Escape Room scenario, only gravity doesn’t wholly apply and everything around you is messed up beyond imagination. It was fun and relatively easy because of its linear design, but gave us a very good indication of just how deep the create mode will be for players. Hopefully we see an ever-evolving library of assets. Oh, it’s also a free addition to the game, regardless of which edition you purchased.
/End
We’re pumped. It delivers (so far). In prepper spades, no less. And it’s hella scary in parallel to the world as we currently know it. There’s also post-release standalone content planned alongside the already exciting Arcade Mode that will take us to the Vietnam Conflict, leave us amongst Zombies and even drop us on the surface Mars in the future. (Separately, of course.) Honestly, what’s not to get excited about?
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