Far Cry 5 is a 2018 first-person shooter game created by Ubisoft Montreal and Ubisoft Toronto and released by Ubisoft. It is the next game in the Far Cry series after Far Cry 4, which was released in 2014. The game takes place in Hope County, a made-up area in Montana, United States. The story follows a group of people fighting against a dangerous group called the Project at Eden's Gate, which is led by a powerful man named Joseph Seed. Players control a young deputy sheriff who gets stuck in Hope County and must join forces with groups working to free the region from the control of the Seeds and Eden's Gate. The game includes combat, exploration, and fighting enemies and dangerous animals with many types of weapons. It also has features common in role-playing games, such as a story with different choices and side missions. The game includes a map editor, a cooperative multiplayer mode, and a competitive multiplayer mode.
Development of Far Cry 5 began in early 2017. The team tried many ideas before choosing an American setting. The game was influenced by real events in history, such as the Cold War and the September 11 attacks. The developers wanted to show the sad social mood after these events and use it in the game.
Far Cry 5 was released worldwide for PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One in March 2018. It received mostly positive reviews, though some people criticized it after it was announced during a time of increased political tensions. Reviewers praised the game's open world, visuals, gameplay, and music but pointed out issues with the story and some characters. The game was a big success, selling over $310 million in its first week and more than 10 million copies by March 2020. Additional content was later released. A follow-up game called Far Cry New Dawn was released in February 2019. A later game in the series, Far Cry 6, came out in October 2021.
Gameplay
Far Cry 5 is a first-person shooter game set in an open world that players can explore on foot or using vehicles. Unlike earlier games in the series, where players controlled a fixed character, Far Cry 5 allows players to customize their character’s appearance. The main character does not speak or have a defined personality, which lets players experience the game more deeply but may affect how deeply the story is understood. Players can use a variety of ranged and explosive weapons to fight enemies, and the game focuses more on close combat than earlier titles by adding more melee weapons. A new weapons system also makes bullets drop over long distances to improve realism.
The game’s open world was designed similarly to earlier game areas called "outposts," which were small sections of the map occupied by enemies. Players had to clear these areas by defeating enemies. The open world of Far Cry 5 gives players more freedom to explore without clear directions or markers. Creative director Dan Hay wanted players to have unique experiences, calling the game an "anecdote factory" where two players could have very different adventures from the same starting point. Most of the game world becomes accessible after completing early missions, allowing players to explore freely. Earlier games guided players through the world with story missions, but Far Cry 5 lets players choose their path. Completing tasks in a region earns "Resistance Points," which unlock major story events. These points also fill a "Resistance Meter," dividing regions into three levels of difficulty. For example, basic enemies appear first, but as the meter increases, players face more complex enemies, such as flying patrols.
Players can recruit locals to fight alongside them, similar to systems in earlier games. These recruits, called "Guns for Hire," join the player’s cause and help in battles. The game also includes "Specialists," non-playable characters with unique skills. Recruiting replaces the beacon system used in previous games, such as climbing radio towers or bell towers to unlock parts of the map. Instead, players must build relationships with characters to find story missions and events.
Players can train wild animals through Specialists, a feature first introduced in Far Cry Primal. These animals help in combat and follow the player’s commands. Different animals have different fighting styles. A fishing system was also added, allowing players to catch various types of fish. The main story can be played alone or with a partner using the "Friends for Hire" cooperative multiplayer mode.
Far Cry Arcade is a separate mode where players can create and share small maps with single-player, two-player cooperative, or multiplayer goals. Players can use assets from Far Cry 5, its downloadable content, and other games like Far Cry 4, Far Cry Primal, Watch Dogs, and Assassin’s Creed titles. Arcade maps are found in the game world on arcade cabinets, and completing them earns rewards like in-game money for the main campaign.
Plot
The game takes place in a fictional area called Hope County, Montana. A preacher named Joseph Seed, played by Greg Bryk, has become a powerful leader. Seed believes God has chosen him to protect people from a global disaster called "the Collapse," which he claims will destroy society. He created a group called the Project at Eden's Gate to lead people to salvation. In reality, Seed is a radical preacher, and Eden's Gate is a militant group that believes the world is ending. Under Seed's leadership, Eden's Gate uses force and violence to convert people in Hope County and stops them from seeking help from the outside world. Seed calls himself "the Father" and rules with the help of his Heralds: Jacob, "the Soldier" (Mark Pellegrino), Seed's older brother and a former U.S. Army sniper who trains the group's soldiers; John, "the Baptist" (Seamus Dever), Seed's younger brother and a lawyer who helps Eden's Gate take over land and force people to join; and Rachel Jessop, also known as Faith or "the Siren" (Jenessa Grant), a botanist who pretends to be peaceful but uses a drug called Bliss to control people who resist the group. The Heralds have turned old missile silos into bunkers where they plan to stay during "the Collapse."
The player controls a rookie sheriff's deputy, called "the Deputy," who is part of a team sent to arrest Seed. Some residents of Hope County oppose Seed and his followers, whom they call "Peggies," and join the fight for different reasons, such as helping others, seeking revenge, or for personal gain. They are helped by Richard "Dutch" Roosevelt (John Tench), a local survivalist who distrusts the government and has a history of anti-social behavior. Characters from previous games in the Far Cry series return, including Hurk Drubman, Jr. (Dylan Taylor), a friendly but clumsy man who loves explosives, and Willis Huntley (Alain Goulem), a CIA agent who recruits people for secret missions.
In late 2018, a joint operation by the U.S. Marshals Service and the county sheriff's department, including Deputy Marshal Cameron Burke (Doug Hutchison), Sheriff Earl Whitehorse (Christopher Heyerdahl), his deputies Joey Hudson (Luisa D'Oliveira), Staci Pratt (Julian Bailey), and the player's character, a junior deputy, arrives at an Eden's Gate church to arrest Joseph Seed on charges of kidnapping. Seed does not resist but claims God will not allow him to be taken. As he is escorted away, cult members attack the team, causing their helicopter to crash. Seed escapes and orders the cult to capture the team members. Hudson is captured by John, Pratt becomes Jacob's slave, and Whitehorse and the Marshal are hypnotized by Faith.
The Deputy survives and escapes with the help of Dutch, a local survivalist and Vietnam War veteran. Dutch explains that the cult believes the arrest attempt fulfills Seed's prophecies and that they have started "the Reaping," an effort to remove non-believers from Hope County. Dutch asks the Deputy to contact a group of people resisting the cult, rescue the team, and stop the cult's activities. While the Heralds focus on stopping the Deputy, they also try to recruit him.
John, Seed's younger brother, lures the Deputy to Holland Valley by showing a video of Hudson as his captive. John forces residents to join the cult through a ritual called "cleansing," which involves tattooing their "sins" on their skin and removing the marked skin as punishment. John captures the Deputy and claims their sin is "Wrath." When the Deputy escapes, John takes over the town of Fall's End and forces the Deputy to confront him. A resistance group attacks, and John flees. The Deputy fights John in an aerial battle and kills him. John claims the Deputy will not save anyone and that Seed is right. The Deputy rescues Hudson and destroys John's bunker.
The Deputy travels to the Whitetail Mountains, where the Whitetail Militia is already fighting Jacob, Seed's older brother. Jacob uses the song "Only You (And You Alone)" by The Platters to hypnotize recruits and control them. Jacob hypnotizes the Deputy and makes him kill Eli Palmer, the leader of the militia, to weaken the resistance. The militia holds Jacob responsible, and the Deputy confronts him. Jacob reflects on the rise and fall of empires and predicts America will face the same fate if unprepared. The Deputy retrieves Jacob's bunker key, rescues Pratt, and floods the bunker.
Faith, a member of the Seed family, oversees the production of Bliss in Henbane River. Bliss puts people in a trance and makes them vulnerable to Faith's hypnotic control. The Deputy reunites with Whitehorse and joins the Cougars, a group based in the Hope County Jail. Whitehorse tells the Deputy that Burke has been captured and is under the influence of Bliss. The Deputy repeatedly faces Faith, who tries to convince him to join her. The Deputy resists, rescues Burke, and learns Burke has been hypnotized. Burke kills Virgil Minkler, the leader of the Cougars and mayor of Fall's End, opens the jail to Eden's Gate, and kills himself. The Cougars suffer heavy losses, and Whitehorse is captured. The Deputy defeats Faith, who warns that Joseph is right about the end of the world but says the Deputy will decide the outcome. The Deputy rescues Whitehorse and destroys the Bliss production.
After killing the Heralds, Joseph challenges the Deputy to a final battle at his church. Joseph has captured the Deputy's allies, hypnotized them with Bliss, and taken Whitehorse, Hudson, and Pratt hostage. Joseph offers the Deputy the chance to leave unharmed if he stops fighting.
If the Deputy walks away, Joseph forgives him and enters the church with the hypnotized allies. The Deputy, Whitehorse, Pratt, and Hudson leave in a truck, and Whitehorse promises to return with the National Guard to free Hope County. Whitehorse turns on the radio, playing "Only You," which triggers Jacob's brainwashing. The Deputy is hypnotized again, and the screen goes black.
If the Deputy chooses to fight, Joseph forces the Deputy to revive his hypnotized friends. Throughout the game, radio broadcasts suggest the world outside Hope County is falling into chaos.
Development
The game was developed by Ubisoft Montreal and Ubisoft Toronto, with assistance from Ubisoft Kyiv, Ubisoft Shanghai, and Ubisoft Reflections. Dan Hay, who was the lead producer for Far Cry 3, served as the lead director. Drew Holmes, who had previously worked on BioShock Infinite and its downloadable content, led the writing. The game used the Dunia 2 engine, a modified version of the CryEngine. The team chose Montana as the setting because the state is located on the frontier of the United States. To create a realistic environment, the development team visited Montana for 14 days to study its natural areas, environment, and the self-reliant lifestyle of the people there. The team had previously done similar research in Nepal during the development of Far Cry 4. The team expanded the number of antagonists in the game because they were no longer satisfied with having only one main antagonist in each game.
After the release of Far Cry Primal in 2016, Ubisoft said the next Far Cry title would take longer to develop and would not be released in 2017. Far Cry 5 was announced during Ubisoft’s financial call, along with two other major titles, The Crew 2 and Assassin’s Creed Origins, which were released in fiscal year 2018. Ubisoft shared several teaser trailers and the game’s cover art before officially revealing the game on May 26, 2017. The game was released for PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One, with support for PlayStation 4 Pro and Xbox One X. Free skin packs were given to PlayStation 4 players at launch due to a marketing deal between Sony Interactive Entertainment and Ubisoft. The game was originally scheduled for release on February 27, 2018, but Ubisoft delayed it to March 27, 2018.
To celebrate the game’s five-year anniversary, Ubisoft released an update for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions on March 16, 2023, allowing 60 frames-per-second gameplay when played using backward compatibility on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S.
The game’s setting and tone were inspired by separatism. Dan Hay said he felt unsafe as a child because of conflicts between two superpowers during the Cold War. This influenced the game’s themes, which reflect modern issues like terrorist attacks, financial crises, and growing distrust in government. These events led to the concept of the “global village” breaking down, which became the game’s central theme. The team created a story centered on a doomsday cult as the main antagonist. Hay began writing the story in late 2014 and researched the 2016 occupation of a wildlife refuge in Oregon in February 2016 to explore the rise of separatism. Characters in the game were designed to have different views and ideologies to create a memorable story. Despite its dark themes, the team ensured the game remained fun and entertaining by including a wide variety of weapons and open-ended gameplay.
The game’s music was written and composed by Dan Romer. Audio director Tony Gronick said the team wanted background music throughout the game world to reflect the cult’s influence. Romer created hymn-like gospel music with lyrics about the cult’s end-of-the-world beliefs. The music style changes as players enter areas controlled by different cult members, shifting from country to glam rock to industrial music to show how the cult’s teachings evolve. The game also uses licensed music tracks when players drive, with the music style influenced by the area. The ambient/post-rock band Hammock used some of Romer’s songs and reinterpreted them. This led to a multi-volume soundtrack release, including the original soundtrack and the three-part Far Cry 5 Presents series: Into the Flames (cult songs by Romer and other artists), When the World Falls (choral versions of those songs), and We Will Rise Again (Hammock’s ambient reinterpretations).
To coincide with the game’s release, Ubisoft created a live-action short film called Inside Eden’s Gate, produced by Asylum Entertainment. The film serves as a prologue to the game, following three filmmakers traveling through Hope County and meeting Mark and his sister, Linny, who joins the Eden’s Gate cult. The film stars Greg Bryk and Kyle Gallner. Ubisoft first released the film on Amazon Prime, then on YouTube on April 4, 2018.
Reception
Far Cry 5 received "generally favorable" reviews, according to the review website Metacritic. Daemon Hatfield of IGN gave it an 8.9 out of 10, saying, "Far Cry 5 is another wide-open playground with all the necessary ingredients for causing a real ruckus: loads of enemies and allies, temperamental wildlife, and plenty of explosions." Polygon gave the game 6.5 out of 10, stating, "It’s a shame that Far Cry 5 is propped up by a weak story with bland characters, because behind the plot is an open world filled with what Far Cry as a series does best."
The game's endings divided critics. If the player chooses "resist" when prompted—an ending considered official by Ubisoft—the game shows a series of nuclear explosions that destroy civilization. If the player chooses to leave, the character is allowed to leave with allies, and a song called "Only You" plays on the radio, causing the character to attack their allies. Critics argued that these endings made the player's choices throughout the story seem meaningless.
The tourism board of Montana partnered with Ubisoft after Far Cry 5's release to use the game's setting imagery to promote tourism in the southwestern part of the state, which inspired the game's fictional Hope County.
Far Cry 5 became the fastest-selling title in the franchise's history, selling more than twice as many copies as Far Cry 4. It was the second-largest launch for an Ubisoft title, behind Tom Clancy's The Division, earning $310 million in its first week. The PlayStation 4 version sold 75,474 units in its first week in Japan, ranking second on the sales chart. By March 2020, Ubisoft reported that Far Cry 5 (along with 10 other games from the same console generation) had sold over 10 million units.
Many journalists noted that Far Cry 5's setting and story, which focus on religious extremism and far-right political movements in the United States, could make the game controversial. They said Ubisoft likely did not create the story to comment on current events, as the game took years to develop. Ubisoft's game director, Dan Hay, explained that the story aimed to explore the effects of extreme beliefs, not specific political events. He added that Montana's remote and isolated nature made it a good fit for the game's themes.
After the game's announcement, a petition on Change.org asked Ubisoft to change the game's villains, suggesting they be replaced with Muslims, gang members, or other non-white characters. The petition also suggested moving the game's setting to Canada. Industry experts criticized the petition, saying the game's themes were important for social discussion. Some publications questioned whether the petition was meant as a joke.
After its release, some critics said the game avoided political topics and was too neutral. Polygon's Ben Kuchera called it a "defiantly inoffensive mess" that "wants to appeal to everyone but ultimately says nothing." William Hughes of The A.V. Club described the villains as an "easily digestible evil" designed to avoid offending any group. Andrew Webster of The Verge said the game "creates the illusion that it has something to say, then stubbornly refuses to say anything."
With the release of Far Cry 6, Ubisoft and the game's writer confirmed that the sequel is "inherently political," continuing the series' political debate.