A wise man once said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, expecting anything to be different. Ubisoft sadly fell into this issue withFar Cry, one of its flagship series. As amazing and innovative asFar Cry 3was, the studio seemed a little afraid to innovate further from what it saw as a winning formula. The end result wasFar Cry 4being far too similar to its predecessor, and not in a fun way.
The series has been a staple since its earliest days, and fans were disappointed to see a major installment in the franchise be so similar to what came before. That’s whyFar Cry 5was so warmly received by the fanbase; it actually dared to change things significantly fromFar Cry 3’s formula, while maintaining the series’ sense of identity.
Far Cry 5 Got Rid of the Most Tedious Tasks from Previous Entries
Far Cry 5 Finally Got Rid of Radio Towers
Perhaps one of the biggest sins ofFar Cry 4was bringing back radio towersfrom the previous installment. Climbing and restarting the towers made a little sense inFar Cry 3, due to the isolated island setting. Even then, the repetition of the platforming started to wear out its welcome by the end of the game. WhenFar Cry 4brought back the almost exact same mechanic to a setting that really didn’t justify it, players were understandably a little annoyed.
ThenFar Cry 5finally dropped, and the tutorial was a beacon of hope.While still stuckFar Cry 5’s starting island, the player’s ally Dutch has them climb the nearby radio tower to restart it. While gamers were rolling their eyes at the seeming return of the most overdone series mechanic to date, Dutch reassures them that this is a one-time thing and that he won’t have them climbing anymore towers in the valley.
It’s a throwaway line, but it’s a small fourth wall breaking wink and nod to the players. It’s less Dutch speaking and more Ubisoft itself reassuring the player that it’s not about tofall into the same pitfalls it did duringFar Cry 4. And true to form,Far Cry 5broke the restrictive mold thatFar Cry 3had unfortunately locked the series into up to that point.
Far Cry 5 Moved the Series in the Right Direction
Getting rid of radio towers was only one small stepFar Cry 5took to revitalize the series. The first and most important way it did this was introducing the concept of followers, both human and animal. It was a brand-new concept to the series at the time and worked so well that subsequent games kept improving and iterating on it. While previous games had aerial vehicles,Far Cry 5took it to a whole new level by incorporating dogfightinginto the gameplay, which was admittedly hit or miss, but still a welcome addition to the series that shows Ubisoft was actually trying to do new things.
The series was in something of a rut after the success ofFar Cry 3.Far Cry 4, for all ofPagan Min’s unbridled charisma, suffered from developers failing to push the envelope like they did with the third game in the series.Far Cry 5(and to a lesser extent,Far Cry: Primal) was the first step the series took toward mending that divide and trying new things again.
Far Cry 5
WHERE TO PLAY
Welcome to Hope County, Montana, the land of the free and brave, but also the home of a fanatical doomsday cult. Stand up to cult leader Joseph Seed and his siblings, the Heralds, to spark the fires of resistance and liberate the besieged community.Play solo or two-player co-op in the vast open world of Hope County. Use a vast arsenal of weapons from rocket launchers to shovels, and take control of iconic muscle cars, ATVs, planes, and more to engage the cult forces in epic fights.DISCOVER ONE OF THE MOST ACCLAIMED FAR CRY GAMESJoin the millions of players in the Far Cry® 5 community and discover what IGN describes as “fast-paced fun.”FIGHT AGAINST THE DEADLY CULT OF JOSEPH SEEDFree Hope County from the Eden’s Gate cult and the Seed family. Discover the first appearance of the charismatic antagonist Joseph Seed, before his return in Far Cry® New Dawn and his own dedicated DLC in Far Cry® 6, Collapse.EXPLORE THE HOPE COUNTY OPEN WORLD SOLO OR CO-OP AND MAKE YOUR OWN RULESPlay solo or two-player co-op in the vast open world of Hope County. Use a vast arsenal of weapons from rocket launchers to shovels, and take control of iconic muscle cars, ATVs, planes, and more to engage the cult forces in epic fights. Ally with the Fangs for Hire group, including fan-favorite bear Cheeseburger and dog Boomer, and free Hope County from its oppressors.
