Today, Ubisoft released the information that Far Cry 5 would be coming out within the next year. There has been speculation as to what the next installment of the franchise would look like. Just recently, a trailer and an interview with executive producer and creative director, Dan Hay, has been released. Both give loads of information that’ll help eager fans understand why the franchise decided to come to America for the 5th game, and what that means for the players. First, let’s watch the interview.
Dan Hay explores the issues presented to Ubisoft as they made the decision to bring the franchise to the states. He says that “And just the concept that the thing that’s in your backyard could be even more exotic than going 1,000 miles away, and that’s why we brought it to the states.” Hay speaks the truth here. There are so many games trying to be the unique game by setting it in a foreign country we’ve never seen before (much like Far Cry is known to do). But with Far Cry 5, we’ll see the shadow of our country as it stands today.
Rumors are circulating about the similarities “Hope County”, the mysterious cult that the plot of the game centers around, and Trump’s rise to power. But the qualities that make up a cult can be shared with other cults as well, for many of them are needed to qualify a group or religion as a cult. Maybe Ubisoft did make the game with the intention of shadowing what’s going on in the states today, maybe it’s their own universe that we have to explore for ourselves to find out.
The new trailer shows a lot of what you see in the interview video. There’ll be a dynamic cast of characters (as Dan Hay says too) that will react and interact with the player and the environment around them. There’ll be a unique, frontier style, Montana setting; a crazy cult that, apparently, impales disbelievers with a spear in the shape of their symbol; and a group of protagonists that decide to stand up for their right to choose. Personally, this installment looks like the most sound story I’ve seen come from the franchise in awhile. I’m excited to see how it unfolds. The trailer is below.
As for the gameplay of Far Cry 5, players will be given the choice to play through the whole campaign in co-op or single player mode. There’s no news as to whether the co-op will be exclusively for online or if split-screen is available as well. It’s also unclear whether or not two co-op players will be going through the campaign as the same character, or if they’ll be able to create their own. The latter would be a unique twist to include. Ubisoft is also bringing back the infamous map editor that was cut from Far Cry Primal, after being included in the previous three installments (Far Cry 2, Far Cry 3, and Far Cry 4).
Far Cry 5 will be available in three different editions. The basic package includes the game at a standard price. The Deluxe Edition, priced at $69.99, will come with access to more weapons, explosives, vehicles, and skins. All the good stuff. The Gold Edition, priced at $89.99 if purchased digitally and $99.99 if purchased in stores, will include everything that comes with the Deluxe Edition plus the season pass. There’s no specifics yet as to what comes included in the season pass, but on Far Cry 5‘s Steam page it says that the season pass will include “additional stories, content & gear.”
Far Cry 5 will be available for PS4, Xbox One, and PC on February 27, 2018. For those of you who have the PS4, the game will come with unspecified free content at launch. If you have the Xbox One or the PC, you can still get this content, but it’ll only be available through the Ubisoft Club, an in-game rewards program.
