Completed with platinum trophy earned; all objectives completed in every region. Contrasting with the level-based structure of most first-person shooter games, Far Cry 5 continues with the series' now well-established outdoor open-world setting. This time around the game is set in the US, specifically rural Montana, seeing the playing cast as a deputy sheriff sent to arrest the leader of a religious cult; of course, these things never go smoothly, and the game then sees the player working to reduce the cult's influence on the region through a wide range of missions and liberating outposts within three key regions, before finally confronting the cult's leader. A wide range of weapons and vehicles are available for use towards this goal, including both aircraft and boats as well as many different land-based vehicles. The setting and premise is very much in keeping with the outlandishness of the previous games, once again pulled off in a very entertaining manner.
The level of detail in the world is very impressive, and as well as the core story missions, a large number of optional missions are scattered throughout the area, alongside other activities such as the new 'prepper stashes' - a range of puzzle and platforming-based scenarios that reward ability points and cash, replacing the towers that had become an established mechanic in previous games - stunt racing, hunting and one of the more enjoyable fishing minigames that I've played recently. Returning from previous games are enemy 'outposts', presenting setpiece combat encounters that can be attempted however the player chooses, be that stealth, direct assault or a mix - personally, I found the ability to use stealth here to be incredibly satisfying, albeit more difficult to pull off successfully than has previously been the case, as the enemies seems a little too sensitive to disturbances. All in all, there's a level of variety here that means that it's hard to get bored at any point.
Gunplay generally feels solid, if not outstanding, and while there's some good opportunity for customisation through silencers, sights and extended magazines (alongside cosmetic enchancements), the game would benefit from more semi-automatic weapons and longer-range sniper rifles. It also takes more to take down many enemies than feels realistic, even on lower difficulty levels, but not enough to detract too much from the overall experience.
As well as the core single-player, the game includes an 'arcade' which is essentially the game's multiplayer component. Arguably this isn't needed here given that this has always been a single-player focused series - a thought that I'd generally lean towards, but with a well-equipped level editor here as well, there's impressive potential to this mode, which also includes additional single-player (and co-op) scenarios.
Overall, I had a great time with Far Cry 5 and I'd have no hesitation in recommending it to anyone who enjoys FPS or open-world games.
The level of detail in the world is very impressive, and as well as the core story missions, a large number of optional missions are scattered throughout the area, alongside other activities such as the new 'prepper stashes' - a range of puzzle and platforming-based scenarios that reward ability points and cash, replacing the towers that had become an established mechanic in previous games - stunt racing, hunting and one of the more enjoyable fishing minigames that I've played recently. Returning from previous games are enemy 'outposts', presenting setpiece combat encounters that can be attempted however the player chooses, be that stealth, direct assault or a mix - personally, I found the ability to use stealth here to be incredibly satisfying, albeit more difficult to pull off successfully than has previously been the case, as the enemies seems a little too sensitive to disturbances. All in all, there's a level of variety here that means that it's hard to get bored at any point.
Gunplay generally feels solid, if not outstanding, and while there's some good opportunity for customisation through silencers, sights and extended magazines (alongside cosmetic enchancements), the game would benefit from more semi-automatic weapons and longer-range sniper rifles. It also takes more to take down many enemies than feels realistic, even on lower difficulty levels, but not enough to detract too much from the overall experience.
As well as the core single-player, the game includes an 'arcade' which is essentially the game's multiplayer component. Arguably this isn't needed here given that this has always been a single-player focused series - a thought that I'd generally lean towards, but with a well-equipped level editor here as well, there's impressive potential to this mode, which also includes additional single-player (and co-op) scenarios.
Overall, I had a great time with Far Cry 5 and I'd have no hesitation in recommending it to anyone who enjoys FPS or open-world games.