Far Cry 5 is the newest game from Ubisoft Montreal, the development team behind the previous numbered Far Cry games and the popular Assassin’s Creed series. Far Cry 5 takes the series in a new direction, shifting its focus instead to a domestic setting rather than the exotic locales the franchise has become known for.
The setup of the game is still the same, though: Players are still dropped into an active open world, given free reign to tackle their objectives in any way they see fit. Creative director Dan Hay has outlined his vision for the title as being an “anecdote factory” — somewhere players can generate their own tales and share them with the world, using the game’s core narrative as a basis for their own authored adventures.
Far Cry 5 is coming to PS4, Xbox One, and PC worldwide on March 27, 2018, so to tide you over until the game’s release. here’s everything you need to know about Hope County, Montana, and its evangelist population.
The Story
You are a deputy sheriff who is being flown into Hope County, Montana, to arrest Joseph Seed — the enigmatic and charismatic leader of an evangelical cult called Eden’s Gate. Seed — known to the inhabitants of Hope County as “the Father” — has managed to establish himself as the leader of the county under the guise of being their saviour. But things aren’t as simple as they seem.
Seed has wrestled control of the county via a series of military incursions. He’s used aggressive persuasion and violence to “convert” the citizens of Hope County to his cause, using the military sway he has over the populace to prevent them from contacting the outside world and calling for help.
Seed deeply believes that Hope County would be doomed to inevitable collapse without his leadership, without his guiding light, and to that end he’s enlisted the aid of his siblings — the Heralds — to keep the region locked down, free from the interference of the outside world.
Seed and his band of Heralds have managed to corner Hope County with their operations: Seed’s brother Jacob Seed, an ex-military officer, managed to arm and command much of the Eden’s Gate faithful to take over certain sections of the county by force. His other brother, John Seed, a trained and esteemed lawyer, managed to use his legal wiles to acquire land for Eden’s Gate through more subversive means. His half-sister Faith Seed pacifies the people directly, spreading a gospel of pacifism, to keep the population sedated.
It’s up to you, a stranger in this overrun county, to bring liberation to the people — to save them from this violent and deranged doomsday cult. To be successful, you’ll have to forge relationships with those resisting the cult, weaken the grasp of the Heralds and loosen their chokehold on the people of the region, and use the world around you to take back control of this once-peaceful rural county.
The World
Far Cry 5 takes place in Montana. As you travel around this living world, you’ll see an American heartland brimming with diverse wildlife, inspirational landscapes, detailed rural vistas, and a unique, self-contained culture. Hope County is comprised of thickets of lush woodland, agricultural townships, and active farmland — all connected by country roads decorated with ever-so-slightly rusted road signs telling you where you need to go next.
Ubisoft’s goal for the game world this time was to do away with the radio towers and high points that have defined so many of its past games. Instead, Far Cry 5 intends to deliver information to you via its characters. You’ll have to discover new places in the world and establish relationships with the inhabitants before they give you any more information about where to find new missions, new locations, better weapons, or supplies.
The people of Hope County are remarkably independent and have been raised to be self-sufficient and self-reliant. As the world around them began to look increasingly threatening — as house prices started to plummet, terrorist attacks started to become more widespread — the people came to rely only on themselves, which is why the county ended up being so isolationist — and how Eden’s Gate managed to seize control.
The animals of Hope County are just as important to the game world as its human inhabitants. Ubisoft has gone to great lengths to ensure its representation of Montana is as ecologically accurate as possible. There are bears, fish, birds, wolves, mountain lions, snakes, badgers, and more besides. Better yet, when you become acquainted enough with the wilderness, you can even start taming these animals, using them to back you up on your mission.
Ubisoft also employed a team of five to realise the in-game brands you’ll be exposed to in the world. There are adverts, billboards, artworks, vehicles, and more, all tied into the local businesses, gas stations, and general stores of Hope County. The region you’ll be exploring isn’t just a setting for the story of Joseph Seed and Eden’s Gate — it’s as much of a character in itself as anyone you’ll meet within it.
The Characters
The Junior Deputy
You play a sheriff being dropped into the world of Hope County, tasked with arresting religious extremist Joseph Seed. For the first time in a Far Cry title, you can customise your main character and play as either a male or female hero, with your ethnicity also being totally customisable.
Boomer
Boomer is a loyal canine companion, known as the “Fangs for Hire.” It appears that when Boomer’s original owners were murdered by the cultists of Eden’s Gate, Boomer ran from the criminals and eventually came under the care of the Junior Deputy of the county. Boomer provides a loyal ally in the fight against the sect.
Boomer can stealthily approach enemies and take them down without being detected, nabbing weapons and items for the player and bringing them back (like a real good boy). Though he can’t communicate with you, Boomer will always be by your side.
Nick Rye
Nick Rye is a lifelong mechanic and hobbyist pilot from a family of distinguished military airmen who, as he says himself, “flew in the army so he didn’t have to.” Learning his airborne skills from his career as an agricultural crop-duster, Rye knows the skyline of Hope County better than anyone — and you can use that to your advantage.
Rye has a child on the way and has a lot at stake in the battle against the Eden’s Gate cultists. He wants to reclaim his home from Seed and his flock and intends to help the local resistance so he can build the foundations of a better tomorrow for his family. With his trusty plane Karmina, Rye is a formidable ally to have on the ground or in the air.
Jerome Jeffries
Jerome Jeffries is a veteran of the Gulf War who returned from the conflict to become a Catholic pastor, something he committed himself to for 15 years. Jerome has a more personal connection to Joseph Seed than his fellow resistance members: He welcomed Seed into his church before Eden’s Gate really started motoring as a cult.
Seed stole Jerome’s congregation from him, turning them onto the more extreme philosophy of his doomsday cult. Jerome took this gracefully — understanding times are changing — until Seed locked down the county, interfering with every single local person’s life. This drove Jerome to join up with The Resistance, determined to bring Hope County’s freedom.
Mary May Fairgrave
Mary May Fairgrave is one of the most important members of The Resistance. She owns The Spread Eagle bar in Hope County and has seen her family torn apart and the life she knew ravaged by Joseph Seed and the Eden’s Gate project. Fairgrave is a straight-talking, no-nonsense bartender, and applies that same fire to her work with The Resistance.
Her father was driven to suicide by the actions of Eden’s Gate, and now Fairgrave uses her bar as a base of operations for The Resistance. Fairgrave and her homely bar are key allies in your fight to liberate the region.
Grace Armstrong
Grace Armstrong is another ally you’ll rely on in the fight to unpick Eden’s Gate from Hope County. As a trained sniper, her weapon of choice appears to be an AR-15 rifle with a collapsible buttstock, long-range scope, M-LOK handguard, Magpul PMags, and a compensator, which she uses to snipe targets from mid to long range.
A reserved but nonetheless loyal companion, Grace will be the angel on your shoulder — staying back out of the fight and picking off targets from a safe distance. She’s a former US Marine Corporal and is horrified to see what’s become of her homeland. To that end, she’s willing to do what she can to back up the Junior Deputy in taking down Seed and his clan.
Adelaide Drubman
An enterprising business owner and keen estate agent, Adelaide “The Chopper Queen” Drubman has seen her various businesses all negatively impacted by Seed’s slow takeover of Hope County. Needless to say, she’s annoyed — after all, it’s cost her a living and very nearly cost her a home.
Drubman — owner of the local marina — provides helicopter support and will drop in vehicles and bigger guns whenever you need them. Her main motivation in this fight? She just really hates being told what to do.
Hurk Drubman, Jr.
Hurk Drubman is no stranger to the world of Far Cry, having appeared in both Far Cry 3 and Far Cry 4. This time, though, he’s back on home ground — and he’s not impressed with what he sees. The 46-year-old boozehound is keen to throw Seed and his band of evangelists out of his birth county, and he’s got a lot of toys to help him do that.
A gun for hire, Hurk’s penchant for RPGs is invaluable. He can be called in to blow up vehicles and scrap any machine that gets in your way. His spiritualism doesn’t seem to get in the way of his love for massive, fiery destruction or his unquenchable lust for beer, though. Everyone else might fight for their family, or their business or their religion, but Hurk? Hurk fights for Hurk.
Far Cry 5 arrives on PS4, Xbox One, and PC on March 27, 2018.
