Far Cry® 5

I've spent a lot of time judging games by the 'Saturday night with friends' standard, and Far Cry 5 passes that test in one specific, limited way: two-player online co-op through the full campaign. Get that out of the way early, because it shapes everything about how you should approach buying this one. The drop-in, drop-out system means a buddy can slide into your Hope County session at almost any point after both of you clear the opening Dutch's Island tutorial. No lobbies, no mode-switching, just an invite and suddenly you're crashing a plane into a cult convoy together. That spontaneity is genuinely great fun. The world itself is one of the strongest things Far Cry 5 has going for it. Hope County is a gorgeous, fictional slice of Montana that feels lived-in, with three distinct regions each controlled by one of Joseph Seed's siblings: Jacob, the militaristic brother to the north, John the land-hungry lawyer to the south, and Faith, the drug-haze herald in the middle. You can tackle the regions in any order, which gives the open world a real sense of player agency. The outpost liberation loop, hunting, fishing, Prepper Stash puzzle-boxes, aerial dogfights in prop planes, wingsuit dives, throwable shovels, the RAT4 guided rocket launcher you can steer mid-flight into a bear - the toolkit for causing trouble is wide and consistently entertaining. The Far Cry Arcade mode also throws in a level editor and community-made maps for extra longevity. Here is where things get complicated, though. The co-op has a serious caveat that every potential buyer needs to hear: only the host's campaign progress saves. The joining player carries over their perks and weapon purchases, but mission completion and story advancement? None of it sticks for the guest. If two friends both want to experience the full story cooperatively and have their own saves progress, you are playing through the game twice, swapping host duties. That stings. There is also no split-screen whatsoever, so couch co-op is fully off the table. The 'four drunk friends on the couch' scenario that I personally love? Far Cry 5 does not support it. Far Cry Arcade can loop in more players for custom maps, but the campaign itself is a strict two-person, online-only affair. The story is the other divisive piece. Joseph Seed, voiced with genuine menace by Greg Bryk, is a compelling antagonist on paper, but the game pulls you into scripted 'bliss' kidnapping sequences on a timer regardless of what you are doing, interrupting open-world flow roughly a dozen times per region. The narrative also sidesteps any real political commentary despite its loaded rural-America setting, which left a lot of players feeling like the premise punched well below its weight. Your player character is also mute and customizable but largely irrelevant to the story, which works fine mechanically but kills any sense of personal investment in the plot. The sandbox chaos and the story are pulling in different directions, and the sandbox wins. For PC specifically, the game ran well for most players at launch and still holds up today as a polished open-world shooter with solid performance on mid-range hardware. The 81% positive rating across over 186,000 Steam reviews is a reliable signal: this is a crowd-pleasing game that does the Far Cry formula competently without reinventing it. If you have one friend who also owns a copy and you both want a rowdy, low-stakes co-op sandbox to blow up trucks and herd bears into cult settlements, Far Cry 5 delivers that with real charm. If you are coming in solo and hoping for a story with weight behind it, you will find a fun but occasionally hollow ride.

Riley · Scout Team

Sports & racing

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