Far Cry 5: The Greatest Co op experience

Just recently my partner invested in a new pc upgrade meaning we could finally play pc games together. However, looking for an amazing FPS co op experience, that isn’t just a survival reskin like Rust or Ark, is difficult.  Yet, as we were searching we noticed that Far Cry 5 has a Co-op mode. We both haven’t played a far cry game since 3 so we decided we would see how the series has evolved. Now we’re ready to dive into the apalachin overgrowth.

Starting off

The first 20 minutes of the game is a forced single player mission; which is understandable as the title is still a single player experience at its core. However, once the world opens up and we see the three different zones we instantly connect to one another and the feeling of eagerness to explore this vast world together sets in. 

The world that Far Cry 5 presents is everything that a non-American would picture the American Bible belt to be like. The beautiful Hope county offers a wide natural landscape with open fields, deep ravines and sky-piercing mountain tops. The wild-life filling this natural scene varies from peaceful deer to zealous gun toting rednecks; who will not hesitate to shoot and ask questions later. 

Speaking of which, the extremely exaggerated characters help really bring the American experience full circle, with wacky characters that probably had one too many fruit loops. Getting around the map is personally, my favourite aspect of the game; as you can Drive, Swim or Fly to anywhere you want. Seeing the world unfold as you race through the skies really impressed me; especially while having my Co-op partner in the passenger seat next to me. 

Her favourite part however, was focused on the stealth combat; which, I will detail later in this review. 

The Story

Hope county has had issues in the past regarding a community of people residing under The Father. If your first thought is wacko cult, then ding-ding-ding you’re right.  You’re The towns new Deputy, who has been given the task of assisting FBI/NSA agents with the arrest of Joseph Seed, known more commonly by his followers as “The Father”. Joseph is the leader of the large scale cult: Project at Eden’s Gate. The cult’s followers are made mostly of Rednecks and hill folk with the four main leaders being Joseph’s brothers Jacob and John and his sister Faith. However, when you get to Hope county things turn ugly, quick. The sheer mass of this cult is only realised once your helicopter touches the ground. Large groups of weapon wielding rednecks stare you down as you enter. Making for a well designed, yet severely uncomfortable scene.

As soon as your NSA buddy over steps and demands Joseph to stand down and come with them; the atmosphere shifts from eery to full on anarchy. You and your task force run to the helicopter only to be attacked every step along the way; with the final climactic moment being a faithful cult member throwing themselves into your helicopters propeller. Thus, jamming it and causing the bird to stall and free fall. You land in a tree, alive with Joseph looking you in the eyes telling you that there is nothing you can do. 

This strong opening sets the mood of the game and shows that the cult owns this new land and you will be hunted down like the loner you are, within their zone. Finally, the world is open and your main goal is to take down each of Joseph’s family and finally finish the mission you set out to accomplish originally; find and capture Joseph Seed. 

The combat

The Far Cry formula hasn’t changed much when it comes to combat. That would be a negative for me. However, experiencing it with a co-op partner is something that introduces enough change within the play style that I found myself being extremely shocked at how well the single player aspects transfer to the co-op system. 

For one thing, my partner loves playing stealthily as though were in all ghillied up and we have Captain Price giving us instructions. So heading into each encounter we scout the place then slowly move through taking each guard down. In single player it becomes repetitive and extremely easy. However, with two people walking around the risks are double especially when taking out two guards at the same time. 

Perfectly clearing a large outpost cooperatively is the most satisfying aspect of any Far Cry to date. Also, I would highly recommend playing through the campaign first with a friend so you can understand just how fleshed out and fun the experience is. 

Other points of the combat I want to talk about are the use of vehicles; especially the helicopter. Just recently we found out that you can grapple onto the underside of a helicopter which we have been using to strategically drop one another into the outpost to get the best tactical advantage. This sort of sandbox play is something that I have never actually experienced and I’m extremely stoked to be able to talk about a single player game in such a positive way. 

The amount of guns vehicles in this game is also pretty substantial. While, there may not be hundreds the amount of varied weapons and customisation options allow any type of playstyle to be viable. We didn’t feel as though we needed to be stealthy and there wasn’t a “best” method to clearing outposts. 

The Wildlife

Another aspect of the gameplay, that I found to be really interesting is the subtle wildlife that roams the areas of Hope county. There are even certain spots which a specific type of animal will reside. However, it is naturally stumbling upon these animals that truely make the best experience.

For example, there are many wolves in the game that would ofcourse love to chow down on the rookie. Yet, if they have no clue you’re near you may see that they hunt other animals like moose or deer. The passive animals may even hear the wolf aproach and flee.

Talking about the wildlife, my favourite past time in Far Cry 5 is the fishing. I already love fishing games/minigames. And the one offered here is one of the best still even after two years. The fish will swing and jitter wildly to try and snap your line and each fish feels like a challenge to reel in. However, I do wish that it wasn’t so easy to find fish. It seems as though no matter what type of water you throw your line in a matter of seconds fish will swarm to you.

The issues

Although im singing this game’s praises there are very glaring issues that I found with my experience. First of all, if you’re playing cooperatively then be aware that the progression is linked to the host. This means that as the secondary person you need to complete the campaign separately to unlock anything. Which is a massive pain. To fix this we downloaded mods; but for you console players it will be difficult to enjoy a true co-op campaign.

Also, the map is massive. Which, wouldn’t be an issue if it weren’t also extremely empty. Eventually the beauty of Hope county will die down. Then you’re left with the 3000m waypoints that you’re trying to get to. And my god is there a billion waypoints, half the game is spent traveling; if you don’t like fast travel in games you may change your mind with Far Cry 5. Big maps can be great. However, when they’re empty and void of things to do it quickly becomes an issue of size over substance. 

Unfortunately this list is not exhaustive yet. Issues of stuttering, extremely monotonous quests and lack of direction plague Far Cry 5’s mid/late game. One quest required me to look for Whiskey casks within a body of water. Some are submerged some are not. The issue isn’t finding them, it’s that there are 15 of the casks. It reminded me of the rainbow frog quest in Final Fantasy XV which isn’t the peak quest design I expect. 

The conclusion

Coming to the end of this review and the end of my playthrough I feel mixed. There are many aspects about Far Cry 5 both good and bad that ultimately, I can’t objectively lean either way. 

For the good, i’d argue the most enjoyable aspect is the Co-op experience which makes the game truly a fresh breath of air, from any previous title in the series. However, Hope county despite its beauty size ultimately boils down to a large empty space littered with some enjoyable yet, mostly monotonous side quests. Therefore, if you were to play this title I would highly recommend that you do so with a Co-op partner which makes the game a solid 6/10 (slightly above average). Otherwise playing by your lonesome brings the experience down making it a 4/10 (below average).

If the game is on sale then by all means go in pick it up. I managed to snag it while on sale for around £12. For this price it’s hard not to argue that it is worth the experience.