We reviewed Far Cry 5

Driftwood
Monday, March 26, 2018 | 12:00 PM
12 comments

GSY Review PC PS4 Xbox One

After 4 main episodes and just as many spin-offs, the Far Cry series is back with Far Cry 5 on PS4, Xbox One and PC. We have been playing the PS4 Pro version for a few days now and we have just received a copy on PC, so let us tell you what we think.

Verdict

Far Cry 5 remains Far Cry, in that its adjustments do not modify the game's DNA. Because of that, this fifth installment is not likely to convince you if you have never truly liked the franchise since 2012. That being said, we still feel that this new episode is more legitimate than Far Cry 4 was and more fun to play in the end. Like many people out there, we suffered from Far Cry fatigue and we thought it would be just the same with Far Cry 5. It turns out we were wrong, but it's quite hard to be sure everyone will feel the same. The world is appealing, the content is huge, but there is clearly not as many innovations as we would have hoped to make it feel different. Still, this new opus is most certainly the best in the franchise so far. We'll see if it'll be enough for the players to join in.

On the plus side
Much variety and many possibilities
Charismatic bad guys
Colorful secondary characters
A pretty nice environment to explore
Great lighting effects
HDR brings a lot to the table
No mini map
The Far Cry formula without some of its constraints
Serious and crazy at the same time
Great atmosphere
More Far Cry 3 than 4, with full co-op
Excellent sound design
Great longevity
Far Cry Arcade is promising

On the downside
Not meant to convince those who haven't been before
Water doesn't look very good
Moonless nights are too bright
LOD and shadow issues on PS4 Pro
The blue GPS line is hideous
Cloned enemies that are not always too bright
Loading screens are looooooooong

High quality stream and download

Commented on 2018-03-26 12:24:06

Thanks for the review.

Just a few questions about some things that intrigued me, could you please elaborate more on:

+ No mini map
+ The Far Cry formula without some of its constraints
+ More Far Cry 3 than 4, with full co-op
- Loading screens are looooooooong

Like why no mini map is a good thing, how long are the loading times, etc.

PS. I loved Far Cry 4. Only felt the fatigue with Far Cry: Primal.

In reply to

catfish

Commented on 2018-03-26 15:00:27

Thanks for the review and videos.

The cutscene direction and voice acting in the Faith video is excellent. In fact the intro was great as well. I would prefer this game to have more of a tight narrative focus to be honest...It seems they could make quite a cool narrative focused FPS if they were given the chance. I don't mind the open world setting per se, but the loose Ubisoft formula with a profusion of rather meaningless tasks and encounters gets a bit tedious for me. Still, haven't felt this drawn to a Far Cry game since the first one.

This message and account have been deleted at the user's request

MinorDespera

Commented on 2018-03-26 17:59:26

"so let us tell us what we think." Typo?

Driftwood

Commented on 2018-03-26 18:01:14 In reply to MinorDespera

Well at least someone is reading. :)

Thanks!

Voland44

Commented on 2018-03-26 19:16:41

"this new opus is most certainly the best in the franchise so far"

thats what i want to hear. hell, want tommorow day ASAP

"The blue GPS line is hideous" IT CANT BE TURNED OFF????? FFFFUUUUUUUUU... 0_0

Commented on 2018-03-26 19:22:24 In reply to Sdarts

its not a big city so no need for minimap at all. for more wilderness setting minimap is kinda break the immersing exploration, TESlike compass is more than enough

Commented on 2018-03-26 19:35:01 In reply to Voland44

I don't mind the mini-map nor the other UI elements, Far Cry 3, 4 and Primal have the option to turn off most, if not all, HUD elements. It helps specially when searching for collectables, which are already time consuming even with a mini-map.

As long as there's an option to turn it on again, there's no problem imho. But even if there's not, a modder will add it soon or later. I just want to be able to search for collectables as efficiently as possible.

b0vril

Commented on 2018-03-26 20:47:04

Sounds like it's good. Far Cry Arcade has me quite excited. Though I think I'll wait and get when the price drops a bit.

Commented on 2018-03-26 20:53:22

Yes, I meant the PC version. But I also use those "100% Maps" sometimes, the ones that show every collectables' locations. That or a guide with images. It's very easy to set up your smartphone or tablet beside you or at the base of your monitor for quick checking.

So even with a console, it makes searching for collectables and/or farming for specific items much easier. I'm actually doing this for certain items in Ni no Kuni 2: Revenant Kingdom, which can be a pain if you have to constantly keep opening the menu to check.