Far Cry 5

Similar to its predecessors, Far Cry 5 is a first-person shooter set in an open world environment which the player can explore freely on foot or via various vehicles. Unlike previous titles in the series where the player takes on the role of a set character, the game gives the player the opportunity to customize their character's appearance. Additionally, the character in this game is a silent protagonist, devoid of voiced dialogue or a predefined personality, offering players the chance to deeply immerse themselves in the game, yet sparking concerns about the potential impact on the depth of narrative engagement. While the player has a variety of ranged and explosive weapons to fight against enemies, the game places a renewed emphasis on close-quarters combat compared to previous Far Cry titles by introducing a wider range of melee weapons. In addition, Far Cry 5 features a new weapons ballistics system that includes elements like a bullet dropping over a distance to increase realism.

Creative director Dan Hay described the design of the open world as being modeled on the outposts from previous titles in the Far Cry series. These outposts represented a small section of the map occupied by enemy forces and the player was tasked with liberating them by killing or neutralizing the enemy presence. The outposts were designed with multiple approaches for the player to take and it was this element that the development team tried to recreate in the wider game world of Far Cry 5. The player is dropped into the game world with little context, direction or objective markers and is instead required to navigate the world on their own.

The game is set in the fictional Hope County, Montana, where a preacher named Joseph Seed (portrayed by Greg Bryk) has risen to prominence. Seed believes that he has been chosen by God to protect the people of Hope County from "the Collapse", a global catastrophe that will see the collapse of society, and has established a congregation called the Project at Eden's Gate in order to lead the people to salvation; in reality, Seed is a radical preacher and Eden's Gate is a militaristic doomsday cult. Under his rule, Eden's Gate has used both coercion and violence to forcibly convert the residents of Hope County, and intimidation to keep them from contacting the outside world for help. Seed has assumed the title of "the Father" and maintains control over Hope County with the aid of his Heralds: Jacob, "the Soldier" (Mark Pellegrino), Joseph's older brother and a former United States Army sniper who oversees the training and deployment of the cult's armed soldiers; John, "the Baptist" (Seamus Dever), Joseph's younger brother and a lawyer who has been able to acquire much of the land in Hope County for Eden's Gate and leads the forcible conversion of residents; and Rachel Jessop, also known as Faith or "the Siren" (Jenessa Grant), a botanist who acts as a pacifist to bring the people to trust in Joseph, but uses a powerful hallucinogen called Bliss to run forced work camps for residents who resist the cult. The Heralds have converted a series of decommissioned missile silos into fortified bunkers where they intend to wait out "the Collapse" with the cult's followers.

The player takes on the role of a rookie sheriff's deputy—referred to as "the Deputy"—who is part of a task force sent to arrest Seed. The residents of Hope County opposed to Seed and his followers (whom they derogatorily refer to as “Peggies”) include a cast of characters who join the fight with motives ranging from altruism to revenge, profit, and boredom. They are aided by Richard "Dutch" Roosevelt (John Tench), a local survivalist with a deep distrust of government and a history of anti-social behaviour. Characters from the Far Cry series who return in Far Cry 5 include Hurk Drubman Jr. (Dylan Taylor), a dim-witted though well-intentioned redneck party boy with a love of high-powered explosives; and Willis Huntley (Alain Goulem), a sociopathic CIA agent and self-proclaimed "patriot bastard" in the habit of recruiting civilians for dangerous clandestine missions.

The game was developed by Ubisoft Montreal, with Ubisoft Toronto, Ubisoft Kyiv, Ubisoft Shanghai and Ubisoft Reflections offering assistance. Dan Hay, who served as lead producer for Far Cry 3, was the lead director, with writing led by Drew Holmes, who had previously worked on BioShock Infinite and its downloadable content. The game continued the series' practice of using the Dunia 2 engine, a modified version of the CryEngine. The team chose Montana as the game's setting, as the state lies on the frontier of the United States.

To create a realistic environment, the development team visited Montana for fourteen days to collect information regarding its biomes, environment, and the "self-reliant" nature of the locals, who do not want any authority or outsider to intervene in their life. The development team had previously carried out a similar research excursion to Nepal during development of Far Cry 4. As the development team was no longer satisfied with having one core antagonist in each game, the cast of antagonists was significantly expanded.

Far Cry 5 received "generally favorable" reviews, according to review aggregator Metacritic.

Daemon Hatfield of IGN gave it an 8.9 out of 10, saying "Far Cry 5 is another wide-open playground with all the necessary ingredients for causing a real ruckus: loads of enemies and allies, temperamental wildlife, and plenty of explosions." Polygon gave the game 6.5 of 10 possible points, stating "It's a shame that Far Cry 5 is propped up by a weak story with bland characters, because behind the plot is an open world filled with what Far Cry as a series does best."