The Far Cry series doesn't shy away from showing humanity at its worst and most extreme, juxtaposed against some beautiful and exotic locals. Montana may not be exotic, but the first Far Cry 5 trailer shows how close to home those extremes can be.
This Land Is My Land
As mentioned, the previous games had been set in exotic locations, like distant island "paradises" or the Himalayas, but Far Cry 5 is keeping things close to home this time. The first glimpse that came a few days ago thanks to the box art showed that it would be set in Hope County, Montana, with players facing off against a mad cult that's basically taken over the county. The trailer played with this idea, starting off calm and serene but ramping up as the trailer went on.
The trailer is narrated by a mysterious figure that sounds like the cult leader, Joseph, appealing to anyone who is looking for "salvation." This is juxtaposed early on with glimpses of people living their lives by farming, hunting, fishing, etc., but slowly dials it up. While still fairly quiet, it jumps to images of armed cultists threatening townsfolk and holding hostages, forcing them to come and be "baptized" under the banner of this cult.
From there it cuts to more of the action. Vehicles explode and guns are fired wildly as civil war hits this small county. All this is set to a cover of Woody Guthrie's "This Land is Your Land," and it's able to both contradict and enhance the scenes of cult worship and violence erupting all over Hope County.
The trailer wasn't the only thing to drop for Far Cry 5 either. Ubisoft also released three character vids showing some of the allies the player will need to rely on if they want to take down this cult. A pilot, a bar owner, and a pastor are out to help end the death and madness that have engulfed their home because of this cult, and they are ready to do it by whatever means necessary.
Your Own Backyard
Part of what's made the Far Cry games work is that there is a scary level of believability to how the people act in them. These are people pushed to their breaking point and they all react in different ways. But what makes Far Cry 5 scarier is that these are people who may very well exist next door.
The symbol employed by the in-game cult bears a striking resemblance to the iron cross used by the Nazis and still used by Neo-Nazis. Then there's the rhetoric, which sounds eerily similar to groups like the Westboro Baptist Church. The WBC is infamous for demonstrating at soldiers' funerals spouting racist, homophobic messages about the eventual fall of the United States.
In the tense political climate that has dominated the United States over the last couple of years, the timing of this is uncanny. Ubisoft has always pulled inspiration from real-life trends and changes, like the Watch Dogs games playing in the world of hackers, data-sharing, and loss of privacy in the digital age. But given the imagery and themes at play in Far Cry 5, it could be Ubisoft's most controversial and divisive game to date.
Far Cry 5 launches Feb. 27, 2018, on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC.
