Great review
Waypoint is killing it right now, imoThis speaks to a deeper problem, albeit one that emerges from the same central flaw of being stretched too thin: Thematically, Far Cry 5 is such an inconsistent mess of ideas that there is hardly a recognizable through line at all. Instead, the game gestures towards ambiguity as if looking for a shield to save itself with.
This is a game that undeniably knows that Donald Trump is president, but cannot decide if that fact should be punchline or key plot device. When, in two different scenes, cult leaders make oblique references to "America's leadership" or the failures of the person "who's in charge" as proof of the American empire's final days, the game reaches for sincere relevance. But an hour later, you'll be recovering the notorious piss tape from a Russian spy in a pun-filled quest.
In some moments, it feels as if Far Cry 5 wants to take a neutral position and represent some true complexity of rural America. Take, for instance, the fact that various characters will speak to their various opinions about the country's gun culture, with some disappointed in our addiction to assault rifles and others "not getting the big deal" about guns.
Yet when facing more obviously troubling truths, like the racism and xenophobia that swept Trump into office, Far Cry 5 hedges its bets. Mission after mission, NPC after NPC, there is a sense throughout the game that Ubisoft wants to make sure you're laughing along with them regardless of why you're laughing.
In one case, a white quest giver complains asked me if I was "One of those eye-talians," who she was concerned were stealing her jewelry. The joke, of course, is that racism is bad, and that this is a particularly unlikely form of racism, since Italian-Americans have been largely assimilated into white culture. Of course, the truth is that very similar statements are actually made about people of color regularly, especially those in service sector jobs. The irony is that if she'd followed through and said "Hispanics," if there had been no comedy alibi for the racism, the game would have the genuine ability to test what players thought their characters would do. Instead, we got "eye-talians."
Or consider the fact that the surprising racial diversity of the game's cult, which I explored in my interview with creative director Dan Hay last month, means that the Project at Eden's Gate never quite assumes the stature of the primarily white militias that the game's developers heavily emphasized their original pitch. It's a point only further extended by the fact that you work directly for one such militia for a good third of the game, but due to the poor job of characterization and worldbuilding, you never learn what the militia stands for, why it came into being, or what it would be doing if not for the Project at Eden's Gate.
That last question—what would Hope County be if not for the cult?—haunts Far Cry 5, and its inability to address it directly hobbles any meaning that could be gleaned from some of the game's more surprising twists. Which isn't to say that you can't interpret the game's story or that there won't be a million theory videos about what is going to be one of the year's most talked about (and most unearned) endings. But it does mean that any final interpretation wiggles out of grasp, deferred for lack of clarity.
After all, what are we to make of the Project and Eden's Gate, itself? At key moments, when you and the resistance score key blows against them, the game offers us a brief vista of the nearby area, lit by fireworks and decorated by the raising of an American flag waving in the breeze.
Yet Joseph preaches in front of a modified American flag, and the cult's leaders are as American as they come: A business savvy self help guru, a military vet, and a sort of pop-culture-and-drug wielding micro-celebrity. Their entire mobilizing purpose is an anxiety about the collapse of the American system, and the appeal they make for joining the cult is the ability to escape the stress of your daily news feed. Honestly, what could be more American than the Project at Eden's Gate?
Perhaps, in a different game, the message would be clear: You, player, are the agent of the broken status quo. You're the one working for conspiracy theorists who complain about globalists and politicians who grouse about "Obama-loving libtards." You're defending a culture where every member of Hope County has individually invested in a personal bunker that will never be able to provide them a life of safety and comfort, while the Project supports a collectivist vision of survival. The cult is nothing more than a scapegoat, a whipping boy for all of the problems of Hope County and America writ large.
But Far Cry 5 doesn't earn that reading. Instead, this is a game where, in search of shock, one of the cult leader's rips the flesh off of a living victim and staples it to the wall. It's a game that leans all the way into debunked "brainwashing" view of cults, despite Ubisoft hosting interviews with expert consultants who emphasize that cults work through social pressure, not drugs and programming. It's a game that retreats from its own moments of sincerity, which is a shame, because in the rare cases where it spends time with some of its slightly more restrained characters, you can genuinely see what a better version of Far Cry 5 might look like. Instead, we got this version, one wrapped in a safety blanket of disinterest and reference-as-punchline.
It managed to have combat feel better when I played a rogue. So it has that.
I thought I was forgetting something.EDIT: The Division should be added too. An 80 on MC, but has received content updates that has made it a better experience.
I wish people could shut the fuck up about the ending and what they think of it when the game is not even out yet.
It's not just standard video review information though. Compared to other big reviewers he goes way more in depth on his opinions of say sound design and quality of voice acting.
People like me say his word is gospel because we've largely agreed with him. There are games he says wait for sale I'll still buy because I have nothing else to do but he hasn't really steered me wrong.
As someone 100% stoked for Far Cry 5 and pre-ordered the gold edition, I watched Karak's video and his negatives seem completely valid. I don't really see the problem, sounds like the AI path finding and responses need fixing and the excessive random encounters that disrupt mission conversations need to be dialed back/corrected.
I played through Elex twice on PC and even bought the PS4 CE when it was on deep discount on Amazon, it's one of my favorites to come out in the last year, but that game has some serious issues, and I would have a hard time recommending it to a large majority of gamers that I know. There's a lot to love there, but you really have to wade through 8+ hours of game play to reach the creamy center, and a large majority of the mainstream audience just wouldn't be down for that IMO.
At the end of the day, whether it's FC5 or Elex, every gamer is going to have a different level of tolerance for what they're willing to put up with, I think Karak tends to err on the side of "wait for these issues to be fixed" in most cases, and that's a good thing.
Games shouldn't come out broken, I think we can all agree on that.
The combat isn't too bad. But I still have nightmares going through those tunnels with respawning enemies from one town to the next only to be sent back immediately after. No idea if they ever patched that after launch.It managed to have combat feel better when I played a rogue. So it has that.
Oh no the enemies respawning are for sure a thing. I eventually reached a point I'd just rush through them lmaoThe combat isn't too bad. But I still have nightmares going through those tunnels with respawning enemies from one town to the next only to be sent back immediately after. No idea if they ever patched that after launch.
Agreed, Elex was not fun. I fell for the hype threads and it's definitely wasn't for me. Whereas I was able to find some fun in Technomancer.Bro I like eurojank here and there, technomancer was a hidden gem, but elex and I do not look eye to eye. That game needed to feel good to play more than the others I've played, and it doesn't.
This is about as high as Ubisoft games get these days.
Rainbow Six: Siege: 73
Ghost Recon: Wildlands: 70
For Honor: 78
Steep: 71
The Crew: 61
South Park: The Fractured, But Whole: 79
The Division: 80
Assassin's Creed: Unity: 70
Assassin's Creed: Syndicate: 76
Assassin's Creed: Origins: 81
This game was really unlikely to score in the upper 80s/lower 90s like some people seemed to be expecting.
When does Far Cry 3 Remastered come out? Is it soon? Any word on if this Season pass is remotely worth it?
I did now, was a little short on time earlier and yeah I'm not surprised coming from waypoint they would focus on everything but gameplay. I just meant that line could definitely be used to describe their games from a mechanics point of view as well. They have a very samey set up and progression to them, as do many other AAA games like tomb raider, mordor and even batman games.
Having some huge, political moment of gravitas one second and then flying through the mountains raining over-the-top destruction down would be more whiplash than I would enjoy, I think.
90% of them are in the range of 70-90
That's a fair point. The open world definitely messes with narrative intention, yeah.I think that Wolfenstein 2 proves that it's possible to have a tonal spectrum done well, but that's a pretty curated experience that doesn't factor in an open world.
Yeah, aggressively mediocre is probably the best description lol. They've polished the hell out of that formula though. I think I learned my lesson after FC4, but it took way too long. Of all the games I've bought and put down after 2 hours, Ubisoft probably made half of them.Ubi are aggressively mediocre, having found just the right formula to get good sales but never push the boat. The Marvel of gaming.
Eh, I'm not sure they'd pull it off well.
I don't mind political commentary in video games but I'm not sure a 1,000 person team, mass-market, mainstream, wal-mart shooter is capable of doing that well.
Oh good. I got really tired of that shit in AC:O.
How would anyone know if the Season Pass is worth it yet?When does Far Cry 3 Remastered come out? Is it soon? Any word on if this Season pass is remotely worth it?
Very well-written, but I fear it's going to be the first of 1,000 hot(ter) takes on the game. It's almost as if, and stick with me here, Far Cry doesn't want to take itself so seriously. A toe in the water approach, like every other game. I can see what he's saying -- that it alllllmost gets there, and that's a shame because it could've been more impactful than it chooses to be. But for me, I don't want Far Cry to go there. Having some huge, political moment of gravitas one second and then flying through the mountains raining over-the-top destruction down would be more whiplash than I would enjoy, I think.
Gotta love these assessments.Ubi are aggressively mediocre, having found just the right formula to get good sales but never push the boat. The Marvel of gaming.
Best to just ignore them, they're pure bait. You could lay out the most thoughtful, well-reasoned argument to why that whole statement is unfair (which it is), but it wouldn't matter.
Lol you put it way more nicely than I could have. That was a wall of text that says so, so much more about the author than the game. If that's how they review games, I'm definitely marking them off of 'relevant' in terms of what games are fun to play lol.
Ubi are aggressively mediocre, having found just the right formula to get good sales but never push the boat. The Marvel of gaming.
Is this a meme? I've been seeing this pop up all over this site recently.
Waypoint seems to review games on political agenda first, gameplay last. I dont play games to listen to political commentary. I play them for fun. I never find their reviews worthwhile.
So because it was in development prior to the fall 2016 election that means they didn't have enough time in the past 1.5 years to weave some things into this game's story?lol considering the game was in development far before Orange was elected
It's just a very accurate way to describe a great many games these days. Ubisoft has this open world formula they attempt to build all sorts of different games around, and in many ways it leads to them not making anything that stands out.Is this a meme? I've been seeing this pop up all over this site recently.
It's just a bad take that comes from ignorant people who still think Ubi makes three games that all center around tower climbing. Mentioning games that don't fit that specific open world criticism, like R6 Siege, For Honor, South Park, Mario & Rabbids, or others, and you're met with a variety of excuses.Is this a meme? I've been seeing this pop up all over this site recently.
So because it was in development prior to the fall 2016 election that means they didn't have enough time in the past 1.5 years to weave some things into this game's story?
It's just a very accurate way to describe a great many games these days. Ubisoft has this open world formula they attempt to build all sorts of different games around, and in many ways it leads to them not making anything that stands out.
It's just a bad take that comes from ignorant people who still think Ubi makes three games that all center around tower climbing. Mentioning games that don't fit that specific open world criticism, like R6 Siege, For Honor, South Park, Mario & Rabbids, or others, and you're met with a variety of excuses.
Well it's not hard to imagine the story of this game was coming into focus right at the exact moment the election was entering it's home stretch (2 years ago), right up to the actual election night (1.5 years ago).Sure they could have but the review makes it seem like it was made right when he was elected.
Plus it seems like they're making it political for the sake of making it political. Same with people who will use this as "see we don't need more of dem violent games they make the children bad"
Ubi are aggressively mediocre, having found just the right formula to get good sales but never push the boat. The Marvel of gaming.
8s are mediocre now?Ubi are aggressively mediocre, having found just the right formula to get good sales but never push the boat. The Marvel of gaming.
Waypoint seems to review games on political agenda first, gameplay last. I dont play games to listen to political commentary. I play them for fun. I never find their reviews worthwhile.
No, I meant the phrase "aggressively mediocre." I'm seeing it used to describe everything lately. A youtube video, a game, a developer. Figured it was some kinda meme.It's just a bad take that comes from ignorant people who still think Ubi makes three games that all center around tower climbing. Mentioning games that don't fit that specific open world criticism, like R6 Siege, For Honor, South Park, Mario & Rabbids, or others, and you're met with a variety of excuses.