Far Cry 5 has brought its players to rough and tough landscapes of Montana and have breathed new life into the long-running game series. It uses its self-righteous antagonists to create unbelievable story moments and mixes in a great American-themed playground (of sorts) to explore with a heavy set of guns and vehicles to use at your disposal.

Players will take control of a nameless protagonist, only referred to as “Rook” from time to time who is sent in with the U.S. Marshalls and local sheriffs to put an end to a fanatic cult that has begun to take over Hope County. The cult’s leader, Joseph Seed, warns them of the consequences before they arrest him, but once the group leaves with Seed their helicopter crashes with only Rook being able to escape Seed’s grasp. Now with the help of the rebellious Hope County locals, Rook must take down Seed and all of his followers while also trying to save his fellow captured officers.

Having a nameless protagonist or one without any voice of their own tends to drag interactions and stories down hard. This is sadly the case in Far Cry 5 as Rook’s lack of personality really doesn’t add much depth or investment in the story. Nor does it allow for any of the side characters to be memorable as many of them don’t feel like they have much stakes in what is happening and players won’t feel like they have really gotten to know any of them.

The same, thankfully, can’t be said about Seed and his set of followers as they really do steal the show with every interaction. Joseph Seed is a true antagonist who you can feel constantly breathing down your neck regardless of what region you’re in. Each of the three major Seed followers has unique ideas and brings their own arsenal in keeping Rook in check as he leads a rebellion over each of their regions. These interactions also showcase their unique personalities and some social issues that players might recognize in the real world.

Seed’s main female follower, Faith, also brings some of Far Cry’s more drug-induced and psychedelic settings that the series is known for. These moments bring new moments into the story and let players have a little more fun than the other regions.

The giant open landscape of Hope County is incredible to explore and will leave players in awe in how much there is to do. Players can feel American culture with each new area they explore and can hunt down some wildlife to earn some quick cash. However, unlike previous entries, animal skins have no effect on how many thing you can carry, so the hunting feels a little less apart of the game.

There are also a crazy amount of side-missions that extremely varied and offer players to meet a variety of characters. This adds a great amount of replay value, especially with ability to play online with your friends. Since players actually can’t progress in the story while playing co-op, so side-missions are definitely fun to play with a friend.

Side-Missions also allow players to experience the different types of vehicles and weapons that Far Cry 5 has to offer. There are weaponized boats and cars that let you mow down enemies on the ground and stunt planes that let you take control of the skies. There is also a heavy amount of weapon variety letting players go to battle with whatever weapons makes them a sharpshooter and a great amount of customization for the perfect amount of personal satisfaction.

However, once players get into their respective vehicles, they will begin to see that driving vehicles is completely unreliable and quite frustrating. Being in the driver’s seat feels more like constantly driving on ice rather than on a mountain trail. It can make players fail missions at times which isn’t helped anymore by Far Cry’s inability to determine mission locations and consistency in enemy spawning. At times, players will be signaled that they are “out of the mission bounds” and need to return to the area, but the games does not clearly state where the area is and players will have to restart missions. It feels like an unfair mechanic and there is not much players will be able to do about it. Also enemies can sometimes spawn in random spots, leading to one-sided firefights that will undoubtedly make some players rage.

Far Cry 5 also adds a new competitive multiplayer mode and map creator for the first time in the series. Players now have the ability to duke it out in some new competitive modes and create maps and challenges that they can put other players to the test. This is a nice addition, but servers do not always run smoothly and the maps don’t look as great as should. Often times, the maps look more like a bad PC build rather than a Triple-A studios work.

While it absolutely has some technical issues and some wacky controls, Far Cry’s first American outing breathes new life into the franchises. Its incredible Montana mountains, mesmerizing antagonists, and vast set of missions make it a worthy entry for players to explore.