The “Far Cry” series has taken players to a different location in every game. Even so, the games in the series have something in common – their depiction of violence juxtaposed with beautiful exotic landscapes. And in recent “Far Cry” entries, violence stems from zealotry. “Far Cry 3” prominently features tribal ritualistic violence on a Pacific tropical island. Meanwhile, “Far Cry 4” had the player face off against a tyrannical demagogue in the Himalayas. Now, the United States of America is Ubisoft Montreal’s next exotic landscape in “Far Cry 5.”

Ubisoft’s E3 2017 presentation was not very subtle about this upcoming installment. An American flag adorned with Iron Cross-like stars waves on the projector screen. Creative director Dan Hay introduces the game on stage. Hope County, Montana he says, was once a friendly community. But when a fanatical Christian cult takes over, “people are fucking scared,” he tells the crowd.

Cultural Relevance

The provocative premise of “Far Cry 5” is rooted in recent events and imagery. When Hay first unveiled the sequel, he cited a real-life early 2016 news story, where an Oregon militia occupied a federal building. Skepticism of the government was a theme he took away from the event, applying it to his game. But that incident also revealed something about the American mindset. In a political landscape focused on fear of foreign terrorism from forces like ISIS, the country often forgets about domestic threats. Though the real-life militia was nowhere near as brutal as this Hope County cult, these were white extreme Christian terrorists. Yet the American news media and most of the public fell short of using the “t” word.

“Far Cry 5” is an American tale that channels events such as that, along with Brexit, and perhaps another “T” word. This game takes those ideas and amps them up, creating a scenario that serves as an ugly reminder of American violence. But “Far Cry 5” is certainly not the first piece of media to have such a message. To help us understand this game’s intention, let’s revisit an old game, movie, and show.

Bioshock Infinite

The Christian angle of “Far Cry 5” instantly brought back memories of “Bioshock Infinite” to several gamers. While “Far Cry” may be an exaggeration of America, “Infinite” takes it to extreme heights.

Protagonist Booker DeWitt fights against Father Comstock, a zealot whose ultra-nationalism becomes a seed for an American-centric religion. Comstock establishes the floating city of Columbia to represent American ideals. But this idea of American exceptionalism does not include minorities and immigrants. Xenophobia and classism are as much enemies as gun-wielding thugs. Comstock’s revisionist history results in imagery depicting the Founding Fathers like deities, and Abraham Lincoln as a demon. But this extremism also results in a resistance, known as the Vox Populi. These leftist fighters are led by a woman of color, and utilize Communist revolutionary imagery.

“Far Cry 5” similarly depicts American fanaticism in a heightened fashion. Although smaller in scale, “Far Cry” also takes the concepts of fear in America, and a somewhat multi-ethnic resistance. And “Bioshock Infinite” serves as proof that game developers are not afraid to tackle the extremities of American ideology.

Red State

Kevin Smith’s 2011 film “Red State” has the most blatant similarities to “Far Cry 5.” Smith depicts a religious cult not unlike the real-life Westboro Baptist Church, led by Abin Cooper (the late actor Michael Parks). The members of this church lure people they consider to be sinners – primarily homosexuals. The stalker nature of this church, and the torture that their victims endure, put this film closer to the horror genre.

The film eventually transitions from a horror film to an all-out action film. Law enforcement eventually engages the church in armed combat, and few of the primary characters survive the bloodbath. The members of this church are labeled terrorists by the end of it all. And a special agent played by John Goodman, who was a part of this violent climax, ponders the violent aspect of human nature that stems from a few beliefs.

While the issues at hand are serious, both “Far Cry” and “Red State” depict them through unrestrained and totally bonkers action sequences. While “Red State” may eventually be lost to time, “Far Cry 5” has the potential to reach a larger audience.

Fargo

The announcement trailer of “Far Cry 5” was a short live-action video, featuring memorable imagery. Darkly comedic in nature, we see beautiful Montana sights – a forest, river, and an open field. Juxtaposing these images are casual acts of violence – a body floating on the river, for instance. A man fearfully runs across a wheat field. We pan on a church as a bell rings, to see that a man is banging another man’s head onto the bell.

It would not be surprising if this video was based on teasers for the television show “Fargo.” The first season of this show had several short teasers with similar imagery. We focus on a snow mound next to a road – a truck passes by and blows some snow away, exposing a nose of a buried person. In another teaser, a man fearfully runs across an open field of snow. The promotional material of “Far Cry 5” and “Fargo” is playful in depicting darkness in the heartlands of America.

At its core, “Fargo” is a true crime story. But this first season of the show had several undertones, depicting pre-financial crash arrogance in the form of a religious parable. In the show, the residents of Bemidji, Minnesota are shocked by recent violent crimes. Some characters, so accustomed to the “Minnesota nice” of the community, refuse to accept that there is darkness. But like real-life American citizens, the darkness is a truth that they must eventually accept.

In Closing

When we look back at “Far Cry 5” footage from E3, we are reminded of the goofy sandbox nature of the series’ gameplay. Perhaps this potentially controversial premise is merely a backdrop for video game nonsense. Regardless, there is precedent for pieces of art with similar messages. This game can serve as a reminder to Americans that violence and fear stemmed from zealotry aren’t exclusively foreign concepts. And Ubisoft Montreal is making a bold move by taking their violent series closer to home.