Robert Grosso takes a look at the charismatic villain of Far Cry 5, the fanatical Father Joseph Seed:

Character Select: The Fate of Freedom

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Far Cry 5’s charismatic villain, the fanatical Father Joseph Seed of Eden’s Gate, fits this role fully, and per Hay’s vision, the game’s entire being reflects that simple charge that is all too sinister for us: “what if he was right all along?”

Part of the charm of Far Cry 5 is how it does tackle extremities in the face of divisiveness. The setting is perfect to demonstrate this. Rural Montana is as exotic of a location you can find in the mainland United States. Sparsely populated and filled with savage beauty, it continues the trend of Far Cry games providing beautiful locales for its players. For many, Montana is a temporary getaway from urban life for a short excursion into the unknown. For others, it is an exaggerated portrait of their lifestyles and sensibilities.

Some of the criticism thrown at Far Cry 5 has been the lack of a political stance upon the game. Yet, the game is perhaps one of the most politically sound ever done by Ubisoft, mostly because of how it presents extreme ideology. The Cult of Eden’s Gate is as fanatical it comes as an ideological framework, but the Resistance movement, the denizens of Hope County, represent a more varied form of ideological beliefs that often reflect the extremities of the ideology thrown at them.

Part of this is how Ubisoft treats the characters of Far Cry 5 through extreme personalities. The world itself is populated by conservative stereotypes with conservative values, and for some, the fact that the game doesn’t tackle contemporary political divisions misses the point of their representation. The caricature of rural conservatives as fanatical “preppers” clinging to their guns as a safety blanket is strong for both gameplay reasons (prepper stashes and tons of guns in a first-person shooter) and through real-life sensibilities that have shaped how we view issues, such as gun ownership in a time where the U.S is currently grappling with the prospect of gun reform. It is a problem that needs addressing regardless of our beliefs, and the recent movements for reform to gun laws in the U.S. has become a political hot potato that is hard to ignore. But, a game like Far Cry 5 thrives on the use of guns in its gameplay, so it is disingenuous to say the game is pro or anti-gun in a political sense. What the game does achieve, however, is showcasing the malignant uses of guns as the tools they are on both sides.

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