On the surface, Hope County looks to be pretty idyllic. It’s a province of Montana, a North American state that’s jam-packed with sights of natural beauty, from the Glacier National Park and the Rocky Mountains to the Yellowstone National Park and the Great Plains. But as it usually goes with Far Cry games, not everything is as it seems in Hope County, Montana. And it’s all down to one bad seed.
Or, more specifically, a family of them.
Hope County’s motto has always been something along the lines of “Freedom. Faith. Firearms”. But someone called Joseph Seed has come along to monopolise and distort that focus to something far more sinister.
The Seed Family are a group of four siblings who call themselves the Heralds and they’re about to deliver a world of pain to the sprawling quiet of Hope County.
The Heralds of the Project at Eden’s Gate
Joseph Seed
As you’ve probably guessed from the concept art Ubisoft has already released, Far Cry 5 is themed around a religious cult and a violent one at that. Joseph, who is known as the ‘Father’, is the leader of the cult known as “The Project at Eden’s Gate”. But rather than being a truly spiritual religious man, Joseph leads his flock through coercion, fear, promises, lies and bloodshed.
In the first full Far Cry 5 trailer, you hear some of Jacob’s sermon or at least monologue that gives you some idea of the kind of “leader” he is at The Project at Eden’s Gate.
“We want you, we accept you and we will take you, willingly or not. And some of you may fight but in the end, you will thank us. I am your Father and you are my children.”
From the looks of the trailer, it seems Joseph and his siblings are getting people to join Eden’s Gate by any means necessary.
The people of Hope County
In Far Cry 5, you won’t just have the Heralds and the members of Eden’s Gate to deal with, you’ll also have to face the people of Hope County itself. And they’re a bit of a mixed bag. There are those that are pleased about the cult’s presence in one way or another, but there are those that are now part of the Resistance, those opposed to the cult and their practices.
Each of the townsfolk will apparently have a rich story, but it’ll be up to you to work out whether they’re friend or foe, looking to help or hinder your efforts.
Here are the Hope County residents we’ve met so far:
Pastor Jerome
Pastor Jerome certainly isn’t happy that Joseph Seed and co are in his town. He’s lost his whole congregation to Eden’s Gate and is seriously miffed that they’ve been on over by the Heralds’ “lies” and “poison”.
“Woe to the man who leads my flock astray, for if I am not their shepherd I must be the wolf,” quotes Pastor Jerome from a Bible he’s reading. But these days there’s a pistol in his Bible rather than scripture…
Mary May
Mary May has a much more personal reason to hate Eden’s Gate. She owns one of the saloons in town called the Whistly Beaver – or she does now anyway. Her father always said that Hope County was a place where you could speak your mind and have a great time. But, when the Heralds came to Hope County they took Mary’s mother and brother and everything changed. Mary’s father wasn’t ever the same.
On a newspaper in her character profile, it states that the “saloon owner was found dead”. Whether that means he committed suicide or was killed trying to rescue his family is unclear, but now Mary’s seriously ready for a fat slice of revenge. Hence why she’s got all those Molotovs under the bar just waiting to go.
Nick Rye
As Nick Rye attaches a minigun to the underside of his beloved plane, you realise he’s just a man out to protect his growing family. “People are scared, man,” he explains, speaking of The Project at Eden’s Gate. “If those f**king pigs come after my family, I’m sure as hell gunna give em [a war].”
You – aka The Hero
And then there’s you. Your Far Cry 5 character and its avatar is completely customisable and can be any gender and any race. But the main gist is that you’re a Deputy Sheriff sent into Eden’s Gate by the US Marshalls with two of your colleagues to arrest Joseph Seed.
Joseph comes willingly, but before you know it everything’s gone wrong and you and your pals end up kidnapped in a hostile territory.
At the moment, you have no name but it sounds like it’s your story to tell, with the narrative reacting and changing according to the decisions and choices you make.
Thankfully you’ll have your two buddies on your side and you’ll also be able to call in help from some furry friends too à la Far Cry Primal.
