Perhaps one of the strangest additions to Far Cry games has to be the Map Editor. Starting in Far Cry 2, players had the opportunity to create their own custom maps and missions and share them with other Far Cry players. The feature returns as Far Cry Arcade in the upcoming title, featuring the most robust map and mission editor in the series’ history. In addition to assets from Far Cry 5, Ubisoft is pulling in assets from their other properties like Assassin’s Creed and Rainbow Six.
At last week’s preview event we only got a chance to play Far Cry 5 Arcade for a short time, but it highlighted the possibilities. First up was the single-player gameplay, running through two custom-created missions. The first was a surreal adventure that quickly showed the bizarre ways assets might be able to be used. Floating clocks, twisted hallways, and bright points of light stand in between the player and the finish line. The second mission added an objective besides reaching the finish line–eliminate enemies–and was set in a generic maze of shipping containers. You can watch both missions in the video above.
Next up was multiplayer where we played some team deathmatch on a custom user-created map. Footage was restricted during the multiplayer portion but it played similarly enough to the Far Cry 5 campaign in a bizarre conglomeration of buildings and assets set on a small island. What’s unclear is exactly how player creations will become competitive multiplayer maps. It was fun for a couple of matches, but I was never really hooked in the same way that I was with the campaign. What’s unclear is exactly how player creations will become competitive multiplayer maps.
Live and Die by the Will of the Players
We didn’t get a chance to actually dive into the map editor at all, but based simply on the first “Journey” single-player mission I played, it seems pretty in-depth and detailed. The question I still have is whether that detail and depth comes along with a user-friendly experience. If the map editor isn’t easy to use, it’s unlikely that Far Cry 5 will find a strong foothold with players, either on the single-player or competitive multiplayer side. As it stands, I can’t imagine that people will be playing Far Cry 5 for Arcade. User-generated content lives and dies by its player creations, so for Far Cry 5 Arcade to do well, it will need to have a robust community of creators. Pulling from the Ubisoft library for assets should help to drum up additional interest in the mode.
From my brief time with it, I wouldn’t say that Far Cry 5 Arcade will be replacing competitive multiplayer shooters anytime soon, and the single-player library of missions is just as likely to have a bunch of junk as it is to have interesting player-created missions. It’s a fun distraction and side-dish to the main Far Cry 5 experience, but I can’t see its addition being any kind of make or break for the Far Cry 5 experience. In fact, it seems like the main campaign will do more than enough to hold the game up on its own. I hope I’m proven wrong and that Far Cry 5 Arcade proves to be a more compelling experience than my brief time with it showed.
A ton of new information was revealed about Far Cry 5 last week, including a number of gameplay videos from a preview event. You can check out some co-op gameplay undertaking a mission for Hurk Sr., father of Far Cry’s famous Hurk Drubman. We’ll get to meet Hurk’s entire family this go around. They have just as much character as the guy who wears American flag pants and calls everyone dude. If you want more Far Cry 5 animals, we’ve got gameplay video of rescuing and recruiting Cheeseburger, Far Cry 5’s lovable bear ally that will give Boomer a run for his pupper money.
We also got a look at some of the Far Cry 5 character customization options, something new to the Far Cry series. This video shows different clothing options that will be available for your character, so that you can look your best when playing co-op. Psychedelic drug trip missions make a return in Far Cry 5, and we’ve got a brief video looking at one.
Far Cry 5 releases on March 27.
