Yes, Far Cry 5 is still worth it in 2026, and it is still the Far Cry I actually launch, which is true in the way I have been telling people that Hope County is the last one that still feels like Far Cry, and also starting to feel like I undersold how often I still go back there. I take a bow, a suppressed rifle, and a stubborn refusal to follow the next story marker, and that is either the correct way to play it or a personality flaw, and probably both.
Most of my evenings here are not the cult, they are an outpost at dusk, grass sitting wrong, a patrol I can thread if I am patient, and then a cougar or a truck or my own grenade turning the plan into a film. I have cleared camps without firing a loud shot for the John Wick stealth run, and I have leaned on one loadout for so long I made The Only Weapon You Need about it. The camera version on this page is me finding a Vietnam war game hiding inside this one, which is either a compliment to the sandbox or an admission I got bored of Montana for an evening, because I did not go looking for a different war, the county just handed me the toys and I made a mess. Hope County generates that kind of chaos whether you asked for it or not, and I came off those sessions buzzing in a way a lot of newer, bigger maps do not quite manage.
What I thought Far Cry 5 was going to be
You play a junior deputy who lands in Hope County, a fictional slice of rural Montana taken over by a doomsday cult, the arrest of Joseph Seed goes badly, the county is sealed off, and you are left to dismantle the thing region by region. The premise is grim and the world is gorgeous, forests, rivers, mountains, and quiet back roads that are a pleasure to drive for no reason, while Steam still sells the guns and the cult and what actually sold me is the atmosphere. Hope County feels lived in, you stumble into ambushes, wildlife, rescued civilians, and small unscripted moments the open world throws at you constantly, and that emergent mess is the real draw, more so than the story beats.
The shooting is the strongest part, because weapons feel weighty, the bow is excellent, and the sandbox lets you approach an encounter however you like, with outposts as the highlight, small enemy bases you can assault loud or clear silently, and they reset over time so you always have something to poke. I have cleared the same camp twice because I liked how the grass sat, and guns for hire and animal companions add flavour without forcing you to use them, so I recruit them when I want the noise and I ignore them when I want the grass to stay quiet. It executes the formula about as well as Ubisoft ever has, without reinventing it, and if you enjoy solo open-world shooters where you set your own pace this is an easy four and a half out of five. If you only enjoy tightly scripted, linear shooters, you will bounce off the looser structure, and that is fine, because this county is a place you wander rather than a corridor you are marched down.
I was already here before the recast arrived
The internet decided Far Cry is a template, towers and icons and AI that is serviceable rather than clever, and then it decided 5 was the last one that still felt like Far Cry, which is fine, because I was already here. I am not recasting a Ubisoft open world as high art, I am here because I still roam this one when I want a sandbox that is grounded and stupid at the same time, and people follow people, including the recast that says 6 is bigger so 6 is better, or the recast that says the whole series is homework. I try to follow the session, which has been the less fashionable of the two and the one that still gets me back to Montana.
Far Cry 6 is bigger and prettier and drifted into gear tiers and level-gated enemies, and I already said 5 is the better Far Cry in Far Cry 5 vs Far Cry 6, which is not a slogan so much as how the evenings play. Your skill and your approach are what matter here, not what tier of loot you happen to be wearing, and Ubisoft will keep making larger maps while I keep coming back to the tighter one. If 5 is a redemption arc for the series in your head, good, and if it is still just towers and a map full of icons, that is a fair shrug too, because my take is smaller than either of those headlines, and for one more evening in Montana this is still the Far Cry I actually launch.
The story keeps taking the toy away
It is not flawless, and the flaw is baked into how the campaign is structured, because the story interrupts your free roam with forced set pieces that yank you out of whatever you were doing. You are lining up a quiet outpost, the county is behaving, and then the cult decides you have had enough wandering, and I have sat through those kidnappings with a bow still in my hands and felt the game take the toy away. The leaders are memorable, Joseph Seed is the reason the sermon works, the pacing around him is uneven, and I will not pretend the forced grabs are a feature.
It is also very much a Far Cry game, so if you have grown tired of the Ubisoft open-world template, this will not change your mind, the systems are familiar, and the AI is serviceable rather than clever. None of that sinks it, and you should know what you are buying, because the main story runs roughly twenty hours, and with outposts, side content and free roam most people will spend longer if they want to clear the map. I would not treat the story length as the value, the free roam is the value, and the hours only matter if you let the county waste them.
Co-op exists, two players, online, and only the host keeps the story, which I have already grumbled about in can you play Far Cry 5 co-op, and I play most of this county on my own. A second idiot in a plane is brilliant if you host it correctly, and it is a different article, because the buy question is whether Hope County is still worth roaming in 2026, and for me, yes. I play it the way I play most open worlds, solo, free roam, and patient, ignoring the next marker, driving out to see what happens, with a bow, a suppressed rifle and a bit of patience getting you a long way. It rewards that approach because the world is built to be poked at, and the best moments come from the unscripted ones rather than the cutscenes.
If you want more in the same vein, the rest of the Far Cry 5 hub is there, Ghost Recon Wildlands vs Far Cry 5 covers which one actually rewards playing slow, and the wider open-world shelf is the rest of the day off. Far Cry 5 does not break new ground, what it does it does very well, and I am still here poking at it, which in 2026 is still well worth the evening.
FAQ
Is Far Cry 5 worth playing in 2026?
Yes, I still roam Hope County when I want a solo open-world shooter I can dip in and out of, because the gunplay still has weight, the county still holds up, and the unscripted mess is the real draw. If you are tired of a Ubisoft map full of icons, this will not convert you, and if you want a grounded sandbox with a bow and a bad idea, it is an easy four and a half.
Can you play Far Cry 5 solo?
Yes, the whole campaign is a solo game, and I recruit AI guns for hire when I want the noise and I ignore them when I want to clear an outpost quietly. Co-op exists, two players, and only the host keeps the story, which is a different evening and a different complaint from the one about whether the county is worth booting on your own.
How long does Far Cry 5 take to finish?
The main story runs roughly twenty hours, and if you do what I do, ignore the marker, clear outposts, fish, and wait for a cougar to ruin the plan, you will spend longer. I would not treat the story length as the value, because the free roam is the value, and the county will keep handing you reasons to stay out.
What is the setting of Far Cry 5?
You play a junior deputy in Hope County, a fictional slice of rural Montana taken over by a doomsday cult, and the premise is grim while the world is gorgeous, with forests, rivers, mountains and quiet back roads. I stay for the county, not for the sermon, which is why I keep driving the roads for no reason the marker asked for.
What are the downsides of Far Cry 5?
The story yanks you out of free roam with forced set pieces, and the pacing around the cult leaders is uneven, while it is also very much a Ubisoft open world, with towers and camps and a map full of icons. The AI is serviceable rather than clever, none of that sinks it for me, and you should still know what you are buying before the grass sells you the rest.
What is the best way to play Far Cry 5?
Solo, free roam, and patient is how I would play it, because I ignore the next story marker, clear outposts with a bow and a suppressed rifle, and go loud only when the plan falls apart. The best moments are the unscripted ones, and that is also how I play most open worlds, so take the advice as a confession rather than a settings menu.
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