Far Cry 5 PS5 Impressions

A few days ago Ubisoft released an update for Far Cry 5, one which aims to boost the game to 60fps (frames per second) on the newer generation of consoles. While you could technically get 60fps on the Xbox Series S and X using FPS boost, the experience was middling because it drastically lowered the onscreen resolution, resulting in a blurry image. With the new update, you get 60fps and 1080p resolution (at a minimum) on the new consoles. 

Having a PS5, I decided to see for myself how the game functions. And in short, I can report that it's a great experience. To me at least, it rivals Far Cry 6 in terms of graphics and smoothness. Thanks to the higher framerate, driving, shooting, climbing, and using the wingsuit all feel better than they used to.

I had previously played  Far Cry 5 on PC, and my experience wasn't fantastic. My hardware isn't the greatest (perhaps a bit stronger than a PS4), so I had to play on medium settings with a lowered resolution. The game was still fun, but it definitely wasn't optimal dealing with a subpar image and frequent hitches. On PS5 the game looks generationally better. It is much sharper, smoother, and therefore more satisfying to play than it was previously. Obviously, if you have a powerful gaming PC and have played Far Cry 5 on it before, there isn't much of a reason to do so again on console. However, for everyone without a beefy gaming PC, I do recommend using an Xbox Series S/X or PS5 to play Far Cry 5. 

There is only one area where I feel the experience on my middling PC was better compared to the PS5 version of the game, and that is with respect to loading times. Using a run-of-the-mill (non-NVMe) SSD in my laptop, Far Cry 5 loaded faster than it does on PS5, even with the game installed to its SSD. The difference isn't so great that I found it to be unbearable, but I did want to note this as I know some folks dislike when load screens are long enough to be able to read the messages developers leave on them. (It's quite easy to die in Far Cry 5 too, so these load screens add up.)

Gameplay-wise, well, Far Cry 5 should feel familiar to anybody who has played a first person shooter in the last decade. The Ubisoft open world formula returns here, with your usual perks, outposts, crafting, quests, and random side activities. Far Cry 5 is not a roleplaying game, but it feels adjacent to that genre. Indeed, I'd argue that Far Cry 5 and Fallout 4 could be siblings were you to place them on a family tree. What the former lacks in exploration, loot, and dialogue options, it makes up for in moment-to-moment gameplay and accessibility. It's akin to how Assassin's Creed Odyssey refined and simplified many of the systems that made The Witcher 3 great (something similar could be said about Watch Dogs 2 and Grand Theft Auto V). Love them or hate them, Ubisoft is good at what they aim to accomplish, even if people aren't always in love with the end result.  

Far Cry 5 is available via Xbox Game Pass and PlayStation Plus Extra, meaning you most likely already have access to it if you own one of those consoles. I do recommend the season pass if you can get it on sale, as it adds a bunch of fun weapons that make playing through the game again much less of a grind (the alien guns in particular are extremely satisfying to use, especially when dealing with otherwise tedious missions like "shoot down three helicopters before they fly away"). 

Have you played Far Cry 5 before, and are you planning to try it out on the newer consoles after this patch? Let me know in the comments below!