#prima games

Part 1: General comments about the game and the story

There are a few sentences in the guide that suggest Hope County has been under Eden’s Gate’s violent control for years. For example, they wrote, “But now that the Project at Eden’s Gate (...) has arrived, the good folk of Hope County are under attack”. In Jerome’s biography, they say, “it wasn’t long before [Joseph’s] unorthodox worship started to worry the Pastor. Then came the lockdown”. And, about Angels, they explain, “People who don’t willingly join the cult are indoctrinated with the Bliss”. In the game, however, it’s only when the Reaping begins that the county is “under attack” and the lockdown comes. As for Angels, they existed long before Eden’s Gate started taking people against their will. I believe the situation described in the guide is what the Far Cry 5 writing team originally had in mind but it changed during the game’s development and, now, it’s only when the Deputy arrives that all hell breaks loose.

There is no mention of the alternate (“Don’t arrest Joseph”) ending anywhere. Either they missed it or it wasn’t an option yet.

The three main regions are always mentioned in this order: Holland Valley, Whitetail Mountains, and Henbane River.

In the final mission “Where It All Began”, to say players have to shoot the Father (who is shirtless), they wrote, “Whenever Joseph presents his sinewy midriff in your direction, shoot it”. Nothing differs from the game, I just thought the phrasing was funny.

The guide roughly says where it’s possible to find documents but they didn’t list all the notes. They don’t say where the answering machine messages are, either. However, they give very detailed advice on how to complete each mission, how to liberate each outpost, which weapons to use and which perks to unlock first depending on your playstyle, etc.

Part 2: Characters

Story and names

In Mary May’s biography, the guide says the bank seized the Spread Eagle after her parents’ death and that Eden’s Gate then “bought it for pennies”. In the game, while John wanted the bar and the cult made it illegal to transport alcohol, as far as I know, she still owns the Spread Eagle.

They say Wheaty is a “war vet” who joined the Whitetails “to help cope with a buddy’s death”. Maybe this is supposed to be canon, but it’s never mentioned in the game.

Sheriff Whitehorse’s biography says that “the work has taken a toll, leading the one divorce and a mild heart attack”. Again, maybe this is still relevant, but there is no mention of this in the game.

And, about Tracey, they wrote that, when she “was deemed a loose cannon by the cult and sent to be ‘reprogrammed’, she felt the sting of betrayal. She had given the church everything”. In the game, she doesn’t talk about any kind of “reprogramming” or “betrayal”, she simply says she felt something was off and decided to leave Eden’s Gate of her own free will, regretfully leaving her best friend behind.

Deputy Pratt’s first name is never mentioned.

At one point (and one point only), Dylan, Skylar’s boyfriend, is described as her brother.

And do you know them?

To be fair, there aren’t a lot of typos in the 320-page book, but these are my favorite. They also called Hurk “Hank Drubman” at one point.

Appearance

Joseph looks exactly the same but his siblings don’t. John didn’t have tattoos, or glasses on his head, his SLOTH scar was higher, his beard was longer, and his shirt and face looked a little different. Jacob’s face changed a bit too:

Faith looks the same except her hair was longer:

Kim and Mary May used to have a different hairstyle too:

(Sorry about the quality. I had to scan these and they are very small, only 6 mm x 6 mm!)

All other characters look slightly different but nothing noteworthy (it could just be the graphics or the lighting)... except for Tweak:

Part 3: Holland Valley

In “The Confession”, they say John “toys with torturing you or Deputy Hudson”. I don’t know if that’s simply how they interpreted the scene or if it used to play out differently. They also wrote, “Resist any temptation to say yes”. In the game, saying yes just makes John happy. It’s hard to say if the authors just think saying yes is bad or if it used to have negative consequences in an earlier version of the mission. Also, look at this screenshot:

At first, I thought the lighting simply was different but it turns out the room looks weird because it’s covered in plastic! John’s confession room used to look a lot more like a torture/kill room. The wrapped bodies made more sense in this context...

In “The Atonement”, they reiterate their advice: “No matter what John tries, refuse to say yes”. Saying yes in the game only causes Jerome to suffer less and John to be happy (albeit for a very short time) so it’s better to do it, in my opinion. Maybe it wasn’t always the case or the authors really don’t like to say yes to John. Here is another screenshot, with strange lighting, a tattooless John, and Mary May with her hair down:

There is a notable difference in the mission “Wrath”. In the game, after you destroy John’s plane, he parachutes to the ground and the objective is to “get the bunker key from John”. In the guide, there is an alternate objective: “Catch John before he reaches the Bunker”. They explain, “If John doesn’t survive his plane’s crash-landing, this objective doesn’t appear. Should he manage to land the plane, he attempts to [reach John’s Gate]”. They included a screenshot in which the now-deleted objective is visible:

In the side mission “Prairie Oyster Harvest”, the guide says we have to “collect emptied bull testicles”, which requires to “kill a bull after it has mated”. In the game, Casey wants “engorged bull testicles”, and we’re asked to “kill a bull that is mating”. The developers probably decided the mission was weird enough and we didn’t need to watch the whole thing... They also say the Deputy wakes up “with some rather festive pigs” only if you fail to shoot the balloons while drunk during the Testy Festy. If I recall correctly, in the game, this happens whether or not you manage to shoot all the targets.

They don’t mention the Lost on Mars Easter egg at the end of the mission “Out of this World”. In the game, if you stand next to Larry as he gets teleported, you can catch a glimpse of the arachnids from the DLC. I suppose they missed it (I totally did too).

Part 4: Whitetail Mountains

The guide says, “To join the Whitetail Militia, you must impress their leader, Eli Palmer, by fighting the cult in any way possible. Only after Eli witnesses your bravery (...) is the [Wolf’s Den] available to you”. Later in the guide, though, they say, “Once you’re dragged back to the land of the living from Jacob’s hallucinations during The World Is Weak, you gain access to the Wolf’s Den”, which is a more accurate description of what happens in the game.

Speaking of “The World Is Weak”, the guide mentions something curious. When they talk about the first trial, they say, “You’re about to kill your own” because the targets are “law enforcement officers”. However, in the game (and the screenshots in the guide), they are Whitetails.

Then, in “Only You”, they say that, if you don’t have a gun, you can “punch Jacob and take his shotgun; he’s not real”. They also say, “Pick up [weapons] from the deputy, who appears again as you reach the third Wolf Beacon”. But again, the targets are Whitetails, not Deputies.

Screenshots from the guide. Clearly Whitetails.

In “Casualties of War”, they write, “After a small psychotic episode, Pratt seems functional enough to accompany you”. I wouldn’t call what Pratt does in the game a “psychotic episode”, but maybe they would… or the cutscene used to be different. They also refer to Jacob’s Armory as “Jacob’s Gate”.

In the side mission “Dinner Time”, Sarah Perkins normally asks the Deputy to drop a dead cultist in a pen and to ring the dinner bell to attract a Judge Wolf. In the guide, they don’t talk about the body or the bell. To complete the mission, players apparently had to get chased by a Judge in order to lure it inside the pen. The Deputy was bait. That sounds... dangerous.

They say St. Francis is “a place that’ll have you feeling faint with terror”. I don’t know if this simply refers to the Deputy losing consciousness because “Only You” starts playing or if they used to faint for a different reason.

Part 5: Henbane River

In the Henbane River region, they say, “you may chance upon (...) a vision of Faith Seed. Prior to the completion of Story Mission: False Prophet, you can actually speak to her”. I admit I don’t know if a “soft capture” (Faith appearing as a quest giver to politely ask you to enter the Bliss) can only happen before you destroy the statue of Joseph in the game since I completed this mission after Faith’s death.

After “A Leap of Faith”, they say the Deputy wakes up “nowhere near Joseph’s Word”. This isn’t always the case in the game as I and other players woke up among the dead bodies at the foot of the statue. According to the Wiki (so take this with a grain of salt), you only wake up near the statue if you’ve already liberated the Hope County Jail.

At the end of the mission “The Lesson”, they say, “Storm out of the prison to confront Faith, who blows you a kiss”. Either they mean it figuratively or the scene used to be different because, in the game, Faith doesn’t appear before “Paradise Lost” starts and the next thing she does is sing with the Sheriff.

They mention a ghost in one of the rooms of the King’s Hot Springs Hotel. Maybe it’s simply because the hotel is rumored to be haunted or maybe a ghost used to appear. I have never seen it in the game.

The town of Prosperity is called “Prospect” several times. It’s probably a mistake but it could also be how the town used to be called early in development.

Part 6: Interviews with the developers

This last part isn’t about the differences between the guide and the game, I just wanted to summarize the four interviews.

Darryl Long, producer, explains how the Resistance Meter and the Guns for Hire system work. He says the game is set in Montana because it’s “amazing”, “beautiful”, and that the team “fell in love with the countryside, the personalities that [they] met, the spirit of independence, and the fierce pride of the people for the place where they live”.

Raphaël Parent, lead programmer, talks about the new gameplay features, “toys”, vehicles, weapons, and wildlife. His favorite animal in the game is the wolverine, “an unpredictable little mean machine”.

Clark Davies, lead game designer and lead designer of Far Cry Arcade, also talks about Guns for Hire, “toys”, weapons, vehicles, and wildlife. He likes to play stealthily and his favorite animal is Cheeseburger, “a walking tank”.

Last but not least, Drew Holmes, lead writer, explains who the Resistance and the Project at Eden’s Gate are. He says they wanted “a family of villains” because there’s “a natural power dynamic that gave [them] distinct traits for characters to feed off”, and that John, Jacob, and Faith are “all devoted to [Joseph] and would give their life for him”. He also reveals his favorite characters are the Drubmans, “a dysfunctional but endearing family” that gave them “the chance to stretch some comedic muscles”, and Joseph Seed. To conclude this post, here is how he describes the Father: