First ‘Far Cry 5’ Art Sets Antagonist As Westboro-Like Christian Cult, Quickly Turns Political

Ubisoft released the first Far Cry 5 artwork Wednesday following a teaser trailer released at the start of the week. The PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC open-world shooter will pit players against what looks like a Westboro Baptist Church style religious cult, and this has already turned into a political issue on various gaming forums and social media.

The first Far Cry 5 image shared by Ubisoft is a take on The Last Supper painting of Jesus Christ and his disciples. However, here you have the cult leader sitting at a table draped with an American flag featuring the cult’s symbol in place of the field of stars. He is surrounded on his left and right by other cult members, including a wolf with a red cross painted on its head, plus an assortment of weapons that will be in the game, such as assault rifle, shotguns, pistols, a high-end hunting bow, and RPGs.

The none-to-subtle imagery includes a lone female character dressed all in white, which likely points to her being some sort of bizarre love interest for the main protagonist in Far Cry 5. Otherwise, the fellow cult members are all sporting as much facial hair as an episode of Duck Dynasty.

Also notable is a shirtless character on the ground in front of the Last Supper table with the word “Sinner” written across his back. Could this be the main protagonist of the story? It’s possible. He also has tattoos on each arm. Unfortunately, both are difficult to make out as the one on the right is partially obscured, and the one on the left arm looks like writing, but they are to light too read.

The Far Cry 5 image does manage to hint at gameplay elements when it is not playing off Christian imagery. A P-51 Mustang is in the middle of shooting down a floatplane. Meanwhile, a barn with a windmill is on fire in the mid-right background, and a small town with a water tower sits just over the right shoulder of the cult leader beyond some farm land. Additionally, a radio tower can be seen over his left shoulder, along with a pileup of 18-wheelers.

Finally, there is the landscape itself. Far Cry 5 is set in fictional Hope County, Montana with lots of open spaces and nearby mountains, suggesting the game takes place in the western and southern parts of the state, where flat farmland begins to blend into the Rocky Mountains.

Unfortunately, the release of the Far Cry 5 image on the official Ubisoft Facebook has already started a political back and forth there, along with gaming forums on Reddit and elsewhere. Given that this game has been in development for at least two years, it’s unknown if Ubisoft is attempting to make some sort of statement about Donald Trump’s unexpected election win to become President of the United States. Still, there are plenty who think that way.

“Seems like this game is going to make Trumperpublitards cream their undies,” Emyll Somar wrote on Facebook.

“Can’t wait to kill those Jesus freaks,” adds Abram Hernandez.

“So is this going to be essentially a trump supporter killing adventure?” NeoGAF user KORNdoggy asked.

The other side of the spectrum is represented, as well, with the_sammyd stating on the PlayStation 4 Reddit, “Looks like your classic, ‘All white people are evil’ story line, usually only see that on CNN.”

“Why do I feel like this story line will end up being some B.S. social critique of American conservatives written by some anti trump liberals?” Mark Solorzano said via Facebook.

Meanwhile, there were many others just asking to keep politics out of video games and let Far Cry 5 stand on its own feet.

“You cringy f***s, its a video game. Take your political bullsh** and swerve,” an angry Jared Martin posted on Facebook. “This premise has huge potential for an amazing story with deep psychological ties and I’m incredibly excited about it. Don’t [sp] give a f*** about your crap politicaly [sp] correct politics.”

“What if I told you you can be a conservative or a Christian or both and enjoy this game. I’m thinking of it as Westborough [sp]. Self proclaimed Baptist but we all know they are a bunch of wack jobs. I’ll buy and play this because I enjoy far cry. Politics in games can screw off,” Kyle Kegley Dever chimed in.

It’s also important to remember Ubisoft attempts to throw twists into its Far Cry games, so not everything that is seen can be believed. For example, Far Cry 4 was not a straight-forward good guy, bad guy scenario as the multiple endings demonstrated. What Far Cry 5 has in store remains to be seen before internet fights start over politics in the game.

The full announcement will come with a full reveal trailer scheduled for Friday, May 26. What do you think of the first Far Cry 5 artwork and the premise of the game? Sound off in the comments below.

[Featured Image by Ubisoft]