IF Far Cry 5 has something to say about modern America under Trump’s presidency then it is buried pretty deep in the game.

The story in the long-running series sees you play as a rookie sheriff’s deputy who is part of a team tasked with arresting a radical preacher known as ‘The Father’ in a fictional part of rural Montana.

An intense, terrifying opening sequence follows with the darkly, charismatic villain – but after that the game far too quickly reverts to past formula. The open-world first person shooter mostly sees you capturing bases and resources while shooting your way out of trouble like any other Far Cry game.

And like other Far Cry games the world around you is vast – arguably too big – making any claustrophobic sense of being trapped by the cult disappear.

With a game filled with gun-wielding, brainwashed fanatics there was plenty of potential for metaphor in the experience too but this has mostly been squandered.

The Father and his odd family offer protection from a supposed doomsday, a drug called Bliss and a half-baked philosophy based around the ‘power of yes’.

And that is all it takes for hundreds of people to become cultists. Your character’s solution? To shoot most of them rather than win over hearts and minds.

It is probably best not to think on it too much and if you put the story to one side, Far Cry 5 is as slick as they come. The gunplay and stealth elements of combat are excellent. This time you can recruit other members of the ‘resistance’ to fight alongside you which works well but the appeal wears off. And everything can be customised and upgraded from your appearance to your weapons and abilities.

Flicking between the map and mission screens is a breeze and it is just as well too because there is a whole county to explore – on foot, on wheels or by taking to the skies.

In isolation Far Cry 5 would score higher thanks to its excellent gameplay dynamics. But there is the enduring sense that we have seen this all before – and the cult setting does not disguise that.

RATING: 7/10

DAVID MORGAN