5 things you might not know about Far Cry 5

It's not long at all until the March 27 release date of Far Cry 5. This time the series will take players to Hope County, a fictional area in the very real US state of Montana. The area has been taken over by a cult known as The Project at Eden's Gate, which has been gathering power for 15 years before the game's beginning. Headed up by Joseph Seed, the cult is hell-bent on 'saving' the residents of Hope County before the end of the world (whether they want to be saved or not).

You play a rookie deputy who, through a series of tragic circumstances, must defeat the cult in order to escape its far-reaching clutches. We've had the chance to go hands-on with the game recently and ask a few questions, discovering some things in the process which we'd like to share with you. 

So you've probably heard all about Far Cry 5’s guns for hire feature which allows you to recruit characters from across the game world to fight alongside you. And you've also probably seen plenty about Boomer the dog - your fangs for hire. But there's more than one set of fangs for hire in the world of Far Cry 5. You can also make an ally of a bear. A bear called Cheeseburger. A diabetic bear called Cheeseburger. 

We recently talked to Far Cry 5’s narrative director Jean-Sebastian Decant who told us that Cheeseburger was once a beloved resident of the Hope County zoo who the locals loved to feed cheeseburgers. Until the cheeseburgers compromised his health and the cult took over Hope County. Now you'll find Cheeseburger the bear in the north side of the game map. The best thing? You can even pet him. 

You'll also find his bobble-headed likeness across the game world. Given fangs for hire is a category of its very own we imagine Cheeseburger and Boomer won't be the end of this – fingers crossed for some big cats!

Far Cry 5 is more than the main story and core game, you can also access something called Arcade Mode. Like the confirmed co-op mode and the DLC, this is a part of the game designed to keep you interested long after the main story has wrapped up. The coolest thing is that you can access this mode by going up to any arcade in the game itself and start playing.

Here you'll be able to create your own levels and play through levels others have created using a mix of Watch Dogs, Far Cry and Assassin's Creed assets. There's complete freedom here and we get the impression you can create pretty much anything you want, whether it's co-op or PvP.

We had the chance to play a couple of the single-player arcade levels recently, one of which was a fairly frightening escape room-style puzzle, while the other was a bounty hunter mode which had us take out enemies to escape a dockyard location. The levels are fast-paced and fun and we'll be interested to see what people create and share. 

Far Cry is a franchise that's become known for its antagonists and Far Cry 5 doesn't have just one - it has 4 of them: Joseph, John, Jacob and Faith. The family. But outside of these antagonists Far Cry 5 is a game that offers you more friends than ever before. These guns for hire have many special skills, ranging from stealth, to piloting, to driving and you can use them as you see fit. The characters in Hope County are numerous and varied, with their own stories that you can dig into via missions if your interest is piqued. It's completely up to you who you work alongside (if you do) and you can introduce yourself at any point in the game. Their stories will adjust to suit.

It is, however, important that you take the time to speak to some of the people in Hope County and not ignore them entirely. Now that towers have been removed from the game, finding points of interest on the map is a far more organic experience. Now you’ll have to listen to gossip and stories as well as pick up items in the game world to find points of interest and fill in some narrative gaps for yourself.

Remember those guns and fangs for hire? Well there are also friends for hire in Far Cry 5. Thanks to online co-op mode you can play the game from start to finish with the help of a friend. Your friend will be a guest in your world so they won't have an impact on the story but sometimes it's just nice to have solid back up. 

Thanks to the game's new character creator which allows you to choose your sex and certain aspects of your clothing and appearance it'll really feel like you're playing with a Far Cry likeness of your friend, too. 

As is the norm for games now, Far Cry 5 will have microtransactions. We had the chance to speak to associate producer, Phil Fournier, who informed us that though there will be purchasable in-game items, they’ll be purely cosmetic and won’t give players any advantage. There also won’t be any loot boxes. We weren’t able to find out what the expected price range of these microtransactions but you'll be spending your real-life money on purchasing in-game Silver Bars which can also be found by playing the game. These Silver Bars can then be used vehicles, clothes, skins and weapons.

• Read about our hands-on experiences with Far Cry 5 right here