The mechanics of exploration, combat and conquest, meanwhile, lack charisma and substance for all the longer development time, with few new tools or challenges to speak of. Its attempts to address the fractious state of US society through the lens of a game that is essentially about dominating an Orientalised world are a predictable mixture of half-baked and callous.

The first instalment to be set in North America, Far Cry 5 is Far Cry at its least engrossing, clumsiest and most basic, though there's still just enough going on here to keep a returning fan involved. Sadly, the game which unfolds around these interludes isn't half as enjoyable.