There is a beast prowling the darkened forests of Hope county, Montana. It worships a twisted god and thirsts for your blood. It is a turkey, and if you hear its death-gobble, you had better run for your life.
Last night, shortly after starting the game, I came upon my first of Far Cry 5’s many enemy encampments. I did my usual Far Cry thing, skirting the premises and tagging enemies. I slid up against a wall around the back of the compound, confident in my plan to pick the enemy guards off one by one. And then I heard a sound. Gobble.
What was that? Gobble.
Oh hey, it’s a turkey! Mr. Turkey trundled up to me and immediately set about savaging my face with its horrible claws. I panicked. I couldn’t shoot it because I didn’t want to blow my cover, so instead I figured I could kick it to death. Here’s how that went:
Turkey: 1. Me: 0.
I’m not alone in my fear and admiration of Far Cry 5’s turkeys, of course:
Amazingly enough, it turns out Far Cry 5's turkeys used to be even more powerful than they currently are. Kotaku EIC Stephen Totilo, who last week was playing an early PS4 copy of the game provided by Ubisoft, told me that the game had required a pre-launch patch to nerf the turkeys.
I’m reminded of Far Cry 4’s terrifying death eagles , which were so numerous and fearsome that the population of Kyrat spent half their time warning one another about impending eagle attacks. Stephen tells me that the eagles are no joke in this latest Far Cry, too. Appropriate, given the setting.
At this point it’s starting to feel like a design mandate: every Far Cry game must feature scenic vistas, hammy villains, and at least one comically terrifying bird.