Far Cry 5 is a Masterclass in Player Conditioning: We Didn’t Play the Game, the Game Played Us

This piece contains spoilers for Far Cry 4, Far Cry 5, Inside, and BioShock.

You don’t play Far Cry 5. Far Cry 5 plays you.

The idea of games forming control over their players isn’t new. One game in particular explored players’ willingness to simply hit the next objective marker: BioShock. The “would you kindly” revelation at the conclusion of BioShock…