If you need a break from shooting cultists in the face in Hope County, consider shooting cultists in the face within the pages of custom maps hosted in Far Cry 5’s Arcade mode. In less than a week since launch, aspiring and experienced creators alike have taken to the Arcade’s editing tools and pumped out hundreds of maps stretched across dozens of themes such as a John Wick home invasion, a hole in the ground, or a Legend of Zelda adventure. Take a look at some of our favorite maps released so far collected here. You can access them by either clicking the download link (you’ll need to log in to your Ubisoft account first) or searching for them in the Arcade.
Welcome Home
Author: Silverish
Type: Assault
“Less is more” is a typical tenet in horror, and Silverish’s take on a spooky Assault map satisfies that principle with little more than a shadowy forest, flickering lamplight, and one angry moose. It’s easy to get turned around among the trees, the stormy atmosphere and subdued lighting injecting the pressing paranoia of an axe murderer hiding behind the next trunk. It’s when you finally stumble upon your home that the map falters somewhat, diluting the experience into a zombie rush finale that has you orbit your cabin until the kill goal is met. Still, this is a great way to spend five minutes.
The Cabin in the Woods
Author: NikoWZRD
Type: Journey
What begins as an unarmed escape from a madman’s isolated cabin eventually turns into a Dante-style journey through an underground stronghold. NikoWZRD smoothly connects each section with natural transitions hinting at a higher mastery of the map editing tools. The pressure builds from scarce ammo and disabled health regeneration, leading to intense dives behind cover and a faceoff against a heavy gunner who would normally be a trivial nuisance back in Hope County. For that fugitive effect, skip the car in the last section and flee on foot with shots ringing behind you.
The Facility
Author: Gypo1428
Type: Bounty Hunt
Homage maps were peppering the Arcade even before Far Cry 5 turned 24 hours old, and they picked up press for their attention to detail in faithfully recreating a piece of nostalgia. Gypo1428’s Facility hearkens to the second level of the Nintendo 64’s legendary GoldenEye 007, complete with correct enemy spawn locations and crappy wall textures we all fondly considered the future of graphics in 1997. It’s obviously missing the smaller touches of brilliance—there’s nothing like karate chopping Alec Trevelyan’s stupid face before blowing up the final gas tanks—but it’s a treat to walk around the bones of an FPS classic.
The Drift
Author: Ubisoft
Type: Journey
Ubisoft kicked things off in the Arcade with a set of sample maps showcasing the capabilities of Far Cry 5’s map-making tools, and some of them are actually quite good. The Drift leans a little too heavily on the “intangible otherworld” style, but the low-grav movement and jumping sequences help break up the linearity between start and finish. I still can’t figure out The Drift’s theme—a dying astronaut’s last dream? The result of eating too many Warheads?—but hey, at least it’s anchored by plenty of exploding barrels.
Arena Master
Author: chacko123
Type: Assault
Ripped right out of a Mortal Kombat level select screen (or maybe Lara Croft’s walk-in closet), Arena Master is chacko123’s challenge to players who yawn at whatever Montana throws at them. The cluttered environment detail bestows plenty of natural cover, and I particularly enjoyed the extra touch of sunlight beaming from far above. Enemies come at you wave-style, eventually toughening up to a faceoff against a couple boss characters and a swarm of elite cultists. The setup is surprisingly effective at teaching shooter fundamentals of repositioning and finding targets quickly, especially if you grab a buddy and communicate.
LOL
Author: FreeClupac
Type: Assault
Lazy. Dumb. Waste. Skip. FreeClupac’s barebones map of a pile of weapons, a hole in the floor, and a gaggle of goons would probably earn those words if it had a comments section, but I’m sticking it here because it very well might be the most symbolic map of the lot. Fledgling designers often start with little more than a basic structure and a set of enemies for testing, and a hole in the floor has by and large become the “hello world” of level design. But it’s perfect for a few cheap laughs and plenty minutes of fun tormenting the poor souls in the pit with whatever implement of destruction you choose.
Welcome to Elk Jaw Lodge
Author: Sundic_Ouff
Type: Outpost
The Arcade’s many outpost maps are hard-pressed to stand out from each other, largely because they ape the same base assault formula from the main game—get in, shoot enemies wandering outside buildings, and get out. Sundic_Ouff’s outpost earns bonus points for trying something different, attaching a Journey-style walk through an immolated town before throwing you up against Joseph Seed’s heavily guarded chapel. The ashy skies and ruddy colors shorten sightlines to prevent much sniping, and enemy placements make it tough to stay hidden without raising the alarm.
Outskirts Outpost
Author: rat_trash.
Type: Outpost
A seemingly generic cluster of buildings belie this take on a challenging stealth run. Alarm panels festoon this outpost’s layout, and successfully ghosting all the enemies turns particularly tough due to the ease of calling in reinforcements and rat_trash.’s clever touch of setting everyone on heightened alert from the start to randomize walk patterns. The surrounding foliage isn’t safe either, as snipers and bowmen pop up from behind trees to punish flank attempts. Can you beat my failure record of less than a minute?
Upside Down
Author: Ubisoft
Type: Journey
Like most Journey maps, Upside Down’s objective is to press W until you win. That leaves your eyes free to roam around the starting house interior, and you’ll notice subtle but escalating changes as you plod ever forward. The map’s shifting orientations and steadily increasing creepiness reminds of sanity-bending sequences from Amnesia or Layers of Fear, including creepy faces in the walls and a strange fascination with goats.
Safe Haven
Author: Ubisoft
Type: Journey
As the most played map since Arcade’s launch, Safe Haven doesn’t wow with unconventional design or oddball direction. It’s simply solid. The post-apocalyptic vibe of dilapidated buildings and claustrophobic junk make for a diverse arena, setting up pockets of action for close-up takedowns and long-distance snipes, before ending in a stealthy shantytown evasion from hunters sporting a mounted technical gun. The vibe of urban decay and skyscrapers stretching far above your elevation gives off a great throwback to Gordon Freeman’s flight from City 17 in Half-Life 2, and it’s a good first pick for whetting your appetite on what the Arcade has to offer.
