“Far Cry 5’s” Vietnam-themed DLC “Hours of Darkness” comes out Tuesday and publisher Ubisoft is marking the occasion with a launch trailer full of neck snapping, explosions, and man-eating panthers.
Included in the “Far Cry 5” season pass, the DLC takes players out of Montana and back in time to a war-torn Vietnam, where they’ll relive the experiences of Wendell Redler, a non-playable character from “Far Cry 5’s” main campaign. They’ll have to rescue imprisoned squad mates and wreak havoc on the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army with a variety of new gear and the new Airstrike feature. There are also two different playable modes that unlock once players complete “Hours of Darkness.” One is a survivor mode, which gives players a limited loadout for a more challenging playthrough. The other is action movie mode, which has a more generous loadout and plenty of over-the-top action.
Players who own the “Hours of Darkness” DLC can bring new vehicles, weapons, and more into the main campaign, while map makers can use new Vietnam-themed assets in the Arcade Editor. Ubisoft said it will add more assets in a future update.
“Far Cry 5” came out in March and has quickly become the best-selling game of 2018 (so far), according to market research company the NPD Group. It reportedly broke franchise sales records in its first week, pulling in an estimated $310 million. It’s launch is now the second-biggest ever for a Ubisoft game, eclipsed only by “Tom Clancy’s The Division” in 2016.
Ubisoft’s total annual sales were up 18.6% year-over-year thanks to the success of titles like “Far Cry 5” and “Assassin’s Creed Origins,” it said in a recent earnings report. It also claimed annual back-catalog sales are up 27%, while mobile revenue is up 66%.
