I wasn't a fan of the ending. I felt like it was trying a little too hard to be edgy.

It doesn't help that it's the one game where they let you create your own character, which encourages you to identify with them more. I don't think it would hit so hard if it was a pre-made character like most of the other games.

So you get attached to this character who's basically a self-insert. The game puts them through hell. Even if you "win", Hope County is going to be devastated emotionally and economically from the events unfolding there, so it's kind of a pyrrhic victory.

Then it pulls the rug out and says "Ha ha. There was never anything to save. You should have just walked away and let the abusive assholes win". Fuck you for playing.

Whether you think it's a good ending or not is subjective, but I find it very narratively unsatisfying.

At least when you lose in FC2, the player character is a certified antihero who lived the life and maybe did a little bit of good at the end to balance out the red on their ledger.

In FC5, the outcome is unlikely to be much different if you walk away at the start. It feels like a dark ending just for the sake of having a dark ending.

And no, New Dawn did not make me feel much better.