Far Cry 5 mapmaker perfectly recreates a block of dismal Edinburgh flats

Save the odd racing game like Forza Horizon 4, Scotland has been tragically ignored by videogames. It warms my tartan heart, then, to spot this Far Cry 5 map based on a grim set of tower blocks that used to stand a stone's throw from my childhood home.

I say used to, because the council knocked 'em down over a decade back. Proper eyesores.

As spotted by Rock Paper Shotgun, YouTuber Mojo Swoptops celebrated Hogmanay by erecting the hideous flats that used to loom over Sighthill in Ubisoft's American sandbox. While he's also done more picturesque Scottish landmarks like the Forth Rail Bridge and a Victorian-era Princes Street, it's these dismal towers that hit me the hardest. Hell, I used to skate at the rubbish park just behind them as a kid.

I often forget that Far Cry still includes these powerful mapping tools, which even include assets from previous Far Cry and Assassin's Creed games. There's some absolutely wild stuff being made in it, too, including a stunning recreation of Half-Life: Alyx' opening vista.

Swoptops has also taken his skills to global locations like Fifth Avenue and Angkor Wat. But you can tell he knows his stuff when it comes to bonnie Caledonia, joking on Reddit that he would've sprayed "PAM I LOVE YOU I’M SORRY CALL ME" on the side of the footy changing rooms if he could've.

Unfortunately, it doesn't look like Swoptops uploads his maps to the arcade. The whole thing invokes the exact same vibe as discovering a GMod map based on a derelict Leith swimming pool. Forza's recreation may be grander in scope, but it's modders like these who have nailed the heart of this weird old city.

20 years ago, Nat played Jet Set Radio Future for the first time, and she's not stopped thinking about games since. Joining PC Gamer in 2020, she comes from three years of freelance reporting at Rock Paper Shotgun, Waypoint, VG247 and more. Embedded in the European indie scene and a part-time game developer herself, Nat is always looking for a new curiosity to scream about—whether it's the next best indie darling, or simply someone modding a Scotmid into Black Mesa. She also unofficially appears in Apex Legends under the pseudonym Horizon.