Hope County, Montana isn't looking as hopeful as the name suggests, and for good reason. Joseph Seed, AKA the Father, and his equally deranged cult, the Project at Eden's Gate, have rolled into town and are ruling with an iron fist, plundering resources and trying to convert as many people as possible to their cause. They believe that the end times, which they refer to as the Collapse, are fast approaching and that the citizens of Hope County are in need of salvation from the impending apocalypse, whether they want it or not.
A warrant is out for the Father's arrest on the grounds of kidnapping, however, and so Sheriff Earl Whitehorse, Deputies Joey Hudson and Cameron Pratt, the Junior Deputy, and U.S. Marshal Cameron Burke are dispatched to the cult's main compound to make the arrest. Despite protests from his followers, Joseph is more than willing to comply with the lawmen sent to take him. As such, the operation goes off without a hitch... until on the way out their helicopter is brought down by a few overly fanatical cultists who throw themselves into the rotors. Burke and the Deputy manage to escape the wreck, but the rest of the team gets captured by the cult. The two of them make a daring attempt to escape the cult by car, but eventually they're driven off a bridge and into the water; Burke ends up a prisoner as well, but the Deputy is rescued by "Dutch" Roosevelt, a local prepper. After being put through their paces liberating Dutch's island from a small Eden's Gate presence, the Deputy proceeds to join Hope County's resistance movement to take on the cult and save their teammates.
In order to force a confrontation with the Father, the Deputy has to take down his three siblings, the Heralds, each of whom are overseeing Eden's Gate operations in their own region of the county:
Holland Valley
- Herald: John Seed, who has Deputy Hudson in his clutches. His responsibility is to bring new members into the cult and torture those who resist.
- Guns For Hire:
- Nick Rye
- Grace Armstrong
- Fangs For Hire: Boomer
Henbane River
- Herald: Faith Seed, a siren-like woman who uses Bliss — a powerful mind-altering drug — to indoctrinate people into Eden's Gate and keep the existing members in line. Sheriff Whitehorse is in this region, helping the Resistance hold out against her chapter of the cult in the Hope County Jail, as is Marshal Burke, who has been fully inducted into the cult by the time the Deputy finds him.
- Guns For Hire:
- "Sharky" Boshaw
- Adelaide Drubman
- Fangs For Hire: Peaches
Whitetail Mountains
- Herald: Jacob Seed, a military veteran responsible for giving combat training to Eden's Gate members with the help of his Mind-Control Music, and Deputy Pratt is just one of the many captives being put through his regimen.
- Guns For Hire:
- Hurk Drubman Jr.
- Jess Black
- Fangs For Hire: Cheeseburger
After eliminating all three Heralds, Joseph summons the Deputy to his compound. When the Deputy arrives, it's revealed that all of the Deputy's main allies have been brainwashed with Bliss, and they've managed to capture the other two deputies and Sheriff Whitehorse. With the odds in his favor, Joseph gives the Deputy one final chance to leave Hope County with their fellow officers and avoid any further bloodshed.
- If the Deputy chooses to Resist, Joseph flies into a rage, upbraiding the Deputy for refusing to swallow their Pride. A boss battle against him and the Deputy's brainwashed friends ensues; the Deputy has to knock down and revive each of them to break them free of the Bliss, while preventing the Father from bringing them back to his side. One harrowing fight later, a wounded Joseph surrenders to the Deputy's group, but all of a sudden a nuclear explosion goes off in the distance — the apocalypse that Eden's Gate was preaching about and preparing for all this time has suddenly become a reality. With even more nukes on the way, Sheriff Whitehorse and the Deputies pile into a nearby car with Joseph and head for Dutch's bunker for shelter, but they crash just short of their destination; all the occupants save for the Deputy and Joseph are killed on impact. When the Deputy regains consciousness inside the bunker they're greeted by Joseph seated next to Dutch's lifeless body. The Father gloats about how he was justified in his preaching about the end of the world, and how the Deputy is now stuck with him until the nuclear apocalypse above them has subsided.
- If the Deputy chooses to Walk Away, the Father allows them and their cohorts to get into the nearest car and drive away. Deputy Hudson is angered about this turn of events, but Whitehorse ensures her that in this case it's best to leave good enough alone. As the team is driving away from the compound, the Sheriff promises that they'll return to Hope County with sufficient backup. He turns on the radio to listen to the news, only for Jacob's mind control music to start playing. The Deputy's brainwashing begins to kick in, but a cut to black leaves their and their friends' fates up in the air.
