The Order: 1886 Reviews
The Order: 1886 unfortunately feels like that ho-hum action-adventure game that accompanies a console's first-year launch. This PS4 exclusive is by far the most stunning visually of the bunch, but is that enough for players starved for something new and original for their console?
The Order: 1886 flaunts its interactive cinematic presentation, and it plays that card well. Despite this, it will continue to incite debate about overall length, being story heavy, and not allowing much freedom for the player. If these are things that bother you, then The Order was not developed for you. The decision will need to be where each player places value in their video games. This is an immersive game for people who want to sit back — or on the edge of their seat — and let themselves become engrossed in the story of a Knight in turmoil fighting against a supernatural force. Give The Order a go yourself, and perhaps you'll find yourself diving back into it as much as I've rewatched Jurassic Park over the last twenty years. It may not be perfect, but The Order: 1886 is an immersive cinematic experience and a damned good ride worth going back to.
The Order: 1886 isn't a disaster, nor is it a particularly good game. It's a hollow diversion, entertaining but outmoded and caught somewhere between a medium it repeatedly fumbles and one it fails to effectively embrace.
Though it nails some of the fundamentals, The Order: 1886 has been released without answering the essential question of what it offers that other games aren't already doing better.
The Order: 1886 ends by leaving itself wide open for a sequel (The Order: 1887, one presumes), and I'm interested enough in the series' premise that I'll definitely give it a look. But I can only hope that inevitable sequel offers the sort of improvement we saw from Assassin's Creed to Assassin's Creed II. There's a decent game here, but it does little to set itself apart from those that clearly inspired it. Here's to the future, and to differentiation.
At times Ready at Dawn's latest title is so efficient at seamlessly blurring the lines between gameplay and cutscenes, it's difficult to tell what portions of the game are actually interactive.
The Order: 1886 isn't easy to recommend, but it isn't impossible to endorse, and despite its familiarity, is a game we enjoyed our time with. Here's hoping The Order: 1887 pushes for greater.
The Order: 1886 is an antique that's aged ungracefully. The presentation is sublime from the release's rousing start right the way through to its anticlimactic finish, but several shoddy design decisions detract from its otherwise exemplary gloss. The developer's crafted an incredible universe, but outside of the title's core cast, it's failed to do much of note with it. This is a property that's begging for a sequel to realise its undeniable potential – but only time will determine whether it gets that opportunity.
The Order: 1886 is a dull, plodding experience that's beautiful to behold but spends too little time giving players a reason to stick around.
The Order: 1886 is bland gameplay wrapped in admittedly gorgeous next generation graphics. It's not bad through and through, it's just disappointing.
The Order: 1886 is a boring collection of game cliches that betrays its fascinating premise.
The Order is thrilling and frustrating.
In the end, The Order: 1886 is truly an exciting spectacle in a setting that we thoroughly enjoy, elevating our expectations for PlayStation 4 games to come. However, it's held back by its limited scope and abbreviated plot. It may not have the most well-rounded strengths, but it's a remarkable game nonetheless.
Ready at Dawn, finished by the afternoon.
There's a word for games like The Order: 1886. Rental.
Beneath the technical wonder this is just a dull, aimless Gears Of War clone – where the attempts at storytelling are just as boring and lifeless as the action.
The world built by 1886 is an engrossing one, and if nothing else the way it's presented is fantastic, especially when it comes to the strong vocal performances and beautiful character animation. As burly English people yell at each other, one could feel they were watching something from the Sharpe series of televised adaptations, even if the dialog is intensely cliched at times – for example, there's a cringeworthy "not so different" speech from an antagonist, including a bromide, "maybe one day you'll understand."
I give this game a Hold. It's not a bad game, but the inexplicable game design decisions that bog it down, and the relatively short amount of time you actually spend playing, make it a tough sell at $60. It's one of those games I find myself liking, but even more so wishing were something more—more the game it could have been, and less the game it is.
The Order: 1886 features a wonderfully crafted and realistic alternate history setting with the greatest visuals and production values so far on the PS4. While the first half or so of the story really works, it's let down by the final few hours, which abandon things shouting out to be explored in favour of introducing forced plot points which do the world and the main cast a disservice. Despite that, the gunplay is a lot of fun and it's not a bad story overall, just one which could've been far better.
This is a game and a concept that could benefit from a sequel. And if we're lucky, it'd give us an even deeper look at this gorgeous yet squalid Dickensian London.