Ryse: Son of Rome Reviews
Ryse: Son of Rome's combat and incredible graphics are entertaining, but it's too narrow and repetitive, even for a short game.
By the time you've seen that ending, though, you'll have unlocked the majority of Marius' upgrades, and there's nothing like enough substance to the gameplay to tempt you to run the campaign on another difficulty setting or to lure you into long-term engagement with the two-player arena mode. There's no brains, no muscle, no fibre beneath Ryse's extravagantly engineered good looks - this game rings loud but hollow. Crytek likes to contrast Marius' moral strength with the vanity and cruelty of Nero and his made-up sons, but Ryse feels like a product of their dying empire. It's just empty decadence.
While Ryse may not be the train wreck that some feared, it just doesn't live up to the potential that many others hoped for.
Ryse is an entertaining ride that often values spectacle over skill.
Ryse will undoubtedly exceed your expectations with its interesting story and unbelievable visuals. Combat might get repetitive, but you'll enjoy your time as a Roman soldier.
In the five hours it took to complete Ryse, I experienced a whirlwind of excitement and disgust. I loved the sights, sounds, and basic combat, and loathed the finishers and gameplay deviations
Ryse: Son of Rome is a repetitive and tedious homage to the gruesome battles showcased in the film 300.
Ryse is beautiful but hollow
Ryse leans too heavily on its merely decent combat, but at least it looks really, really nice doing so.
Probably the best graphical showcase exclusive to Xbox One and a fun game if you're willing to learn its combat system--and aren't squeamish.
If you played Ryse: Son of Rome on Xbox One, there's little reason to return on PC. It may contain higher resolutions and a more flexible frame rate, but otherwise it's substantially the same game.
I found myself admiring the work that had gone into it rather than the results. Man hits other men and those men fall down, and apart. It's a tale as old as time and there's nothing new to see except the "realtime physical dangling pieces".
When I finished playing this game, I felt like I wanted more. That's the mark of a good game. I also felt like I had played something fresh. If there were 20 games about Rome, this one might not stand out as the most outstanding. But it's good, and there aren't enough tales with a historical background that wind up being big budget video games. I'm glad that Crytek stayed the course on its seven-year journey and finally finished Ryse.
If you can disengage your brain and just plough through the endless array of same-faced enemies, you'll enjoy the glorious visuals and well designed audio – but this is a game destined to be forgotten fairly quickly, even if it does help prove the Xbox One has more power than we first thought.
The visual showpiece for your Xbox One.
Ryse: Son of Rome is a gorgeous game that gives us a great sense of what the Xbox One can accomplish in terms of graphics. Sadly, the shallow combat doesn't shoot it passed your average 3rd person action game.
Ryse: Son of Rome isn't terrible. It has its gorgeous visuals, forceful combat system and relatively tight storytelling to recommend it. It's also short, unvaried, hampered by an obsession with QTE events and far shy of a complete game experience. As a game, it won't hold its own next to some of the third-party stars of this holiday season. It has neither the addictive, consuming multiplayer of Call of Duty nor the imaginative scope of God of War, but still holds promise for its next iteration, if that comes.
A real super production, fun, repetitive in some aspects but with a spectacular technical invoice and something short.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Ryse: Son of Rome is not only a magnificent shell with an inconsistent soul but most of all a colossal wasted opportunity: at the dawn of a new generation, it's sad to see a game so incredibly beautiful to look at, yet at the same time so shallow to play.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Ryse is well-suited to make its entrance alongside a new console, as some of its faults can be overlooked for its commendable bravado and convincing demonstration of power. The bloody spectacle of war and gladiatorial combat are thrilling to behold, and Ryse demonstrates competence even if it falls short of mastery. If Rome were to Ryse again, one would imagine it would be greater.