Review: The Order: 1886

I spent most of last Thursday reading reviews of The Order: 1886, wondering whether I should still buy the game. It is a position I’m sure many people found themselves in. I had been looking forward to a beautiful story-driven, third-person shooter. I completed the game just a few hours ago and I have to admit that that is exactly what I got – unfortunately, that was not enough.

Ready at Dawn, with the assistance of Santa Monica Studio, have indeed delivered an astonishingly good-looking game, with a solid plot and interesting characters – however, unlike Naughty Dog’s approach of marrying game-play and story together to form a narrative. RaD have sacrificed too much in their goal of creating a truly ‘filmic’ game.

[youtube id=”RgJvIak6BpE”]

Set in an alternate history London, The Order focuses on Sir Galahad, a stoic and serious man who has lived a long life of battle. He is part of an ancient order, originally formed in the time of King Arthur. Their goal is to maintain balance between humans and half-breeds – werewolves, vampires, basically the stuff of legend. When the tide of the war shifts, Galahad and his fellow knights must investigate the cause and determine who or what is behind the conspiracy.

Even from the opening chapters, The Order sets out its stall early. When you gain control of Galahad, it is for relatively brief moments initially. You do not use your weapons for the first 45 minutes. The characters and tone take precedence over game mechanics. As the early chapters roll on, you quickly find out that the third-person shooting aspect of the game is used mostly to get you from one scene to another, with quick-time events forming a significant part of the game.

Despite its focus on the narrative, the game mechanics are by no means badly implemented. The controls are basic but perfectly functional, the weapons are diverse and have weight and the cover system works well, with two dedicated buttons used – one to get into cover and one to leave it. There are also mini-games used throughout the game to pick locks or unlock electrical barriers.

The Order’s arsenal is one of its biggest strengths. While there are not many weapons in the game, each is different and not just a reskin of another. Some weapons have an alternate firing mechanic too – for instance, the game’s primary assault rifle, the M2 Falchion, can fire a stun round that knocks back nearby enemies. However, the best gun in the game is the Arc Induction Lance. Firing a bolt of electricity at enemies, it redefines the term ‘one-hit wonder’.

Outside of the gunplay, the game’s moment-to-moment tasks ask you to search areas for collectibles or run to the next checkpoint. There are audio logs to collect, items to inspect and newspaper articles to view but this adds little to the game. Much has been made of The Order’s length but I do not think it’s an issue – it took me about 10 hours to complete the game on the hard difficulty and it seemed reasonable to me. However, the balance between cinematic and game-play certainly skews the argument.

Throughout the game, you will encounter half-breeds. These are werewolf-like creatures who can transform on command. They are also the weakest aspect of the game. While they appear to be imposing, battles with them are an exercise in monotony. Each encounter sees you face off with them one-at-a-time. If you get them in your sights early enough, a clip of ammo is enough to incapacitate them while you finish them off by pressing Triangle. If you do not see them, don’t worry – just press X and then rinse-and-repeat.

I must admit that despite all of these flaws, the game has convinced me that a sequel may be worth waiting for. RaD appear to have their engine down as the game looks and performs superbly. The lighting and textures they use bring the world to life and their character models are expertly-crafted. The soundtrack also deserves a mention as it sets the tone wonderfully.

The Order: 1886 is flawed deeply and yet, I still enjoyed playing it. The gunplay is fun when the game allows you to play, and the narrative is strong. After completing the game, I can compare this situation to the first Assassin’s Creed – a lot of time seems to have been spent on the engine, to the detriment of the game-play. If this is the case, then I am hopeful, because that means we should be getting Assassin’s Creed II next – the best game in that franchise.

Tags: PlayStation 4, Ready at Dawn, SCE Santa Monica Studio, Sony Computer Entertainment, The Order: 1886