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The Order: 1886

The Order: 1886

While you'll be hard pressed to find a better looking game than The Order: 1886 on the market right now, there are plenty of titles that offer a richer gameplay experience.

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As with most triple-A entries today, Ready at Dawn's tale of steampunk-tinged Knights of the Round Table offers an amalgam of different gameplay types; for the most part shallow, but at least pleasantly distracting. There's a dash of stealth, a flirtation with basic puzzling, even some feather-light platforming, but the main meat is in the gunplay and QTEs. The former feels fancier than it is thanks to the superb visuals and audio, while the latter supersedes so much of the other in terms of gameplay that you wonder what had the most influence on the design: Uncharted or Heavy Rain.

The Order's world-setting and story works best viewed in the broadest strokes: an alternate history London protected by a sacred Order of knights who combat supernatural enemies with elaborate guns rather than swords. A commercial power whose interests may not align with the working populace. Victorian villainy rubs shoulders with religious relics. It's Indiana Jones meets Penny Dreadful - and what's not to love about a pitch like that?

Shame then cast and story don't match the potential of the backdrop. As with the gameplay, everyone and everything looks spectacular. The voice cast are strong, the facial animation top-tier. You'll know someone's true thoughts in the simple quirk of an eyebrow, and with the cloth and lighting rendering, the game strays towards photorealism at times. That conviction doesn't hold so strongly with characterisation - shallow - and all-too obvious story, plot twists handled with all the blunt force of Hollywood cinema. (Brutality and potential death scenarios feel cheap when consistently followed by a quick drink of holy water tonics that heal flesh and mend bone. And there's a definite clash between the cutscene morality of Galahad and the brutal death-dealer who "takes no chances" on guards who may or may not be on the same side as him. As a protector of the realm and its citizens, wouldn't it be nice to offer us the moral highroad through non-lethal takedowns?)

The Order: 1886
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Emulating the summer blockbuster vibe is no crime, and the framing device of the story, starting with Galahad's imprisonment as a traitor before flashing back weeks previous adds some extra mystery, but even by the time we catch back up to the present some seven hours later, we've still little empathy for our leads, and as a result, reveals and endings lack impact, no matter how lavishly cinematic they are.

Outside QTEs, which at least offer slight twists and variety on the standard formula, combat mechanics are halfway between Gears of War and the recent Tomb Raider reboot, but lacking the satisfaction of either. The Order neither commits to the confident cover-hugging of the former, nor the graceful fluidity of environment interaction of the latter. Dodge rolls are contextual to grenade dangers, and the inability to flow around walls while still in cover feels an oversight.

It's still solid, competent stuff, the graphical and audio polish making every shotgun blast and rifle reload feel dynamite. But it's not until late on that you're given much chance to work your way round combat arenas for strategic advantage, and these environments are fairly basic with only the odd piece of destructible cover tossed in to keeps things moving. Prior to these, you're mostly advancing in a straight line or playing shooting gallery at incoming hordes from a distance, while wondering who the hell is littering London's streets with red barrels.

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The inclusion of lycans had a lot of promise and could have changed up the combat pace and tactics. As they are, they feel a wasted addition. A handful of times you'll enter darkened rooms filled with werewolves, but before you even take a step forward, the buggers charge directly at you, one at a time, happily lining up into your crosshairs. There's no need to work out how to use the environment to your advantage, and you're never allowed to fool yourself with the illusion of being hunted by a superior predator.

As with some games, The Order: 1886's biggest disappointment is in its squandered potential. You want to love the world rather than just merely like it (though the cosplay scene will go nuts for it) and find satisfaction in its gameplay instead of being mildly interested.

A colleague sold The Order: 1886 as a gaming blockbuster built for the casual audience. It looks amazing, the level of polish undeniable. It offers little stress with its gameplay, which is solidly-built if uninspiring. An easygoing interactive ride as opposed to a twitch-based emotional roller-coaster. I think of what this game could have been if its aspired to be the latter. I imagine a system seller the gameplay beats of which demand replay. As it is, it's just a one-run diversion filling the time until Uncharted 4 hits.

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06 Gamereactor UK
6 / 10
+
Brilliant--looking game. Enticing world setting. Good variety of weaponry.
-
Combat lacks thrills. Story fails to surprise. Environments aren't much fun to fight through.
overall score
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The Order: 1886

REVIEW. Written by Gillen McAllister

"Victorian villainy rubs shoulders with religious relics. It's Indiana Jones meets Penny Dreadful - and what's not to love about a pitch like that?"



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