The Order: 1886 Review

Ah, the Order: 1886! We all saw this game during Sony’s preview in the 1^st week of February here in the Philippines. And just in case you don’t know this, it’s a single player action-adventure video game developed by the guys who brought some of the God of War Games, Ready at Dawn.

In this game, you play as Sir Galahad, a member of a knight order which aims to kill all half-breeds using steampunk tech and unbelievably cool arsenals .

The Order is a third person action adventure game, with “filmic” elements. Yes, you read that right – FILMIC. During the demo played by Myrtle Sarrosa, most of the scenes were like video cut-scenes but with actual playable and interactive environment.

Now, without further ado – here’s our review of The Order: 1886

Story

The game takes you into the linear story of Sir Galahad and his crew – the Knights, which call themselves “The Order” – in protecting the lives of the people of London from what they call ‘half-breed’ monsters. But the Order’s story is a lot more complicated than that. You, as Sir Galahad, will uncover secrets that will entail numerous adventures, heart-pumping action and bone-chilling horror. If you’re a fan of Van Helsing and the popular TV show, Penny Dreadful (minus Dorian Gray), you will love how the game’s story unfolds and progresses

Spoilers-aside, the story and characterization are riveting and immersive. Riveting because it took us in a hell of a roller coaster ride between our hatred and sometimes love to each faction – Knights, Half-breeds and the rebels.

In our total of 8-hours cumulative gameplay of The Order:1886, we found ourselves somewhat wanting for more although we knew that extending the game would be pointless… in so far as the title is concerned. [flash 1886]. We must admit that we got really frustrated for playing a very short game, but that can easily be forgiven with how it effectively took us into a story so engaging and very memorable.

Graphics and Design

The Order: 1886 is more than just a game – it’s a movie-game, game-movie, gamvd – whatever – you got the idea. It just raised the bar so high, Ready at Dawn is now probably pressured to make their next game look a lot better.

Just so you know – Ready at Dawn uses a next-generation engine, which they call RAD 4.0. With this new engine, they are able to create surreal and immersive environment. During our gameplay, we got to see its power many times and how it added to the game’s awesomeness! The level of detail is topnotch – hair strands, fur, Sir Galahad’s sideburns; lighting and shadow are very impressive; and physics are close to perfect. Ready at Dawn, undoubtedly, put their hearts into developing this game for so long and we believe that they deserve a warm round of applause.

Design is equally impressive. Perhaps, if there’s one way you can lengthen the game’s progress is to pay attention and appreciate all the design details of the game. Items like guns, clothes, buildings and all the steampunk goodness you’ll see in the game are outstanding.

Motion capture process and the technology behind are perfect in this game. Everything is motion captured – from eyebrow movement to little grins of either frustration or naughtiness. Again, this game just raised the bar way up top, and it would take a few more years (or probably just months… we don’t know) for us to see a game beautifully designed and created such as The Order.

Controls and Camera

During the preview event last February, we were a bit worried about how we controlled Sir Galahad. Panning was slow, control sensitivity was low, and moving him was a bit sluggish. There were small issues on camera and view too.

Things have changed when played the actual retail version of the game. The movement/controls tutorial we went through was helpful; and while most of the presets aren’t really new, we didn’t have any difficulty in controlling Sir Galahad.

There were minute issues though – we found ourselves unable to proceed because an NPC was blocking the way and we had difficulty peeking on certain angles that were crucial to the story. Nonetheless, the controls are okay, but definitely not perfect.

Verdict

This game needs a lot of attention and appreciation. It may be one of the shortest games we’ve played, but it’s certainly one of the bests. Remember Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes? Many called it a technical demo due to its length, but it was generally applauded for the technology it introduced and new stealth techniques that we never had in the past Metal Gear Solid games.

In the case of The Order:1886, it’s a 5-10 hour movie-like game with impressive graphics and design, riveting story – although not too original in our books – and good controls. The game deserves a shot to be in your shelf if you care about graphics, design and story. However, if you’re after games that have (longer) end game content, your contentment may not be satisfied with The Order.

Video Review (reflects a different weighted score)

Giancarlo Viterbo

Website

Giancarlo Viterbo is a Filipino Technology Journalist, blogger and Editor of gadgetpilipinas.net, He is also a Geek, Dad and a Husband. He knows a lot about washing the dishes, doing some errands and following instructions from his boss on his day job. Follow him on twitter: @gianviterbo and @gadgetpilipinas.