The Order: 1886 Review

The mantra "style over substance" is as good as any of a jumping in point in order to understand The Order.  From screenshots, to the first time you see it in motion, there is no doubt that Ready at Dawn has managed to deliver one of the most impressive visual packages in the whole history of gaming.  The moody atmosphere of a dark and dreary Victorian era London essentially oozes out of every facet of the game, and manages to mix light elements of steampunk and gothic horror to a surprisingly cohesive degree.

But once you get past all the visuals, where does that leave you?

Much critique has already been presented in the way of the supposedly most controversial aspect of the game: the length.  Let's get that out of the way and up front: yes, the game can be finished on average between 6 to 8 hours (managed to land on 7 for this review).  This is just a fact, and up to you as an individual if you find it irksome.  For some, the value of a new game at $60 for that amount of content just won't fly, which is understandable.  Perhaps most notably, Jeff Gerstmann of Giant Bomb said up front that the game is essentially the definition of a "Rental."

So, as a bit of an experiment (and a reprieve on my wallet) we'll look at it from the rental perspective.

Price I paid: $3.20 for a one-night rental.

Starting with our story set-up, we have a bit of an odd duck on our hands.  You know of course the year from the title, but beginning the plot in media res shows our protagonist, Grayson (or Galahad if you're feeling fancy) escaping incarceration, looking more or less like public enemy number 1.  After a bit of stumbling around and quick time events, we see Grayson instead a proud member of titular (and exquisitely dressed) Order: clandestine, paranormal hunters with superior technology.

That is one sweet Chandelier.

Instead of laying out specifics for the story however, the game instead chooses to convey small details in passing for the player to pick up and piece together.  Some of this is supplemented in part with a few in-game collectibles, but otherwise, your on your own to figure out what the deal is with Blackwater, half-breeds, Tesla, and that sweet circular (round?) table in the middle of the hall.  This ends up being very hit or miss, as details early are left intentionally cryptic with the phrasing delivered so as to make later story beats seem like plot twists.  In reality, there just isn't enough story actually presented to make a good payoff.  All the interesting bits happen in the end, with about as blatant of a set-up for a sequel this side of Halo 2.

Chairs are for earners.

Characters in the game, while well acted, are bland and forgettable in their mannerisms.  Grayson as a protagonist smolders with generic rage and is otherwise devoted for whatever reason to his station.  We're never given much for character motivation.  This manages to be the modus operandi for every gentlemen with slightly interesting facial hair.  The only real standouts are perhaps Lafayette, flamboyant and flirtatious in nature, managing to stand apart from the grim-dark-serious tone everyone wants to strike.

Pretty sure this is the only time I used the touchpad.

Gameplay is absolutely not The Order's strong suite.  Quick time events make up a significant portion of the game's run time, only a few ever feeling cleaver, many otherwise resulting in instant death if failed.  Even what the game passes off to be boss fights are just slightly more complex timing mini-games having you press a prompt before the screen turns red.


When you're not managing to not "Press X to not die,"  you'll instead be walking.  A lot.  Running is an option whenever guns become unholstered, but otherwise, you will often be stuck strolling around at a leisurely rate, presumably to take in all that wonderful scenery that the devs put all that hard work into.  This becomes especially frustrating when you know some actual story is just around the corner, but your stuck waiting for Grayson to stride on over.

Sniper in a window?  You know what to do.

Sometimes, you'll be able to draw a gun and participate in cover-based shootouts.  This is what comes closest to traditional gameplay, but just feels squishy and unresponsive compared to other games of it's ilk that have come before.  Options like dashing to cover and blind-fire are all standard fare, but enemy types for the most part are an absolute bore.  For the most part you'll be dealing with cannon-fodder foot soldiers that spawn in droves, the occasional sniper that should be taken out early, and armored shotgunners that will probably spell your doom if you let them close the distance.  Very hum-drum once you've developed tactics to deal with them.  If your lucky, you might get someone with an unorthodox armament to spice things up.

The thermite rifle is pretty fun, too bad you barely get to use it.

Weaponry for the player is also a very large letdown.  Even with the intellectual prowess of a young Nikola Tesla backing your organization, you'll in large part be stuck using pistols, rifles,shotguns and maybe a few grenades.  Even the much advertised weapons of a more fantastical nature, are presented to the player far too rarely and number in the, well, there are 3.  Sometimes you'll get a special scenario that calls for them, but otherwise, enjoy popping out of cover for headshots 90% of the time.  Even when you do manage to pull out something like an arc gun, the combat just ends up not being very fun to play.  Even the focus mode that turns the game into Red Dead Redemption for a few seconds just feels uninspired as far as special moves go.

Don't even bother with the knife, just use the crossbow.

Finally, there are a few forced stealth sections in the game that just end up being utterly painful to play through.  Checkpoints are spread far in these sections, and options to dispatch opponents are limited to your knife, and later, a crossbow.  The knife itself feels incredibly odd to use, as trying to pull it early results in your character being found and dispatched.  This can make for a frustrating chain of failures as you become more annoyed at the sneaking, and choose to jump the gun over and over.

Wish I was playing something else.

Players are presented with the bare minimum when it comes to reasons for replay.  There are a few collectibles that are potentially missable.  You can also change the games difficulty.  That's it.

Once you get past the visuals, there really isn't anything that The Order does that other games haven't done better.  Even from a rental perspective, I was counting chapters, ready for something interesting to happen or the ending once the initial set-up had been given.  This game just lacks on so many fundamental levels, in story, gameplay, pacing, and so-on.  Even as a rental for a weekend, I feel like this is a tough sell, especially when there are so many other good games starting to hit around this time.  What leniency I do give this title would probably be completely dashed if I'd managed to pay full price.

So, The Order: 1886 - It's pretty I guess.