When Sony unveiled the order 1886 on e3 2013 it was simply amazing.Running on real time ps4 the in engine teaser gave us a greatly detailed Victorian London setup traumatized with half-breeds,but our knights in shining armor is there to protect us.Sony was successful to convince us that they really built a powerful console which can actually produce such games which we dint even imagine in the ps3 era.First slated to release in 2014 order 1886 was delayed to “early 2015” due to some development issues.The day has finally arrived when The Order 1886 hit the shelves today.The number of ps4 exclusives is currently low so all hopes were lying on the first exclusive of 2015 from sony camp,but sadly it fails to deliver again.The Order 1886 is visually brilliant,well detailed gives you the proper cinematic experience but lacks in some key departments such as gameplay,storyline,character liberty which made the game just a guided tour of 19th century Victorian London.
The Order 1886 is the story of Sir Galahad,a proud knight in in the alternate Victorian London of 19th century who sworn to protect mankind from Lycans and other sorts of supernatural elements who are slowly beginning to grow their “kind”.Galahad is not alone in this mission,3 more knights Sebastien Malory,Lafayette an lady Igraine is also there to fulfill the duty of “The Order”. The brotherhood of the knights created by King Arthur is “The Order” also known as round table knights.The Order is constantly at work to eradicate these supernatural elements to prevent mankind from destruction.But things are more serious now as this thin line is on the verge to be destroyed and The Order and its knights must battle to death to prevent it.
Now lets talk about the actual part.The Order 1886 is no doubt the best looking ps4 game ever made.The alternate London looks stunning,greatly detailed and the environment is created such a way that it bound to give you a visual treat.But that’s it.Lack of interaction ability or if we say the limited movement freedom of the character just makes this world as same as a masterpiece art drawn on a canvas which we can only admire but cant touch it,cant feel it.If you stand next to the NpCs and try to listen to their conversations you will immediately recognize the repetitive lines and actions of them.Npcs were used just to decorate the city surroundings so the it look a bit more alive than a mere background screen used in local plays.The devs Ready at Dawn were actually concentrated on very long cutscenes.They are dull,boring and you can’t skip them.To be honest most of the exciting key parts took place mainly in the cutscenes where you stand still as a mere wax doll with controller in your hand.The lengthy cutscenes are the sole reason which wont let you indulge your self in that environment.With very less interaction with the world the game just deals in a simple cover and shoot gameplay which by the time will force you to think that you are stuck in a cardboard box rather than that vast world.The human enemies also known as “Rebels” in the game are dull and their actions perfectly explains that devs were not interested in the thing called “AI” or to them it doesnt even exists.Even if you try to shoot them without using the L2 button you can hit the bulls-eye easily. They don’t run,they don’t shift covers.Just get behind a cover and shoot till no one left alive.I encountered such events in the game and after some time it became just a formality to kill everyone and proceed to the next level.Not to mention its repetitive too.
Another annoying thing is the black bar they used for that proper cinematic feel. It was very difficult for me to see my enemies because while in cover most of the time my field of view was limited under those black bars. Apart from humans our knights also dwells with Lycans also known as Werewolves.When I first encountered a werewolf in the game I was very excited that finally the game will take over the boredom or cluster it created in the first part but alas,it dint happen.The so called boss fight with the Lycan was such poorly executed that it ended as soon as it started. Poor use of creatures such as werewolves was a big crime from the developers in my opinion.Another let down is the lack of Multiplayer or in order’s case a full fledged co-op. I don’t know what RAD was thinking when they decided to feature a band of knights who are in every mission but no co-op.The game is very short.A easy mode start will take roughly 4 hours to finish the game.and if you are a trophy hunter then maximum 6-7 hours to finish the game.I somehow tried to stretch the game with occasional breaks but no,it dint cross that 7 hour mark.As a fully single player based game its a curse.Ready at Dawn was so much focused on “graphically brilliant cinematic experience” they overlooked all the basic criteria of a game which makes it different from its counterparts.
since ps4 launch Sony and its worlwide studios are failed to deliver jaw drawpping exclusive titles and The Order 1886 is the new entry to that list. The game is nothing but a visual treat.Lack of storyline and gameplay element makes the game stiff,forgettable. Here is our rating for the game:-
Story:- 4/10
Graphics:- 10/10
Gameplay:- 4.5/10
Difficulty:- 2/10
