The Order 1886 PS4 Review: "Lacking in gameplay, but the most photorealistic story experience you’ve ever seen."

 The Order 1886 PS4 Review

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Patch Version: 1.02 -- 

Having played The Order 1886 for ten minutes I had to stop.  I remember the moment precisely. The moment when I thought: in what crazy ass world did this masterpiece not receive more critical acclaim when it was first released back in 2015?  It's beautiful, by far the best looking game, graphically, ever made to date!  TO DATE!  Yes... graphically better than Uncharted 4, Horizon Zero Dawn and the rebooted Tomb Raider series!  It’s the sort of game I dreamt about playing as a kid.  A game that is so photorealistic it baffles the eye.  So much so it's hard to tell the difference between gameplay and the cutscenes. It's that seamless!

After the opening cutscene ends, you gain control and stumble your way out of the Westminster Catacombs in London England, where it seems a prison has been built. The year is 1886 and you're about to embark upon a story set in the same world as the serial killer Jack the Ripper. However, steal your mind and flex your imagination, because it's an alternative timeline with subtle, and I do mean subtle, hints of supernatural elements, so hold that instinct and refrain from rolling your eyes.

You play as Sir Galahad, a Knight of the fabled round table. Of course, this is just a codename. Your real name is Grayson, but the Order is a faction that can be directly traced back to the legendary King Arthur.  The head of this order so long lived it's said he fought alongside King Arthur himself.  (The reason behind this also explaining the game's healing mechanic that I will talk about later)

For some reason you've been branded a traitor; this the reason for your torture and imprisonment during the prologue.  The game then rolls back time allowing you to playthrough the events that led up to what you see unfolding at the start.  Story wise it makes sense right away, and I'm very intrigued to learn how I went from a respected and renowned knight of this great and respected order to the bowels of Westminster where traitors and criminals reside.

Early on, The Order establishes its primary focus. To root out and rid England of half breeds. The beasts in question called Lycans; more traditionally known to us now as werewolves. However, after a quick skirmish with these beasts, the rest of the combat sequences during my initial two hour experience is spent in action packed, film-like shoot outs with a human faction called only the rebels, who it seems are hell bent on ripping London to pieces for a reason that is not yet established.

Everything points to Whitechapel.  And not just because of the ripper murders.  However, the head of the order is against investigating and after a vote the matter is summarily dismissed. But Lord Percival, your mentor and fellow knight has other ideas.  And with him, Lady Igraine and Marquis de Lafayette, you gear up and set off on a unsanctioned recognisance mission....

Initial Impressions

Graphically you could not ask or want better from a game. The gameplay segments are equally as impressive as the cutscenes, ‘graphics wise,’ so much so it's hard to tell where one begins and the other ends.

All this reinforced by wonderful and accurate character animation.  The facial animations the best I've seen in a game. You can exactly tell the emotions the characters are feeling in the moments where a look is all that is needed. They're not perfect though, occasionally they'll give a look that just doesn’t look quite right or the lip sync animation will show the odd crack, but all in all it truly is impressive.

The gunplay is also exceptionally polished.  The Order in essence a cover shooter no different to the system seen in the Uncharted franchise. There is even a melee system that when triggered will spark a seamless sequence akin to what perhaps some players will be used to in games such as Assassin's Creed Syndicate,  The Order showing you a cinematic takedown that is contextual to the environment.  Meaning each takedown is often as brutal as it is different.

Weapon wise, so far I have used a semi-automatic handgun and a submachine gun.  The Order allowing you to swap between them at will viable the d-pad.  You can only carry and use two guns at a time, but you are completely free to pick up and swap to enemy weapons if you choose.  Though most of the time my weapons have been far superior.

There is also a cool little gunslinger feature that reminded me of the deadeye system from Red Dead Redemption.  It charges up as you kill and only works with your handgun.   My secondary weapon has a stun feature, which you can use to incapacitate enemies before you shoot them. This coming in very handy when enemies take hostages. 

Healing is done by drinking some sort of liquid called Blackwater, which can be done at any time by pressing the Triangle button, this not only heals you, but will also give you a boost in energy and strength.  However, it seems best used when not in the open as the animation takes some time to playout.  The substance will also bring you back from near death, and feeding into the story's premise, gives the drinker a longer lifespan.  It's an interesting mechanic.  

In regards to the environments, they are true to form for the era.  From rich to poor, you feel like you are in England in the late 1800s.  Further to this the voice acting is spot on, and not just for the main cast either, the same degree of quality has been poured into the ambient characters too that populate the world.

However, The Order is not without its flaws.  The first of which that has really grated on me is the elements where you are forced to walk.  It makes exploring this gorgeous world a chore.  It's so annoying and happens too often.

The other aspect is the reliance on cutscenes. The Order being a story based game, and a damn good one it's fair to say, but gameplay is often cut up too much.  However because the transitions are so seamless it lessens the sting, but still, there's been more cutscenes than gameplay so far. It’s felt more like an interactive experience rather than a typical video game.

Lastly there are quick time events.  Don't misunderstand, I'm not instantly dismissive of a game that uses such a feature, hell, the last boss battle in Uncharted 4 uses such a system and I was fine with that, but The Order seems to use quick times events perhaps a little too much.  It's not all the time, but it happens enough that people who hate quick time events will have a reason to complain no matter how much they are enjoying themselves.

These issues aside, I've still enjoyed my first two hours with The Order 1886.  It truly is an excellent example of a game telling a story in an engaging manner.  I wish the emphasis was more on action than storytelling, but this only makes the action sequences more the better when they do occur.  It will be interesting completing this....

Pros:

• Absolutely breath-taking graphics, bordering on photorealistic
• Stunning cutscenes with nearing film-like production
• Story, script and voice acting is top notch, as is the animations
• Wonderful era-correct environments

Cons:

• Very cutscene heavy, more cutscenes than gameplay
• Favours quick time events, and uses them a tad too often
• Forced to move slowly in large portions of the exploration gameplay sequences

 Initial Score after 2hrs of play

Full Playthrough Score after 6hrs

Overall Verdict.

The Order has more in common with games like the Walking Dead and Broken Sword in the sense that it's an interactive story rather than a typical playable video game.  Don't misunderstand, there are playable gameplay elements, the shootout segments being the best I’ve ever experienced, but considering it took me six hours to complete the game, there’s probably only two, maybe two and half hours of gameplay where you are actually in control.  The rest of the time, it’s cutscenes and more cutscenes.

However, let me be clear, the graphical quality of the cutscenes is off the charts, and the way it seamlessly transitions from its cutscenes to the equally graphically impressive gameplay elements is just jaw dropping.  By far it’s the best looking game, photorealistic wise, ever made!  You will seriously not know where the cutscenes end and the gameplay begins.

But... I'm starting to understand perhaps why it wasn't met with rapturous applause on release.  The only aspects to the gameplay which actually allow you to play the game for decent amounts of time without being interrupted by cutscenes are the shootout sections I mentioned earlier.  Problem is there's not that many of them.  For most of the time you'll either be watching a cutscene or forced to walk slowly through the world, which makes exploring the gorgeous environments a damn-chore, so much so it detracts you from being immersed.  Had I have paid full price for it on release, matched with the first playthrough only taking six hours to complete, the original praise it received, or lack of, makes sense now.

However to be fair, as in interactive storytelling experience it excels. The story is not lacklustre, and the way it is told is impressive.  Sure it has quick time events, but for the most part they make sense when used.  The only time it isn't used appropriately is when you are in the stealth segments.  The Order forcing a quick time event upon you as you approach, which you must time correctly in order to silently take someone down else it means certain death.  I hated this.  It wasn't hard, but still, it just felt needless.  The gameplay elements could have been far greater had The Order 18886 been a stealth/shooter opposed to a walking simulator/shooter.  In some areas you can run mind, but there's no rhyme or reason as to why and when.  I imagine that the decision to lock your movement speed when it does was solely to extend the play time.  If so... it was a very cheap and bad decision indeed, but had they not done it, the playtime would have probably been more within the ballpark of the five hour mark.  Damned if you do situation indeed....

However, I did immensely enjoy my time with The Order.  It's a linear based story that grabs your attention and holds it all the way till its end.   I was afraid at first that the supernatural elements would spoil it, but it didn't.  They are subtle and hardly feature, and when they do it is used for a good reason to propel the story forward.  I also did not encounter a single bug.  Not one.  Nothing.  A rare thing nowadays in any game.

Feature wise it's a little light.  You have, to be fair, an array of decent weapons, but can only carry two at a time.  You can swap, but often your starting guns are better.  Shooting them does feel good though, the handling most satisfying.
Equipment wise, you have smoke and explosive grenades, and a device for overloading circuits, and a lockpick, but that's it.  Certain guns do have secondary features though, which are pretty damn good.  One that allows you to slow down time and fire your pistol like you’re a gunslinger.  Another that stuns, and another which fires an explosive like flare, which when you shoot ignites in to thunderous flames.  

With regard to the combat sequences, they are well implemented, but also action packed and fierce affrays.  As a cover shooter it works exceedingly well and moving in and out of cover is smooth.  It also incorporates contextual melee takedowns, which, when you trigger, will spark a brutal set of finishing moves.  You can also roll out of the way during combat too, but only from grenades.

The A.i is also impressive.  Surprisingly so considering in some segments there are three companions with you and not once did I witness them glitching or walking into anything nor impeding my own movements. The enemy archetypes are equally well done.  Basic in the sense that there is not much variety, there behaviour linked directly to their weapons.  But their animations and movement is bang on, as is their death animations.

However, sadly The Order 1886 has no replay value, nor was anything new unlocked upon completion to tempt me to play it again. There are different difficulty grades, but you might as well play it on its easiest mode and enjoy the story because that's where it excels far more than anything else.

With regards to the story, there are 16 chapters in total, not including the prologue and epilogue.  And thankfully, after discovering what fate lead to what unfolded at the start, you then continue the story from that point to the end.

At its heart, The Order is a very good piece of storytelling, but as a game, it's a little too shy on gameplay.  It favours aspects and similarities that sway it more towards an interactive adventure.  I see now why it reviewed so averagely.

Was it worth the full asking price of an AAA title when it released?  Production wise, yes. But as a playable game?  No, and frankly was not good value for money.   If it had been marketed as an interactive storytelling experience akin to games like the Walking Dead and Broken Sword, people might have been a little more forgiving as they would have known what they were buying, but even those games lasted longer than six hours, and have elements of multiple choice and puzzle solving; two things the order does not.

However, its 2017 now and I purchased it for £10 in a sale.  I don't consider it a disappointment at that price, and if you have never played it, and go in knowing what to expect, it’s this reviewer’s opinion that you'll enjoy your time with it.  For the story alone it was an interesting jaunt into an alternative Victorian England that never was.  Just get some popcorn, a drink and enjoy the story as it unfolds, but trust me, don’t bother exploring when forced to walk slowly; it’s really not worth it.

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The Order 1886: PS4 Gameplay

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