Available on: PlayStation 4
Release Date: February 20th 2015
Genre: Action-Adventure / Third-Person Shooter
I’ve steered clear of The Order: 1886 since its release in early 2015. It was announced with much hype and fanfare at E3 2013 and was received with lukewarm acclaim once it was eventually released after nearly five years in development. Criticism was given for a whole host of reasons including frequent quick time events, general gameplay letdowns and most importantly its overall length and replay value – and as a regular guy in his early 30’s with a dead-end job and a family to provide for the replay value factor is becoming more and more essential to me as I gradually get older and poorer. I purchase maybe five games a year (excluding the crap I pick up on Steam sales, but I’m dealing with that), one of those always being Football Manager which guarantees me at least a hundred hours of gameplay, so that hopefully gives you an idea of the type of game I’m willing to part with my money for. The Order: 1886 is not one of those games, I happened to rent it and I’m glad I did.
That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy what The Order had to offer, more or less. It looks incredible, dragging this review on a positive note for the time being, as an alternative universe 19th century London with a fantasy steampunk twist has never looked better. However going straight back into negative territory as good as the game looks there is definitely a ‘look but don’t touch’ vibe as you progress through the games fifteen chapters, with an extremely limited and linear path to guide you along your way almost from start to finish. 19th century London in The Order reminds me of Neo-Paris in the late 21st century found in Remember Me in that there is an amazing city out there begging to be explored, but you can’t, and you are forced to stick to what is generally a very strict set path.
Alan and Pete Play 