For my most recent installment of my series of Outdated Reviews (yes it’s still considered a series even if my release schedule closely resembles Team Ico’s), I have decided to review The Order: 1886.
Much has been said about this game and when I heard it was at the very discounted price of $10, I figured now was the time to make up an opinion of my own about it. So without further ado, here’s my outdated review.
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Welcome to London circa 1886, where The Order, the Queen most elite agents, has to deal with an anti-government rebellion, a war against half-breeds, nightly attacks by Jack the Ripper and constant cloudy and rainy weather.
This game, developed by Ready At Dawn, has you following the events leading to Lord Galahad’s fall from grace as a member of the Order. This is no spoiler since the game starts us off with Galahad being tortured and managing an escape to then bring us back in time in October 1886 where things started to turn awry.
After a run of the mill dealing with the rebels, you are confronted with lycans (For those not in the know lycanthropy is a disease that apparently reduces your IQ to the point where the only thing you can do is run straight at people shooting at you and run back for no reason once you’ve finally reached your target… oh it gives you a wolf-like appearance as well!). The presence of the half-breeds in White Chapel raises questions that Galahad and his close friends among The Order feel compelled to investigate (even if it’s against the will of stereotypical stubborn old man who’s in charge and won’t listen to his subordinates) and so begins the series of event that lead back to the starting point.
I found the story to be pretty interesting even if it’s sometimes clichéd. The cast of supporting characters is great, I particularly liked the Marquis de Lafayette who fills in as the easygoing, fun-loving member of your team but without overdoing it. Some things you can see coming quite easily like for instance the identity of the traitor among the ranks of The Order. I won’t spoil it for people who haven’t played it yet but I’ll give you an hint... It’s the guy who’s name in one letter away from the word Lycan.
The game is over quickly and leaves a lot unfinished, but I feel it is misunderstood as, you see, there were barely any days left in 1886 when we reach the final scene so they obviously couldn’t go on or else the game would had the very clunky title “The Order 1886-1887”. I know what you’re going to say “It’s their own fault for starting the game in October” but that’s another debate.
On the gameplay front, the gunfights are very well handled and you are offered a nice variety of guns. Some are quite original like the thermite gun that allows you to spread a white powder over enemies and then ignite it with a flare which might not be as efficient as say, a grenade launcher, but lighting shit on fire is so much fun! Sadly, the more interesting guns are reserved for some select sections of the game which brings me to my biggest complaint about the gameplay: the strictness of the game deciding what you can and cannot do.
Depending on if you are in a firefight or just exploring, the game will decide your walk/run speed which ranges from “leisurely walk in the park on a Sunday afternoon” when you’re exploring to “gotta get the fuck out of here” when in combat. Also, Ready At Dawn made the questionable decision to use the L3 button as your run button which is about as convenient as turning the lights on with your pinky toe, sure it’s doable but there’s so many better ways of doing it.
Another area where there could have used a bit more flexibility is how stealth is handled. You don’t get to choose when you can approach a situation by sneaking up to your opponents, you’re either a badass motherfucker who can take multiple hits without slowing down while in combat mode or you’re a pussy who dies in a single shot when the game decides it’s stealth mode time.
Now on to the game greatest strength, its graphics. The visuals in The Order: 1886 are simply stunning from the set pieces, to the fabric of the soldiers’ uniforms, to the detailed character models to fully rendered male nudity (on three occasions!), it has it all. From a technical standpoint, the game is quite the achievement. I would sometimes lose my focus during story cutscenes because I was busy admiring those shiny pretty graphics.
In summation, I must say I had a good time with The Order: 1886 despite its shortcomings and it was well worth the 10 bucks I spent on it. I can understand people who felt let down after dropping $60-70 on the title but at its current price point there’s no reason to skip it.
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