Why The Order 1886 Deserves a Sequel (2024 Review)

The Order 1886 Review (2024 Retrospective)

With the recent closure of Ready At Dawn by Meta, who acquired the studio back in 2020, it seemed like a great time to revisit an under appreciated PS4 exclusive: The Order 1886. We thoroughly enjoyed the game when it released nearly a decade ago, but how do we feel about The Order 1886 in 2024, removed from the release marketing, hype, expectations and the criteria that has evolved over the years of what makes a good game.

As a quick refresher, The Order 1886 has a review average of 63 with some outlets like Gamespot giving it a 5/10 and on the other end of the spectrum, GameTrailers giving the game an 8.2/10. The reality of The Order 1886 likely likes somewhere in between these opinions.

GREAT EXPECTATIONS

In 2015, expectations for a game were different. Many believed that there was a direct correlation between length and quality. Oddly enough, it was about the same time where this idea starting to become a little more malleable. Until Dawn, another PlayStation exclusive would release about 6 months after The Order 1886 and would also be full priced with the experience lasting around 8 hours as well.

In the past decade, games with a length in a similar ballpark would release without mention of time, as viewpoints changed. Gaming evolved and became more about quality over length. Games like The Last Guardian, Doom 2016, RE7, Hellblade 1, Control, Half Life Alyx, Resident Evil Village, Metroid Dread, and Wolfenstein: The New Colossus all released after The Order 1886, but none endured the scrutiny that Ready at Dawn did. In fact, all of these games also have an average score of over 80 (I will say that out of this list, The Order 1886 would be near the bottom), but it just highlights that quality evolved beyond just length.

Gameplay might not be at the forefront of The Order 1886 like some of these other titles, but the story, cinematic atmosphere, and visuals more than make up for its shortcomings. It’s truly hard to believe that The Order 1886 is ten years old. Most of what the game offers is better than most games today. The visuals are mostly mind-blowing, especially considering it was a PS4 title, the score is rich with horror undertones, and the world building is without reproach.

However, the highlight of The Order 1886 is the story that takes place in a post industrial era, firmly supplanted in the Gilded Age blended with an alternate history as you play as Grayson also known as Sir Galahad, one of the members of Her Majesty’s Royal Knights. A secret service blended with something like Men in Black that deals with super natural. The threat at hand is werewolves or as the game refers to them: Lycans or Half Breeds.

Not only is the story a refreshing change from zombies, aliens or other common gaming tropes, but it also intertwines this fictional world with slightly alternate history with things like Jack the Ripper roaming the streets in an experience that feels wholly unique even to this day.

Part of what makes the The Order 1886 more interactive cinematic experience than game are some of the decisions that Ready at Dawn made including the widescreen aspect ratio, complete with letter boxing for the entire game. Choices like this in addition to incredible cinematography and a title screen that arrives ten minutes in that create such an immersive atmosphere. The story is aided by incredible voice acting and chapters that are short, engaging and feel more analogous to your favourite season on streaming as they create a binge worthy feeling.

One of the core gameplay elements is the cover based shooting, which itself isn’t anything to celebrate or criticize, but what makes it stand out is the arsenal that features Resistance level unique weapons designed by your pal Nikola Tesla. Highlights include the Induction Lance that is an 1800’s version of a lighting gun, and the thermite gun, which sends bursts of magnesium towards your enemies, which can then be ignited into a wall of fire.

PROBLEMS

Ok, now that we have gushed over why The Order 1886 was ahead of its time, let’s talk about what could’ve been better or even improved in a sequel. For almost every problem about the game, there is a simple way to easily transform it into a strength.

Obviously the core gameplay loop is somewhat shallow. Decent cover based shooter, cutscene, and then walking a linear world to the next shooting area. We discussed earlier how incredible and original some of the weapons felt, but they were under utilized in frequency and design. For the most part, you will be using your rifle, smg, or handgun. If some of these battles were designed around the originality of these weapons, it would have made a big difference in the experience.

Occasionally, there are some stealth sections, which were fine, but did become a little tedious towards the end as they lacked refinement. The enemy types are mostly the same with basic soldiers that are occasionally spiced up with a shotgunner or a rocket launcher or the rare werewolf fight, which includes a lot of quick time style events.

In between the cutscenes, you spend a lot of time exploring gorgeous and fully realized areas with things to find around the world. There are plenty of items to pick up and inspect, but at best they add minimal lore and at worst they add no value.

Inspecting items reveals how stunningly intricate the visuals are, but why not take this system and incorporate integral parts of the game into it. Maybe, you need a code, or a key that’s hidden in a secret compartment or maybe a crucial story element can be revealed by reading a document. The opportunity to transform this mechanic into something that adds value rather than detracting from it was right there.

VERDICT

It feels slightly ironic that The Order 1886 is set in the gilded age, which was about gold plated appearances with flawed remnants underneath, which is the perfect personification of the game.

Ready at Dawn was founded by developers from studios like Naughty Dog and Blizzard just to give you an idea of the talent and it shows. With the disappointing, but almost expected result post acquisition closure of Ready at Dawn, the silver lining is that events like this bring more eyes to their catalogue and increase the cult following.

The Order 1886 was unfairly maligned due to the overhype that came along with it. It offered something that was less of a game and more of a cinematic experience akin to a season you might binge on your favourite streaming service, in that felt like a harmonious blend of Uncharted and Until Dawn. The Order 1886 felt like season one and it accomplished a very important goal of leaving you wanting more. It wrapped up a large portion of the story and showed potential of having the loose ends tied up with a post credits scene. With Sony owning the IP, there is still a small glimmer of hope that we will get a sequel eventually.

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