The Order: 1886, first reviews

[Iwata]

Two German reviews posted yesterday gave it 15/20 and 85%.

First English-language review of The Order: 1886. They gave it 95/100, put the campaign at 10 hours' length on Normal difficulty.

http://www.gamepur.com/review/18052-order-1886-review-ps4s-first-true-exclusive-killer-app-truly-amazing-story.html

Edit: New review by Falcon Kick Gaming, gave it 7/10, puts the campaign at 7-8 hours.

http://falconkickgaming.com/2015/02/19/the-order-1886-review/

Edit 2: New review by Ksalue, gave it 4/5, puts campaign at around 7 hours.

http://www.ksalue.com/_/review/my-thoughts-on-the-order-1886-review-r711

Edit 3: New review by Heavy.com, gave it 8.8/10, puts the campaign at 10 hours.

http://heavy.com/games/2015/02/the-order-1886-review-ps4-exclusive-2015/

 

[Bob_McMillan]

Knew the game length was greatly exaggerated. Oh well, still wont get it unless it's Last of Us level, and with less horror, because horror scares me.

 

[Iwata]

As the reviews trickle in, early word is that the game is, well... pretty good!

And totally debunks that ridiculous "3-5 hour length" myth that so many bought into, no matter how many people went on YouTube saying otherwise.

 

[Zhukov]

And totally debunks that ridiculous "3-5 hour length" myth that so many bought into, no matter how many people went on YouTube saying otherwise.

Because 7 hours is so many more than 5, right?

Last I heard, the 3-5 hour estimate was from a speedrun. 7 hours playing normally is still a short game.

 

[Iwata]

And totally debunks that ridiculous "3-5 hour length" myth that so many bought into, no matter how many people went on YouTube saying otherwise.

Because 7 hours is so many more than 5, right?

Last I heard, the 3-5 hour estimate was from a speedrun. 7 hours playing normally is still a short game.

If you say so. I don't know about you, but I can think of plenty of 7-hour games that I really, really enjoyed. And several 20h+ ones that I'd rather have a tooth pulled than play again. Hell, I loved the crap out of AfterBurner Climax, and that was literally the shortest game I have ever paid for, having once clocked it in 7 minutes. And it was STILL better than any Final Fantasy game I've ever played.

Me? I have a feeling this is definitely one of those 'haters gonna hate' cases. I mean, even when reviews say "the game is not as short as was rumoured, and it's pretty good", some people have already decided to hate it and that's that as far as they're concerned.

Not that I care much. At best, they'll be depriving themselves of a potentially good game with great reviews. Me? I'll be playing it tomorrow. Then I'll make my own judgement.

 

[Danny Dowling]

quality over quantity with the game content. it's obviously not a quick game and it's obviously no Final Fantasy, why this game is being attacked like this where others haven't boggles me. All this will do is encourage devs to shoe horn crappy multiplayer into their game just to shut the whiny brats up. And that means the man power isn't going 100% into the single player, the actual game.

 

[OhNoYouDidnt]

Hell, I loved the crap out of AfterBurner Climax, and that was literally the shortest game I have ever paid for, having once clocked it in 7 minutes.

Did you pay $60/?60/£50 for that game, though? The problem people have with The Order isn't just its length, it's the fact that it's a full-priced AAA game that can be completed in an afternoon or two.

 

[Iwata]

Hell, I loved the crap out of AfterBurner Climax, and that was literally the shortest game I have ever paid for, having once clocked it in 7 minutes.

Did you pay $60/?60/£50 for that game, though? The problem people have with The Order isn't just its length, it's the fact that it's a full-priced AAA game that can be completed in an afternoon or two.

So was Wolfenstein: The New Order. To name but one. And that game kicked ass and was well-received by pretty much everyone.

As for AfterBurner, I paid 15 Euro. Haven't ever regretted it, not for a second.

Again, I do think people seem to be picking on this game for some particular reason. There is no shortage of games that are the same length - or shorter - and don't go through the same shitstorm. People grabbed that initial video and ran with it, and by now there's no going back. It's kinda like the anti-vax movement. No matter how many times it's disproved, people still believe it.

Like I said before: a shame. Only means a lot have already decided not to play what by all indications is a pretty good game.

 

[Danny Dowling]

After Burner Climaz is one of the biggest pieces of junk to ever invade my PS3's hard drive.

seriously, the length of this game isn't an issue. Prince of Persia Sands of Time is one of my all time favs, and it's a 5-6 hour, and I can speed it in 2 and a half. Sonic 3 & Knuckles is my fav game of all time and I can get every chaos emerald and super emerald and beat the game in under an hour.

this game is graphically impressive and a solid 8 hours, that's fine. I'm sure there'll be reply value.

 

[OhNoYouDidnt]

So was Wolfenstein: The New Order. To name but one. And that game kicked ass and was well-received by pretty much everyone.

Wolfy is a poor example, though. It's a 12 hour game (Instead of 7 hours) with a lot of replay value because of the multiple timelines and the unlockable modes. From what I can tell, The Order lacks this replayability. It looks like a heavily scripted game with little to no player agency outside the combat areas.

A closer example would probably be Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes, but even that would not be wholly accurate. Whatever the case, short games like that just appear to offer very poor value. If you have enough disposable income to afford the latest games without having to worry about the amount of content they have, then that's great. All the more power to you. But I for one do understand why some people might raise their eyebrows at The Order's lack of content.

 

[Kyber]

60-70 euros for 7 hours of gameplay is fucking ridiculous.

Can't wait for the future where every game is about 2 hours long, costs a hundred bucks and is 100 gb.

Could devs just start downgrading graphics for a while so games could have more content instead of slightly more reflective water and "cinematic" cutscenes. Cinematic experience can go fuck itself, until AAA gaming starts to move away from all of this, I'll stick with Indie games.

 

[Lilani]

And totally debunks that ridiculous "3-5 hour length" myth that so many bought into, no matter how many people went on YouTube saying otherwise.

Because 7 hours is so many more than 5, right?

Last I heard, the 3-5 hour estimate was from a speedrun. 7 hours playing normally is still a short game.

If you say so. I don't know about you, but I can think of plenty of 7-hour games that I really, really enjoyed. And several 20h+ ones that I'd rather have a tooth pulled than play again. Hell, I loved the crap out of AfterBurner Climax, and that was literally the shortest game I have ever paid for, having once clocked it in 7 minutes. And it was STILL better than any Final Fantasy game I've ever played.

Me? I have a feeling this is definitely one of those 'haters gonna hate' cases. I mean, even when reviews say "the game is not as short as was rumoured, and it's pretty good", some people have already decided to hate it and that's that as far as they're concerned.

Not that I care much. At best, they'll be depriving themselves of a potentially good game with great reviews. Me? I'll be playing it tomorrow. Then I'll make my own judgement.

The problem isn't enjoyment--I can also think of some 7-hours-or-fewer games I enjoyed. Portal, Bastion, Amnesia The Dark Descent, Dear Esther. But I also didn't play $60 for any of those games, and I would feel that is way overpriced for any of them. There is a point where quality does not excuse the price, and The Order seems to be hovering beyond that threshold for many people.

 

[KingsGambit_v1legacy]

So...a short play time, half of which is frequent, unskippable cutscenes, unnecessary black bars to make it "cinematic", chest-high walls, QTEs and no replayability.

I'll get right on that.

 

[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

7 hours playing normally is still a short game.

Only if the game is fun. But don't worry. It's a generic third person cover shooter with a shitload of QTE's so it can't be very fun, which greatly extends the subjective perception of game's length.

 

[Meinos Kaen]

7 hours playing normally is still a short game.

Only if the game is fun. But don't worry. It's a generic third person cover shooter with a shitload of QTE's so it can't be very fun, which greatly extends the subjective perception of game's length.

Not only that. Apparently, the story ends up with no resolve. It's virtual blue balls. This wasn't a game, it was a prologue used to setup a franchise. Jesus, devs REALLY want to make movies, don't they? Not only are they always griping about 'muh cinematic experience', but they are also getting the hollywood virus of not being able to make a film that is a complete story of its own and not a franchise bait.

 

[Hairless Mammoth]

The 5.5 hour Youtube playthrough I partially watched was sort of rushed. The player probably did play at least once before off camera to learn where exactly to go and get used to mechanics of the game.

There are plenty of reviews that aren't as kind as the ones posted in this thread. It isn't just 5 hours long, but is it worth your time? I recommend reading reviews on both ends of the spectrum to find out.

I've said before that length isn't much of an issue for me, if I enjoy what I'm watching, reading or playing. But, I've seen enough gameplay and read enough reviews (both positive, negative and in between) to know that this game is dull. It's a visually pleasing QTE rich, third person cover shooter, with a story that wastes many good plot points, and has no re-playability. If I could still easily rent it, I might, but I would not spend $60 on something that is more of the same stuff we got last gen. I still haven't played past the first hour of Uncharted 3 and would be better off with that and watching some steampunk and werewolf films afterwards to round out the experience The Order was trying to go for.

 

[JagermanXcell]

Ah yes, a game with an interesting Victorian setting but with intentionally generic gameplay, is being raved for a story that is little more than franchise set up. And is good because some people say so... huh, I wonder if the content and replayability is a whole lot of nothing too.
I'll give it some credit: it's the perfect candidate for PS+'s monthly free games.

Wait for Bloodborne?
Wait for Bloodborne.

 

[wAriot]

Polygon, IGN, Forbes and Gamespot are out.
And boy oh boy.
Edit: Kotaku and gamingtrend too.

Also, disclaimer: I'm just saying they are out, not that I personally give a damn about them.

 

[Pyro Yuy]

Honestly this game looks boring. It's got a very interesting back drop, but it tosses it all so you can shoot people from behind cover and kill others with QTE.

I can't emphasis 'people' hard enough, I was hoping to kill more than just people dressed in grey.

 

[Tohuvabohu]

The embargoes are up, the reviews are flooding in!

While I am not a fan of numeric scores, or metacritic, with a game like The Order, and in the case of an embargo being lifted, I can't help but check.

Metacritic score is currently sitting at 65. [http://www.metacritic.com/game/playstation-4/the-order-1886] Oh dear.

From what I can see, the common complaints have to deal with the it being more of a movie with some game in it, and the story itself seems to have a lot of problems (Which is odd, given that the game seems more interested in being a movie, and yet still has a questionable story. And a lot of loose ends. FOR SEQUEL MAYBE?) The gameplay, whenever you actually have free reign, doesn't seem strike a chord, and there's way too many QTE's. Otherwise, the game looks fantastic.

Who knows what the future of this game is. But with it being a new first party IP, I'm not surprised it's attempting to leave itself open for sequels. I'm tempted to compare this to perhaps the new Uncharted of this generation. Whereas the first Uncharted game was mostly spectacle, the following games in the series improved upon the first by magnitudes. Yet with that being said, even the first Uncharted game was a quality title that had legitimately fun gameplay on top of looking great, and was well received.

That does not seem to be the case here.