The Order: 1886 Needs a Sequel

The Order: 1886 is a painfully underrated game. There. I said it.

When Ready at Dawn’s new IP launched in 2015, the response from both gamers and critics ultimately did not reflect the excitement that had been surrounding the game leading up to its release. In discussing The Order: 1886 with others, I’ve heard everything from it was okay, to someone actually shrugging their shoulders and saying meh. The reviews were also underwhelming, and soon any mention of the game just slowly fizzled out altogether. Personally, though, I loved The Order: 1886 and had been following its development since it was first revealed at Sony’s E3 2013 conference, up until it was finally released.

While I did think it suffered from a short narrative (I barely touched the eight-hour mark) and an abundance of quick-time events, there was nothing inherently wrong with the game. The environments were consistently atmospheric and gorgeous, and the fantastical elements of the of the story blended in well its alternate history timeline. Not to mention, two years later, it’s still one of the best-looking games I have on PS4 and has a soundtrack that I still put on shuffle every now and then. The Order: 1886 may have had its shortcomings, but it’s a title that’s definitely still worth discussing, and Ready at Dawn has already laid a solid foundation for the series to continue and thrive beyond the first game. And let’s be real, guys…Knack got a sequel. Knack.

Where many have found hangups with The Order: 1886 is in its classification as a “game”. There are chapters where I didn’t even touch my controller, and there were others where I only needed it for a few seconds. Truthfully, the whole experience gave new meaning to eating while playing video games. Joking aside, The Order isn’t the first game to get heavy-handed with cinematic experiences (I’m sure we all remember the Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots cutscene that was pushing the half-hour mark), and of course it won’t be the last. Games can definitely have an abundance of cutscenes, but they have to feel earned and well-balanced with the gameplay. We can talk about The Order: 1886’s potential movie-game identity crisis in the comments, but this is still an aspect of the game that Ready at Dawn can either improve or expand upon in a sequel, depending on the original intent.

For anyone who needs a refresher, The Order: 1886 is set in an alternate Victorian London. We play as Sir Galahad, a member of an elite order of Knights, who works to defend the city from half-breed creatures, all while political and government turmoil are brewing in the background. With the unique use of technology and futuristic-style weapons, fighting is never a dull moment in the game, and it employs the same cover-based fighting style that we’ve seen in games like Uncharted. 

Though there are a lot of QTE’s in The Order: 1886, that aspect of the gameplay didn’t quite reach the same level as titles like Quantic Dream’s Heavy Rain and Beyond: Two Souls, both of which are completely reliant on the QTE style of gameplay in order to greatly influence the narrative outcome. QTEs in The Order were sporadic, happening in the middle of a fight, while walking through the environment, and even mixed in with the cutscenes at some points.

Ready at Dawn created a seamless blend between those cutscenes and gameplay- so seamless, in fact, there were moments I wasn’t sure if I was actually in control of Galahad. While this is something that can also be taken into consideration for a sequel, it’s still a testament to the game’s strong, cinematic qualities; and if it’s balanced correctly with gameplay, this is series that can truly be great.

Despite its length, The Order felt like a visually-pleasing, historical movie (with some fantasy and steampunk elements sprinkled in, of course)- one that ultimately left us with several questions and speculations due to the open-ended nature of the final scene. There’s a really good story at the core of this game that hasn’t gotten enough credit. Either that, or it’s gotten overlooked altogether because of complaints about the game as a whole. In a short span of time, players witness the rise and fall of Sir Galahad, betrayals, and new alliances, all while uncovering secrets that could ruin London and the Order of Knights. A sequel could take the story in new and exciting directions, especially now that Galahad is no longer with the Order and saying to Nikola Tesla that “I am Galahad no more.”

 

As a player, what spoke to me most was the atmospheric nature of The Order: 1886. Though it was a linear story and straying too far from any given environment wasn’t always an option, there is great opportunity to incorporate player exploration in a sequel. I didn’t have any huge expectations for this game when it released. I only knew that it looked great, the trailers had me intrigued, and I was anxious to play it. When I finished it, I never had any sense of disappointment in The Order: 1886, only questions as to the where it could go from here. There are few first games in a series that start out perfect (looking at you, Assassin’s Creed), but with a steady foundation to build on, the game can quickly become a fan-favorite.