The Order: 1886 - Initial Thoughts

I have played The Order: 1886 for about five hours and I am happy to announce that the credits have not rolled yet.  Aside from debunking game-length controversy, I have really enjoyed my time with the game.  It is amazingly beautiful, but also Ready At Dawn's skewed take on London is fully realized in the most believable way possible.  A lot of care has been taken to make what didn't actually exist in the era, such as blimps or automatic rifles, fit in with the style of the world.  I was worried that the game would be a Victorian London with lasers and all the added inventions would feel forced, but I find myself willing to suspend my belief as far as the game asks.

The Order has taken a lot of criticism for the amount of cinematics and quick time events that break up the flow of the gameplay.  While the game does have a large amount of cutscenes, for the most part they feel necessary and flow well with the pace of the gameplay.  As for the QTEs, a lot don't feel too different than those you would see in other games, such as The Last Of Us or Uncharted.  QTEs that require you to repeatedly press a button to force an enemy off of you or to counter attacks are repeatedly used in The Order.  But personally I have no issues with these.  Unfortunately, the game omits a melee system entirely for simple button pressing, ultimately ruining the suspense of certain moments in the game.  These instances are more troublesome for me as it feels lazy on the developer's part.

If I had to guess, I would say I am about half way through The Order.  All opinions above are subject to change and will be fleshed out in my full review.  For more on The Order: 1886, stay here at PBG.