The Order: 1886 (PS4)

April 09, 2017

The Order: 1886 (PS4)

When it comes to video games an issue that is often discussed is length. How long is the game? Is a question many players (myself included) ask before buying a game. But when wondering about how long a game is, I think most people just want to know, is it worth my money? How many hours of gameplay do I get for the price? What about re-play value?

There is, however, a big problem with this kind of thinking because you're thinking quantity over quality. Game developers do it too, and that is why they still insist on cramming in useless, uninspiring missions and activities just to make that game longer. Because longer is better, a longer game means more bang for the buck, right? I could not disagree more. Quality beats quantity any day of the week.

That does not mean that all long games are bad and full of filler just to make them longer. If I think of one game that breaks the trend, it has got to be The Witcher 3. I just got some statistics from Playstation Network that said I had played that game for almost 250 hours, that's including the expansions. However, nothing in the Witcher felt like it was put there just to make it longer, it was quantity and quality. A rare combination.

There are also short games that are simply brilliant. Like the Uncharted games for example. They each run about 8 hours long (except for the latest that was bit longer) but they are top notch quality over quantity games that give you plenty bang for the buck.

The reason I'm talking about length is because I just played The Order: 1886, which was criticized for it's short length. And yes, it is short, it is very linear and it could best be described as an interactive movie experience. There are quite a few long cutscenes between gameplay and the gameplay mostly consists of cover based shooting. There is no wonder people were a bit disappointed with the game when it first came out. I would be too, had I paid 60 euros for it. But is it a bad game? Definitely not.

It starts out pretty slow and you're constantly interrupted by cutscenes. In the middle and towards the end of the game you get more freedom to play and the story that unfolds is pretty good.
The problem with the game is that it feels more like a long demo or showcase for what the PS4 and it's controller can do, which I think it was made to do, being an PS4 exclusive and one of the first games to come out to the PS4. There's nothing wrong with that per se, but I can see why people felt a bit let down.

The game is set in Victorian London and features some steampunk elements. You play as Galahad, a knight from the knights of the round table. Together with your crew you hunt lycans (werewolves) and rebels in the midst of London. The game looks great and has a great atmosphere. The facial animations and voice acting is very good as well. The gameplay is pretty bland and offers not much new but it works. I thought the story was intriguing so definitely pick this game up if you see it on sale somewhere.