I have already written at length about the struggles The Order has faced due to earlier reports of the game’s length, so I don’t need to go into those here. Certainly, with any story-focussed single player game, questions of length and value will always be front and center when that game comes out at a full $60 or above. That being said, it seems like there are many issues with The Order that pertain to pacing, narrative structure, gameplay mechanics, and a host of other issues that have kept this game from being the revolutionary title developer Ready At Dawn and Publisher Sony surely hoped it would be.

Now to be fair, as has been stated by the Internet as a whole, this game is stunning. What you will find in the reviews is a difference of opinion on how much value a pretty coat of paint results in and while some found that to be the most important factor, it seems the greater majority find that even the prettiest game technically can’t make up for a host of narrative and gameplay mis-steps.

Check out what the reviewers had to say below:

Game Trailers: In the end, The Order: 1886 is truly an exciting spectacle in a setting that we thoroughly enjoy, elevating our expectations for PlayStation 4 games to come. However, it’s held back by its limited scope and abbreviated plot. It may not have the most well-rounded strengths, but it’s a remarkable game nonetheless. (8.2/10)

Game Informer: While The Order: 1886 is a fun adventure with lots of intriguing reveals about the nature of its world, it’s also clear that Ready At Dawn intends for this to be the first game of a grander story. Players should brace themselves for a lot of unresolved character arcs and unanswered questions. This is an origin story, but a fascinating one. 1886 goes against the current tide of open-world wandering and emergent sequences, and banks on the idea that players can enjoy a straightforward and relatively brief cinematic adventure – if it’s well told and original. I hope Ready At Dawn is right; I’d love to see what happens in 1887. (7.75/10)

IGN: The basic conflict at the heart of The Order: 1886 is that considerations for a cinematic approach are prioritized above the needs of basic gameplay. Its best aspects are its stunning looks, atmosphere, and style – which are truly fantastic – and entertaining fiction. But the shallow, slow, and generic quick-time event-riddled gameplay make it feel like an experience that would’ve been better served by a non-interactive movie than a game. With no multiplayer, and no reason to revisit the short and stunted single-player campaign once it’s been completed, there just isn’t a lot to it. (6.5/10)

Polygon: Galahad’s story, such as it is, concludes so rapidly and with so few loose threads tied off, it’s hard to shake the feeling that someone somewhere decided that it was time for the knight and his cohorts to get out into the world whether they were ready or not. Though it nails some of the fundamentals, The Order: 1886 has been released without answering the essential question of what it offers that other games aren’t already doing better . Everything about the game’s final shot screams “sequel set up,” but unless The Order finds some non-aesthetic reasons to justify its existence, it’s hard to imagine coming back for a second adventure. (5.5/10)

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