Playtime: 7:15 hours
Very cinematic production, little real gameplay, more tech demo than full-fledged video game. "The Order 1886" is pretty as a picture, so pretty in fact that you'd think it was a current title for the Ps5. The characters are some of the most real-looking I've ever seen in a video game. The scenario about a Victorian London in an alternative timeline with werewolves and vampires suits my taste perfectly.

And yet in the end, apart from the technical presentation, I was rather disappointed. The story of "The Order 1886" goes in a direction that I found rather boring and the shootouts are fun, but they wear out quickly. The result is a long tech demo with a lot of potential that was hardly used.

If I have to summarize what I think of this game in a simple sentence, I’d say that I enjoyed the game, but perhaps I would have enjoyed it more if it were a full movie or a TV show. Now, let’s go to the details. In advance, sorry for this much text.
Played this game for the first time in 2024, never played it before. If you were to tell me that this game came out this very year, I would believe you, because visually, the game is amazing. Not only the graphics are very realistic, but also everything looks real. I think that the designing for this game was really good. The scenarios, clothing, guns, accesories, etc look like they actually exist. The mo-cap and voice acting is really good also. The music is very good, specially during some cinematics.
I liked the story. It’s simple and linear, but it’s good. Nothing too original, but I liked the general setting of the story. I think that I would have been nice to know more about the lore during the game. Like how did the Order was founded, when did the rivalry with the half-breeds started, where do the monsters come from, etc. I loved the final scene of the game, but at the same time it felt rushed to end the game there. It leaves a lot to the imagination of how that situation carried on. I know that at this point, it’s almost impossible that we get a sequel, but I’d play it if it where to happen.
When I said this game is very cinematic, I mean that for moments, you kinda forget that you are playing a game. There are parts where you have a seamless transition from cinematic to gameplay and viceversa. But, there are moments when this kind of obsession with realism and trying to look like a movie, is not a good thing. The camera placement feels weird during some gameplay bits. Maybe it’s too close to the character or too displaced to one of the sides, etc. It’s not all the time, but when it happens, I find it annoying.
The gameplay itself is fun, but very repetitive. There is little to no variation. You walk (you’ll be forced to do slow walking a bit too much maybe), you go through some areas where you have to jump or climb, you get to the fighting area, you clean it up, then repeat. Also, there is little variation of enemies. The gunplay was fun. Simple, but fun. I wasn’t blown away by it, but I enjoyed it. You have to use the “cover” system and shoot, and that’s pretty much it. There are no boss battles. The closets things to boss battles are some lycans, which you have to fight using a quick time event. Now, the “stealth” parts were the worst for me. The camera feels weird, and even if you get close to the enemies you have to wait for the quick time event button to load so you can take them down. Also, the stealth isn’t optional. There are a few parts of the game when you have to do it that way whether you want it or not.
And this is too specific, but I can’t believe that there are so many modern games where you can’t change the audio and text languages. I like to play games on their original language, with text and subtitles in spanish (I’m from Argentina). And it is too often that I find that the game has no language option (like this game). Or maybe they only have the option to change the language of the whole game (audio and text). So I ended up changing the language of my PS5 so the game would play in english (both audio and text).

Pros
- Promising setting and presentation.
- A pretty strong cast of characters.

Cons
- Story despite the intrigue initially never got going for me.
- Gameplay is seriously average.
- Lack of enemy variety didn't help the basic gunplay.

If they actually made the game instead of a two hour demo I think this would have done big number. The quality teased and then ripped away from you feels like you're about to have the hottest sex of your life only for your partner to be Thanos snapped out of existence at the moment of penetration.

I'm sorry, did you actually want werewolves, tesla coil guns and blimp fights and themes of British imperialism being unjustified even in the existence of monsters? Too bad. Thanks for 60 dollars you fucking loser.

The Order: 1886 is both a game that has been unjustly lost under the radar of many players but also a forgettable, mediocre game without much gameplay value. How is that possible? On the one hand, there is an incredibly interesting and atmospherically designed game world in 19th century London. The slums are filthy, the noble classes live in nicely decorated mansions and Jack the Ripper roams the nights. In this world, which is also accompanied by a fantastic underlying soundtrack reminiscent of Bloodborne, we play Daniel Day Lewis, I mean Sir Galahad, a member of a secret order that has dedicated itself to the fight against half-breeds for centuries. Thrown into the mix is a dash of steampunk, real-life locations and personalities such as Nikola Tesla and a bit of Arthurian legend. Yes, The Order is not lacking in interesting content. Instead, the gameplay is lacking in all areas. The game is a mix between a mediocre cover shooter and passages that are almost reminiscent of Walking Simulator in which we almost stroll through rooms and corridors. Often the camera is glued to our shoulder. Then there are little mini-games such as picking locks or hotwiring circuits and a very rudimentary sneak level, which was a bit of a pain in the arse, as you're immediately dead if you're discovered. Oh and quicktime events, because who doesn't love quicktime events? The shootouts offer the best gameplay. The weapons, however, are relatively normal genre standards. But in addition to pistols, revolvers, rifles and submachine guns, there is also the atypical Thermite Rifle, which shoots flammable magnesium. Apart from 1-2 arenas in which enemies with shotguns (two shots and you're dead) and thermite rifle carriers are thrown at you in the smallest of spaces, the shooter sections are not too difficult and are easy to handle. But it doesn't really do anything special. The story, which is the real highlight of the game, is also very slow to get going, then brings up some twists and aha moments, but still leaves out many points that would have been really interesting for understanding and further worldbuilding. And then the game simply stops at a climax. The Order: 1886 therefore lags far behind its competitors in terms of gameplay, but thanks to its fantastic, albeit not fully utilised potential, setting, it manages to leave many wanting more. More London, more of the secret order, of monsters and myths. Because that's what makes the game stand out. Maybe we'll get a predecessor at some point which, in addition to a well-rounded story, also focuses on fun gameplay. I, at least, would love to wander the streets and underworld of London with Sir Galahad again.

Damn this game could have been so much more. Just like Ryse: Son of Rome, from a graphical standpoint, the game looks amazing, better than most games today.
The Order: 1886 is set in an alternative Victorian 1886 with retro-futuristic steampunk atmosphere and fantasy/horror elements like Werewolves, Lycans and Vampires.
The story was good, i liked the Knights of the round table stuff and i liked Sir Galahad. The gameplay was also good, i liked the shooting and the futuristic weapons. Overall, the game geels great and the story does its job, I dont have many bad things to talk about The Order but... why the hell is it so short? It takes like 6 hours to finish it and that's not enough for this kind of game with such a good potential, also they charged a lot for this one, the price was unjustified and wasn't worth it.
Maybe if there was a sequel, I would overlook the length of the game and it wouldn't be a problem anymore, but i wanted to see more of The Order. Its a shame really.
This is one of the games that had potential but it was never fulfilled. I would sacrifice franchises like idk Horizon or a new Uncharted for a new The Order but that's just me:))) i find The Order more interesting, more of 'my cup of tea'.

The Order: 1886 es un videojuego con muchos claros y oscuros, pero nunca un mal videojuego. Si hubiese sido recibido de mejor manera creo que estaríamos hablando a día de hoy de uno de los buques insignia de PlayStation como lo son God of War o The Last of Us. Esta primera entrega fue un tanteo para lo que vendría después con una segunda parte, no cabe duda. Por desgracia nunca veremos que sucederá con Sir Galahad y compañía. Ready at Down merecía algo mejor que hacer juegos de realidad virtual para Oculus Rift. Una auténtica pena.

Ah, The Order 1886. I finished this once a while ago, but I came back to get the platinum trophy. I've pretty much enjoyed and loved 90% of Sony's first party output in the last 10 years, and of the other 10%, this game is perhaps the one I wanted to like the most. The setting and world of The Order is right up my alley: an interesting twist on the Knights of the Round story, set in a steampunk-ish London, with a tasteful supernatural edge to it all. But it stumbles more often than it excels.

Most of The Order's failings can be seen in its first hour. The opening is incredibly slow, and in return, it doesn't offer a meaningful reason as to why it would be this slow. You'll also see an overreliance on QTEs, using them when they don't need to be used, and when they shouldn't. This lack of engaging interactivity is also felt through the movement, as the game insists on making you walk/climb so slowly through tight corridors for most of its runtime. All of this coalesces into this feeling of sluggish, uninviting gameplay.

And then there's a bigger problem: the game lacks the gameplay variety and depth needed to keep people engaged at all times. There are neat things in the combat, like the high variety of weapons available, and the Blackwater ability, which is a pretty badass slo-mo auto-lock-on move. But the level and encounter design is just so lacking. It's like having a cool sports car to drive, but all the roads are just simple straightaways and 90-degree corners. There's a part early on where you're just blasting 30-40 enemies in a courtyard and it's so basic. You barely have to move from your original cover. It's more like a stationary shooting gallery, and there's at least one of these every hour. Then you have the non-combat sections, which are hampered by the stuff I mentioned earlier, and most of the collectibles you find are just not exciting. Sure, the graphics are pretty as heck, and the environments are quite detailed, but sightseeing will only get you so far.

The worst of all is the half-breed fights; they're so disappointing. I get so mad when I think about these fights. Either you'll have a shitty Infinity Blade clone (remember that iPhone game?), or a shootout with the dumbest creature AI in the game. Just wait in one corner, shoot the heck out of them when they pop up, and press X at the right time to dodge their attack if needed. Rinse and repeat. It never changes. God, what a waste of potential.

All of this is the textbook example of all the worst qualities of cinematic prestige gaming. When you wrest control away from the player, you're supposed to have a good reason for it. Maybe you want to showcase great facial animations by taking away the camera controls and having these cinematographed cutscenes. Or maybe you want to slow down the player's movement to properly time a cool scripted set piece. This game fails at most attempts of these. The best of the genre understands how to balance developer intent with user experience; just look at every single Naughty Dog game in the last two decades. They constantly juggle between multiple gameplay flavors fluidly, and they put so much care into the way all of these flavors connect and interact with one another. As somebody who is incredibly fond of this type of game, seeing all these flaws condensed into an experience this short makes me feel so annoyed like I've been a hater all along.

...Okay, the worst has come to pass. I have talked a lot already, let's speedrun some other things about the game before we end this.
- I enjoyed the story quite a bit. The game is at its best when it's building this world of long-living Knights. Lines like "...It's a motto that has seen me through decades" and "Two revolutions have taught me that danger are on both sides" makes me so excited to learn more about this world. I also really like the angle of the Knights living a cursed life; "Men were never meant to live this life."
- Sir Galahad is a pretty great protagonist to play as, and I particularly liked the company of Lafayette and Lakshmi.
- I mentioned a bit about the weapons before, they really cooked with some of these. The Arc Gun is seriously one of my favorite video game weapons in the last 10 years. Shoutouts also to the Dragoon Revolver, the Thermite Gun, and the Falchion Rifle.
- The Letterbox aspect ratio certainly doesn't help with the boring level design: it especially lacks verticality. It only adds to the overall claustrophobic feel of the game. Also, I wish there were motion blur and film grain slider settings.
- Having unskippable cutscenes sucks ass.

If there's any one game that deserves a sequel to right all its wrongs, it's this. The setting of The Order is just too exciting for me, and I'm still quite bummed that we'll probably never see more of this world. Except if Sony decides to make a TV show or movie about this, I guess.

It's a game with a good story and good combat. But, it's linear in a way that feels intrusive and takes away the imersion of the player. Alongside that, the ending is more of a cliffhanger, and it really feels like they could have extended the game (which is short) for another 2 hours to finish the plot.

Nevertheless, the setting is interesting and I like the characters, alongside the combat and the graphics that still holds up. I would have liked a sequel, but at the very least it should have been updated to 60fps.

Great game. I had been itching to play this for a while specifically because of some praise as an underrated PlayStation title combined with complaints about its length (all hail short games).
But the main issue isn't with its length - I actually feel like the narrative only really needed 1-2 more missions and some hefty cines and could have stuck some sort of landing. Unfortunately, the handful of storylines the game was carefully weaving are abruptly dropped to the ground in a baffling fashion. Till that point the pacing of the game was marvelous. Its designers are careful not to make any 1 mission overstay its welcome, while developing its world and characters in a natural way.
You get dropped into this world with no handholding or explanation - you're allowed to put the context together as the world unfolds. Combined with the unexpected horror aspects (I had no context going in), I was utterly delighted to unlock the mysteries of the city.
It also looks incredible, maybe one of the best looking PS4 games I have played. Whoever decided to crank the film grain to 11 knew exactly what they were doing.
Misc thoughts: The characters are detailed and expressive. The soundtrack by Jason Graves is weighty and ominous. The gunplay feels quite good and there's just enough weapon variety. The only consistent gameplay issue I had was finicky prompts for melee/sneak kills which frustrated me during a few points. Some quirky reverb / loudness SFX issues with footsteps. All hail photo mode.
All in all I can strongly recommend this game for someone looking for an incredibly polished if quite short historical fantasy.