THE ORDER 1886 [2015] PS5 REVIEW

🎮   GREAT   🎮

The positive:

💗 Amazing Storytelling mechanics implemented

💗 Compelling narrative with strong characters

💗 Stunning presentation & immersive visual art

💗 Mind-blowing attention to every detail

💗 Enjoyed the plot but as soon as you have intent the credits roll

The negative:

👎 The infamous black bars were sold as a "cinematic experience"

👎 They could not get the game to run stable at 720p/30fps

👎 Pixel count and player awareness were reduced by the black bars

👎 Letterboxing the 3rd person shooting led to frustrating gunplay

👎 Abandoned by Sony, no further patches or attempts to improve the game were made

It has been 7 years since the Order 1886 was released on the eve of the PS4 Launch back in 2015. A unique opportunity wasted as the new generation of games was yet to arrive at the new platform, everyone and their mother who got a PS4 was eager to try every PlayStation-exclusive AAA game they could get their hands on. That was a once-in-a-lifetime window that ready at dawn studio failed to capitalize on.

THE STAKES WERE TOO HIGH

The Order was one of the most advertised Ps Exclusives, it was a Major project. Ready at dawn received help from acclaimed Santa Monica studios and even the creative directors of Naughty Dog collaborated in the development of the game. The new IP was Sony's contender against Xbox squad-based shooter Gears of Wars. This was not supposed to be another AAA big game, this was supposed to be THE GAME.

A LETTERBOXED 30FPS KNIGHT 

At that time, we were used to PS4 games running at 30FPS, but we were OK to consider it next gen as long as it was in 1080p. But since the devs could not get the game to run stable at 1080/30FPS they had to come up with this crazy [original] idea about those cursed black bars giving the game that infamous "cinematic feel". Despite the game's shortcomings like its length, That alone was something that drove away many interested gamers including myself.  I was interested in the game concept, but when negative reviews started to arrive, I realized that the black bars were not the only red flag, the shooting and controls were clunky and bad for the majority of gamers who experienced it, and the combination of up-close camera with black bars made for some awkward 3rd person encounters in which the only thing you see is your characters back.

In the following 7 years, I've grown fond of PS exclusives and started to give some forgotten games a shot. Been waiting for a next-gen patch for the order 1886 for 2 years now, and it has become evident that Sony has long buried this mistake and wants nothing to do with it. So, I've tried to install a nonofficial patch from @illusion that removes the black bars but lowers resolution to 720p (figured that's a nice tradeoff for me) but only works with a 3rd party app that is not supported on my PS5. Finally, there was no way to play the game but its original state :/

A HIDDEN GEM UNDER THE RUBBLE

While playing The order 1886 I was really surprised with the overall graphics quality, and the storytelling mechanics implemented are awesome! You can tell they took a page from naughty dog in the way they transitioned the lore from cinematic into gameplay and combat dialogue for a remarkable experience. I remember feeling "this game is NOT for everyone" while watching and enjoying the long cinematics and taking in the guided tour through the gothic city corridors. I really loved the way the game takes its time to build the world around you, and the characters, every knight has their own character arcs, it's all top-tier work. But many gamers might find this approach through slow storytelling boring. The story was engaging but as soon as you have intent the credits roll. 

CONCLUSION

After completing the game, I gave it a 2nd run and felt positive about the experience. Despite its shortcomings and mistakes, there is a hidden gem underneath all that. The order 1886 proved a surprisingly great experience and a fun game to play. I don't know how gamers could finish the game in 5 hours, it took me 12 to complete it, but I took my time sightseeing. It would be amazing to get a Next Gen upgrade for PS5 to unlock 4K 60FPS with no black bars plus haptic feedback and adaptive triggers 💗