It is no secret that Ryse: Son of Rome is Microsoft's showpiece. This game is what makes people hopeful that Microsoft didn't exactly drop the ball with the hardware in the unit. Does the game hold up to the expectations of a brand new IP competing in a already crowded market? Does Ryse give you something different than what you're use to? Read more to find out.
Graphics
Ryse Is beautiful head to toe, drop dead gorgeous, Crytek did an amazing job at capturing Rome. It all looks great. The vast areas you visit on your journey are jaw dropping at times. The armor on Marius moves at every hinge, and the character and Facial animations are top notch. That being said, there is a reason this game is so beautiful and I will go on to explain the technical side of it a bit. For starters, the games camera is one of the tightest I've ever seen in a game yet. This means that the game only had to render what you're seeing at any given time. when you sprint you don't even get that "zoom" effect that makes you feel like you're moving fast as hell (think gears of war). The camera is always so close to Marius and that's fine cause it works well in this game. The linearity makes it very easy to pull off these visuals as most of the eye candy are static environments you can't go near. This game is full of invisible walls and smoke and mirror tricks, its like here look at this amazing game, you cant touch it though. That doesn't mean the game deserves any less, for the hardware its running on it is a technical achievement and Crytek should be commended for pulling it off. Three main factors stand out more then anything though.
1.The AA technique is clearly visible and you can see it very clearly, they add a kind of film grain to it all to cover up any jaggies. It works well but very noticeable.
2. The character models are far and few between. You feel like you're fighting a clone army most of the time. Which is typical for games of this nature but there are no differences from the most standard character models. Not even so much as different armor on them. Granted there are variations of enemies per chapter, it doesn't take away from the fact that you feel like you're fighting clone after clone.
3. The on screen characters, which is a total of 6 enemies I believe, that leaves little to be desired, because even though you have to account for your men, they are as dumb as a door nail and don't help you AT ALL. I have seen the soldiers just stand there time after time as I get destroyed by 4+ heavy enemies. I think this game had issues with AI, a lot of issues with it.
Story
Ryse puts you in the shoes of a Roman General named Marius Titus, in what seems like a Tarantino intro, where everything you're doing will be explained as you progress. Before you know it, you are in a room with Nero explaining your story. This formula works well for Ryse because it is what keeps you interested in the first place. Fast forward 2 chapters in and you are already seeing the problems that plague the story. It is hollow for the middle 3 chapters, the character progression is blank (I actually forgot to use my upgrade points until the 4th chapter) and the chapters have very little to do with the story and more to do with the visuals. Once you grind through that, the game actually starts getting interesting for the final 3 chapters. My most enjoyed moments with the game were those final 3 chapters. It's like Crytek could have done so much more but settled for cliche Western Civilization lore....and nothing is wrong with that. The story is interesting enough to keep you going, as it does a good job at giving you subtle hints as to whats going to happen next. If you can push through chapters III-VI you'll enjoy the game towards the end a lot more.
Sound
Ryse has amazing audio, I mean some of the best I've heard in a long time. That isn't surprising however considering the guys at the helm. Crytek is known for making some of the most gorgeous games with their engine. The sound of sword and shield clashing, the roars and cries of people as they get slaughtered by your hand is ever so rewarding. Voice acting is movie quality, and in those tense moments when you find out whats going on you can hear the anger and I loved that. It felt like Gladiator 2.0 (and it should have). All in all the sound works perfectly with the game and I have no complaints aside from recycled banter between you and the enemies you slay (which mostly consist of "I'm going to kill you Roman scum, and You will die an unpleasant death).
Unfortunately that really plagues you 4-5 hours into the game.
Gameplay
Okay, So I am sure this is the part everyone cares about, and why the game has taken such a hit with reviews lately. Yes, the Gameplay is the biggest problem with Ryse: Son of Rome. Plagued with repetitious chapters, hollow boss fights and ridiculously linear. The biggest issue here is in fact that this game relies heavily on the Right Trigger. While you don't HAVE to do any executions at all (you can literally just keep slashing the enemies), it is needed to fill up your health bar, XP bar, and focus bar. It's like Crytek was promising the fighting was more advanced then we've seen and its really not. Add the whole "boost" element and you have no choice but to constantly use executions to keep yourself alive. That isn't to say that sometimes this system doesn't shine. I'd say about half way through the game when I was doing 50x combos like nothing, it was amazing seeing the character animations as you did a double takedown while slashing between other enemies and just slaughtering everything in your path. It feels great, but only for so long. The novelty wears off once you realize how easy it is to do the chain combos, and you aren't as bad ass as you thought you were. This game has some other elements to gameplay and I can name them all on one hand. Wave fighting, Scorpio slaughter, and Volley defense. Literally each chapter is guaranteed to use those 3 elements over and over again.
Fun Factor
Is this game fun? I suppose you could say it is, when I first started playing the game, I was genuinely excited. What started out as something fresh and interesting quickly turned into any type of corridor shooter I've ever played in my life. Thats what sucks. The fighting is no where near as advanced as Crytek made it out to be, and the boss fights never change up. It's all block block block, hit hit hit. Literally. That's it. My right thumb was sore by the end of the game from all the mashing of "X" on my controller I want to love Ryse, it's the reason I bought an Xbox One. I just can't love it the way I want to. It gets too old too quick and you have to push to the end. If not for the last 3 epic chapters I'd probably given up by chapter V.
Online
Not much to say about the online, I've played a bit of it but it wasn't as entertaining as it could be. This is mainly to do with the single player. Its the same game, but with a friend, fighting off...you guessed it..more waves of enemies and they get progressively harder, as the arena changes. Its fun, you can enjoy it, but I don't expect this to be a multiplayer people invest months in like Battlefield or Call of Duty.
Conclusion
Is Ryse a great new IP? No. It is in fact a Good IP with potential if Crytek listens to reviews and feedback. I want to see more of this world, I want to play more games like it. They have the ability to pull it off. It all depends on them. Do I regret buying the game? Not at all, I enjoyed it as much as I could. I am glad I held out for the final 3 chapters as those proved to be the best in the game. Would I encourage you to buy it? Sure! There is enough elements to get your moneys worth, even if you have to pace yourself to do it.
From underrated Xbox One launch titles to absolute emperors of the strategy genre, history heads will love these games based around Ancient Rome.
Ryse was awesome, i have no idea why it wasnt recieved well and why we havnt seen another, Rome conquered so much, you could take the action anywhere, and it looked great when xbox one came out, now would be even better.
Ryse: Son of Rome was an Xbox One launch title that has been left to collect dust, but Crytek should set aside Crysis and give Ryse another shot.
"for an Xbox game"
Way to subtly throw shade there. It looked amazing compared to any game at the time it was released.
Never played it myself though, wasn't really interested in it personally. Plus it came at a time when I didn't own an Xbox console. But it was at least different than the usual copy/paste games we get. So I hope it gets another chance sometime soon.
It was a stunning game on all basis. One of the standout games for Xbox as a whole. I ended up buying on pc as well… and yes nothing looked better than it in PC at the time either. Nothing just ok about it, definitely needs a sequel.
@snookies12, don't pretend like the Xbox One didn't struggle with being gimpled by its tiny pool of ESRAM as a frame buffer. It was significantly weaker than the PS4.
Metacritic 60, user score 6.4. I'm not alone in putting it into the "ok" category...
@snookies
Haven't played it but at least you know enough to defend Xbox over it. The game did look good, for an Xbox game. That's not some "subtle shade," it's full on reality.
I remember it being nearly the only graphically decent game on the Xbone for like the first two years after launch, and graphics were that games strength
The qte's were disappointing though. God of war was doing it back in the ps2 days. As gorgeous as the game was, the gameplay needed to be updated.
I really liked the original Ryse but Crytek doesn't have the funds. The mismanaged their properties and let EA raid them with Crysis for the duration of their relationship. Right now they are working on Crysis 4, I doubt they can spare resources to work on a Ryse sequel.
It would have to be funded by MS, I really liked Ryse sure it got repetitive but the setting visuals and story were good
MS should have funded a sequel to Ryse and Sunset OD. Two good franchises they definitely needed last gen.
MS is too busy trying to become the next EA, Ryse wont be on their list of titles to finance unless it gets a hipster makeover with lootboxes.
I recently bought it for the steamdeck and have to say... 60fps is a game changer. I really wished MS had gotten a one x patch or series boost mode option but sadly, nope. Other games that definitely deserve a second chance (esp on steamdeck/pc) are quantum break and sunset overdrive. Both deserved 60fps support on one x / series but you have to go to PC for that.
Rumor has it Crytek had plans for a Ryse 2 but due to the low turnout for XB (at the time) it was shelved. They really should give this another shot. i dont care if its multiplat on PS and XB and PC and Switch... just so long as part 2 gets made.
Game was good enough, not great.
Graphically it was top notch. Still holds well till this day.
It only needed more enemy variety and few more movesets or weapons to use. That would have made the experience tons better.
Xbox Game Pass Quests recently reset for the month of August. So if you try to collect as many Microsoft Rewards points as possible, there's a new set available now.
This is not what I would call value for money spent. They give you quests in liveservice games to get you "re-engaged" with the monetization schemes or to get you hooked or so you at least spend some extra on skins and loot boxes. Then they dole out paltry points after you have already paid extra for whichever liveservice within a liveservice that you are already paying for. My worry is people can't actually be that stupid to fall for this, can they?
How does it not make sense? O thy god of reason, shine some evidence upon us. Ryse of Rome, ESO,and AC: Origins are all live service games, between them you can get 275 points. Liveservice games are made to keep people spending. Therefore, Gamepass is a live service and the points are for playing live service games.
It is not my problem that this does not make sense to you, it is absolutely your problem. I mean it is all your problem.
Hate Xbox but comments in every Xbox article 😂 without making sense smh
Great Review! alot of useful information
Good and insightful review mate. I'd like to see more in depth reviews like this one from ya in the future.