Lesson #1: If you want to know how to not make a game, look no further than The Order 1886. Graphics alone don't make a game good.
Lesson #2: If you think your game will anger the general gaming population, bomb hard on Metacritic, and become another game that fail the massive hype you've built up for it, smoke and mirrors is your best friend. You'll need the sales.
Of course this is all IMO. This is honestly how my feelings are with this game. Take it or leave it.
The only lesson to learn here is to not hype your game up no matter what. Until Dawn had more QTE's and less action than Order and it was PRAISED because it "came out of nowhere" for most people. It took me longer to beat the Order than Until Dawn so game length wasn't the issue, though replay value would be in this case.
People were ragging on Sony for not pushing Until Dawn and i severely disagree. If Sony was pushing that Until Dawn was the next big thing, people would have ripped it in half due to expectations. For the record, i loved both games.
Lastly, the Order was not "Hyped" it was simple promoted just like any other game. Gamers built it up like it's VideoGame Jesus just based on the visuals and though it everything else would fall into place. Tack on the facts that it's an exclusive and the start of a new gen and, there you are....
I could tell months ahead of time that The Order was not going to get a fair shake. Was it perfect, No! It was a solid 7.5-8 imo, but FAAAAARRR from horrible.
Your logic is flawed. Explain hyped games the sell really well...I'll wait.
Hint: They were fun to play.
Developers hype their games for a reason, it works. You're rationalizing for your favorite company.
FanBOY's don't deal in reality, they're corporate slaves, thinking is not allowed. Blaming hype, when all evidence suggest otherwise, is foolish and naive.
It was definitely "hyped" but not because the developers or Sony hyped it up. People assumed it was going to be like Gears of War and what they got was a game similar to Heavy Rain. If it were advertised that way, like Until Dawn, and people knew what they were getting into then I believe it still would have sold well. The fact that RaD and Sony said nothing to calm the flames being spread by the hype only hurt the game in the end. So really all it takes is proper advertising. Let people kno what exactly they are getting into so they're expectations don't go astronomical and there shouldn't be a problem.
The Order had plenty of detractors before it even launched. I remember some dude got an early copy and leaked details like 'it's 5 hours long' (over 10 for me, more because it played again for the plat). It got attacked because some of its chapters were cutscenes, which essentially meant people were complaining that a little bit of text appears on the screen during certain cutscenes. WHO CARES if some cutscenes got chapter titles like the gameplay chapters, what difference does it make?
It was when I read Kotaku's review for it, when he called the game ugly, that I knew the reviewers had jumped on the hate wagon.
Yes the werewolf fights were shite and the re-used 'boss' fight was lame but other than that it was a very good game. Not great, but very good.
I agree, I even mention in the article that the game isn't as bad as many make it out to be. I even mention that there are bits I liked, and complimented the game on such. Really the article only focuses on the two lowest points that deal with expanded story telling/world building and the pacing issues between gameplay and cut scenes.
I agree with this comment one hundred percent. But I feel it goes even a bit deeper than marketing.
Marketing killed The Order, it accentuated all the wrong aspects of the game, and made the game look like something it's really not.
They basically stated that it's werewolves and steampunk, with a hint of the cinematic elements taken from a game like Uncharted.
But let's be honest here, people. It wasn't hype. It wasn't even that the game was bad, it just wasn't what people wanted.
It became overly reliant on QTES, and the levels themselves were insanely linear, to a point reminiscent of old games found on PS1/N64, crumbling any sense of player autonomy, and also ruining the sense of scale the game wishes to depict.
Worst of all, however, was that the game's own "story" wasn't that interesting to begin with, and that's where the developers have stated time and time again, that the game wishes to provide. A meaningful timeline with characters you care about, nothing of the sort was even hinted at within the game.
I bring up a game like Uncharted, which Ready at Dawn certainly felt they could recreate, within a dreary, near monotone depiction of 1880's London, but the reason why the story worked in Uncharted is relatively easy: it's basically Indiana Jones, an adventure with rare artifacts and competing parties vying their way for its possession. The simple stories of all three games works, with additional little details thrown in to make it its own thing.
Marketing showed alot of werewolves, and combat with them, and we ended up with about 5 minutes of total combat through the game's short 5 hour runtime.
The most important thing to remember is that this is Ready At Dawn's first rodeo with "big boy" platforms, and it's really exciting to see what they've done with their engine, in particular. The bones are there for an awesome game, and they just need to make sure they nail down the gameplay elements before bothering with exposition.
Sony games get the skull and crossbones before they even come out......just look how much hate sony games get for no reason, the last of us, beyond two souls, the order 1886 , until dawn, Knack, Killzone shadowfall, infamous second son, no mans sky, some people even take a crap on horizon, sony makes the best games but people just hate hate and destroy then the games sell terrible....this industry will die and it will all be thanx to these people........
The Order was a solid 7.5-8?? Yes in your opinion. In my opinion, it was a 6. All graphics and barely any gameplay, stupid AI, and repeat boss battle with the same freakin wolf who does the same thing over and over. Press the X button at the right time to win...yay! C'mon man! Had this been a 3rd party multiplatform game, I bet you won't have the same favorable opinion.
Wrong expectations killed the game? Exactly what were the expectations that people got wrong, that it was supposed to be good? Some of you are hilarious when it comes to this game.
This isn't one or two rogue reviewers going against the grain, a couple of disgruntled PS fans starting a fight, a secret set of Xbox fanboys trying to sabotage Sony's prestigious game line up. The majority consensus is the game is just awful.
The game was HYPED and anyone who doesn't think it was is only fooling themselves.
I wonder was TLoU victimized months before release? Uncharted? Infamous? Bloodborne? No wait, all celebrated Sony games?
But I guess the media and gamers just woke up and decided to pick on The Order for no good reason at all.
Hilarious how most are willing to give this game a pass. If this game was made by Nintendo, EA, Activision and (lord have mercy) MS, this trash would be getting shredded to pieces.
XB1 had Ryse: Son of Rome.. PS4 needed The Order: 1886 to fill that 'holy **** this looks amazing but isn't particularly fun" void.
The Order did create (at least in my opinion) an interesting world/setting. But is it worth trying to make a sequel and fix some of the flaws, or shelving it and creating a less ambitious/more commercially lucrative game instead?
The Order is definitely a game that embodies all flash but no substance. It looked great, no doubt about that and may have played well but that's all it did , everything else was just mediocre.
"the world that the game was starting to establish actually had hints of being vaguely intriguing,"
This was a huge glaring hole in the game. It seems the devs were so confident that this game was going to be a hit that they purposely left out the more intriguing parts of the world and left vague hints of this world to be explored in the sequels. Unfortunately it just felt flat and nothing more than a missed opportunity to make the game a better experience.
The biggest casualty of the game though is the actual game play. The Order was a group of knights fighting the super natural. The fact that you hardly fight anything supernatural is the biggest crime this game committed.
I remember one of the biggest complaints for Aliens: Colonial Marines was you hardly fought any aliens but instead you fought human enemies throughout most of the game, that was a huge rip off.
Developers can definitely look to this game when trying to avoid the many things that may have looked good on paper but executed poorly in the actual game.
"This was a huge glaring hole in the game. It seems the devs were so confident that this game was going to be a hit that they purposely left out the more intriguing parts of the world and left vague hints of this world to be explored in the sequels."
so do you expect, say, a TV series to blow their proverbial wad all within the first episode? if your answer is "no", then why would you expect the devs of this game to do that if their intent was clearly to build up the story over a series of games?
Do you expect a TV show to establish a world and their characters in that world enough within the first episode to tell a coherent and interesting story to get you hooked so you can tune in next week?
Or a dev who intentionally left out the more interesting parts of a world with potential unexplained or explored only to build upon that in another 2 or 3 years of development for a sequel?
So basically you're okay with devs leaving out as much as possible, nothing fully explained or resolved in order to build a series? That is what you call bad story telling.
@Z501 Did Z501 miss the point as it completely flew over his head.
you never answered the question. do you expect a series to blow their wad all within the first episode?
"Do you expect a TV show to establish a world and their characters in that world enough within the first episode to tell a coherent and interesting story to get you hooked so you can tune in next week?"
yes, and that's what they did with the order. that's what building a story actually does - establish enough within the first episode that make you want to see the progression of the story in the next "episode."
they don't have to fully explain everything or have everything all nice, and resolved within the *first episode*. they wouldn't be building the series/story if they just wrapped up every single aspect right away. leaving things to be explained is only bad story telling if it's the *only* episode of the story. you must have been really disappointed in Star Wars because Lucas didn't reveal that Darth Vader was Luke's father, the Leia was Luke's sister, or have the rebellion completely defeat the Empire all within the first released movie of the series.
"so do you expect, say, a TV series to blow their proverbial wad all within the first episode? if your answer is "no", then why would you expect the devs of this game to do that if their intent was clearly to build up the story over a series of games?"
LOL seriously dude, are we now comparing AAA retail games to TV shows? Was The Order 1886 supposed to be an episodic game or something?
there's no difference, when dealing with storytelling, between a TV show, and a video game that has a strong, cinematic story component.
and yes, [email protected] has said that the order was going to be more than one game, not a one-off.
"Ru Weerasuriya, creative director at Ready At Dawn, recently talked with GamesTM about The Order: 1886 when he spoke about the possible future of the franchise:
We've built this IP to be much bigger than just one game. There are stories that have been told in the game but there are stories that haven't and stories abotu what happens after the events of this game. Absolutely, though, I would love to get the chance to tell more stories with sequels and other things we can do with the IP."
Ziggurcat, why should I answer the question when it has NOTHING to do with the problems of The Order.
"establish enough within the first episode that make you want to see the progression of the story in the next "episode.""
Except The Order didn't establish much of anything did it? They made a world with potential but filled it with bland and uninteresting characters. Talked about a huge problem with monsters that you hardly fought in the game. Then gave you items to look at that had little or nothing to do with the story that was being told.
The Order left every single plot hole open and wide, almost every character unresolved and then topped it off with a "To Be Continued" type of ending.
That is not good story telling and it definitely doesn't make for a cinematic experience disguised as a video game.
"...you must have been really disappointed in Star Wars because Lucas didn't reveal that Darth Vader..."
You are making zero sense with this Star Wars comparison ziggurcat. Those are specific pivotal plot moments within the whole Star Wars trilogy.
Each Star Wars movie stands on it's own. A New Hope established it's universe in the first half hour, the Jedi, the Empire, Sith, the rebellion. A New Hope resolved itself neatly and still left enough for the overall story line with those specific pivotal plot points to be told for the sequels.
But yet you say a story doesn't need to do this. What type of television or movie does this and is considered good? Any movie or television show that did this would be slaughtered in reviews and yet you're trying to use this as some defense for excusing The Order.
"why should I answer the question when it has NOTHING to do with the problems of The Order."
uh... what are you talking about? you mentioned the story of the game as one of the problems in your OP (you referred to it as a "glaring hole"). your argument was (in a nutshell) that there was a lack of closure and too many questions left unanswered, so the question of whether you felt that, say, a TV series needed to resolve everything in the very first episode (because the order is only the first game in a planned series) is appropriate. if you do not think that a TV series needs to resolve everything in the first episode, then you're presenting an unfair, hypocritical criticism of the game's story if it's their intention to explain everything over the course of time.
"You are making zero sense with this Star Wars comparison ziggurcat. Those are specific pivotal plot moments within the whole Star Wars trilogy."
there are pivotal plot moments within the whole Order universe that have simply not been addressed because the game that's out right now is just the *first* game in the series. it took three movies for Lucas to address those pivotal plot points, so why does the Order have to fully address all of its pivotal plot points in the first game?
"Each Star Wars movie stands on it's own. A New Hope established it's universe in the first half hour, the Jedi, the Empire, Sith, the rebellion."
the Order established everything in its universe in the first game. we know the characters, the villains, the fact that there's a conspiracy, etc...
"But yet you say a story doesn't need to do this."
no. i said that a story doesn't need to have everything resolved in the first installment of a series. your argument about the order's story seemed to suggest that they were required to have everything all settled by the end of the game.
You sound ridiculous zigg, it's a non episodic AAA game with a lack of gameplay and your excuse is not blowing it's wad the first game? Lol just lol.
Before the game release a lot of people said it would be trash. Some called it a hate campaign, a conspiracy. The hate was based off the fact gameplay they showed was useless walking! Staring at random objects. There was no gameplay and then they show a wolf battle where charge and reset over and over. -_- the exact expression on people face.
What dev can learn? Don't focus on graphics so much and lack in gameplay, build a satisfying game so player don't go "that's it?".
“you mentioned the story of the game as one of the problems in your OP (you referred to it as a "glaring hole").”
Keyword, Ziggurcat is the GAME, not television shows. Your argument is nothing but a broad sweeping generalization that has nothing to do with the topic of The Order. It seriously makes no sense.
“if you do not think that a TV series needs to resolve everything in the first episode, then you're presenting an unfair, hypocritical criticism…. “
No, this is your made up argument that you are trying to push on me. It’s unrelated to The Order and the points I specifically made about that game. There wasn’t enough explained, explored or thought out to establish a proper world for The Order to be intriguing, the plot was paper thin, almost everything in the game was left unresolved or unexplained, it was too short, the supernatural threat wasn’t even there, add all of this up and it makes for bad storytelling and an even worse game.
I seriously don't know how many times and in many different ways I have to explain that to you.
The devs left this world barren to be explored in a sequel but this backfired on them. It was too bland and boring and what could have been interesting if fleshed out more, was just left on the table to be used in a later game. Missed opportunities is what hurt this game the most.
“because the game that's out right now is just the *first* game in the series.”
So why are you talking about classic Star Wars pivotal moments that are revealed in the sequels? This is why you are making zero sense. You are bringing up points that have nothing to do with The Order.
“so why does the Order have to fully address all of its pivotal plot points in the first game?”
When did I say that The Order had to explain its “pivotal” plot points in the first game? You were the only one discussing this when talking about key specific moments in the whole Star Wars trilogy. This is why it’s absurd for you to even compare a whole trilogy or television show with The Order. Again, you are making up these arguments and trying to apply them against what I thought was wrong with this game.
“your argument about the order's story seemed to suggest that they were required to have everything all settled by the end of the game.”
That’s not my argument Ziggurcat, that’s your argument.
My argument is that everything The Order tried to do they failed at and that the only successful thing that they nailed were the graphics. Ha...maybe I just should have said that!
"Keyword, Ziggurcat is the GAME, not television shows.... "
you're focusing on the medium rather than the general concept of the question - which you've *still* not answered - do you expect a series, (and The Order IS a planned series of games) to completely resolve *everything* in the very first episode? TV shows are often serial, so it was the simplest example to use, conceptually, in comparison to a game that's expected to have multiple instalments.
"No, this is your made up argument that you are trying to push on me. It’s unrelated to The Order and the points I specifically made about that game."
you specifically complained about the story of The Order being unresolved/having lots of things that were left unexplained, etc... I've not made anything up, i'm asking you specifically about your points related to the story.
"There wasn’t enough explained, explored or thought out to establish a proper world for The Order to be intriguing, the plot was paper thin, almost everything in the game was left unresolved or unexplained ... the supernatural threat wasn’t even there..."
... all of which would likely be addressed or elaborated upon in the next instalment of the series...
"When did I say that The Order had to explain its “pivotal” plot points in the first game?"
see above. you've mentioned, more than once, how unresolved the story was, how they didn't explain everything, how they left "vague hints", etc... which includes pivotal plot points...
"This is why it’s absurd for you to even compare a whole trilogy or television show with The Order."
it's not a literal comparison. it's speaking to the concept of those things involving multiple episodes, with long, elaborate storylines. not everything in a TV series is ever explained/resolved in the first episode. not everything in the first Star Wars movie was explained/resolved, yet you seem to be of the belief that everything in The Order needed to be explained/resolved in the first game of the series (based on your specific complaints about the story).
Ziggurcat...seriously, the more you try and explain yourself the sillier it sounds.
"it's not a literal comparison."
What you don't seem to understand is that your comparisons not only suck but they make no sense to this subject. Just like the VHS comparison which we also shouldn't take literal. Hard to discuss something when all your comparisons have some astral projection ghost form and is not grounded in reality.
Myself, Lastking, Magician and Maniac have all questioned exactly what the hell you are even going on about.
I've already stated my reasons for not liking The Order over and over and over again to you.
But this is the last bubble I'm wasting explaining it again to you. PM me if you want to talk about The Order so I can just once again go over the points I already made here.
By the way I agreed with the author on the whole plot and world of The Order. How about you ask him if he likes television shows and movies.
"I've already stated my reasons for not liking The Order over and over and over again to you."
i'm only addressing your argument on the *story*. you've argued that they purposefully left stuff out, you've argued that they didn't resolve or explain everything, you argued that they left vague hints to be explored in the sequels, etc... if The Order is the *first* game in the *series*, then it makes perfect sense for them to have done all of the things you're complaining about with their story. do you honestly expect them to have resolved everything by the end of the game, knowing that it's only the first part of the story? because if you don't then your entire criticism of the story bein unresolved or unexplained is unfair, and hypocritical, especially if you don't happen have those same expectations towards any other serial medium. why are you holding the devs of this game accountable for things that they've planned on explaining in the future?
"What you don't seem to understand is that your comparisons not only suck but they make no sense to this subject."
they make perfect sense to the subject. It's not the medium that's important (which you keep focusing on), it's the fact that all three of those things (Star Wars, TV shows, and The Order) involve stories that will be/have been told over a series of episodes.
"Hard to discuss something when all your comparisons have some astral projection ghost form and is not grounded in reality."
i'm asking yes or no questions. hardly anything too difficult for you to handle. they're questions about your philosophical standpoint on storytelling - whether you expect a serial story, regardless of the medium, to be completely 100% resolved by the end of the first episode because you seem to have a problem with The Order not wrapping everything up by the end of the game. it's to figure out whether your beef is specific to the game, and if it was then why would that be?
"How about you ask him if he likes television shows and movies."
that's not even close to what i've been asking you - maybe that explains why everything seems to make no sense to you.
Agree 100% and I know if this game was multiplat you wouldn't have as many dislikes.
This article sums up everything wrong with The Order. When you point out how bad the boss fights are you're greeted with a ton of excuses. When you point out how bad the A.I is and actually show examples, people bring up the hate campaign prior to release as if that excuses the game's flaws.
I've never seen a mediocre game treated like it's the absolute worst game ever created or GoTy by the other side.
I liked the game more than I thought. To me it was a cover shooter with great graphics and I like the story, what there was of it. The biggest issue to me was it was too short, and basically just stopped with no ending. It was like they had big plans but then just wrapped it up and shipped it unfinished. This game could have used at least another year to flesh out. I did enjoy it though and I think it gets more hate than it deserves.
I'm glad you enjoyed your time with it! I honestly don't mind the game in the slightest, but please don't let my article or any one else's opinions sway your enjoyment for the game.
The media and opposing fanboys had it out to trash this game as soon as they could. Funny thing is The Order offers better graphics and more controllable physical gameplay than telltale games, until dawn, etc.. But they praise those titles and bash The Order? Total visible biasedness towards the game. It wasn't perfect but it offered more than similar QTE games that get more praise than they deserve.
There's two reasons I think Telltale games get away with it and The Order doesn't.
1. People know what they are getting with Telltale games and they aren't sold as "shooters" with a deep story. They're sold as stories where you can make choices that affect the end story within them.
The Order was sold first and primarily as a shooter through every single demo of the game and showing of it at events. They showed off using different weapons, talked about how you would progress by shooting, and didn't give the public an idea of how much shooting would happen versus how much "watching things play out" would happen. It was poorly communicated for what it was and people had expectations of what it would be based on other shooters and Ready At Dawn not informing people of how much is what and how much is otherwise.
2. Telltale games cost $15-20 and last 10-20 hours. The Order 1886 was sold at $60 and lasted 7 hours. About 3 of those hours where you are either watching a cut scene or walking towards from one cut scene to another one.
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If Ready At Dawn were more open about their game and sold it for a lower price, even just $40 at release (similar to Ratchet & Clank), then people would have been a ton more receptive. It's why games like Everybody's Gone To The Rapture, a game where there is no actual gameplay, you just walk and listen, don't get the same criticism. Because the price wasn't a lot for what you get and (most) people knew what they were getting into with the game.
I don't think it having similarities with those games absolves it of anything since it neither does what those games do well or completely lacks the good aspects without substituting them with something else that's good. But I don't see why you have an issue with comparing them. Having an issue with someone essentially calling people hypocrites for liking one thing and not the other based on the comparison is valid, especially when they don't try to contrast the two at all to show the differences between the two. But having a problem with the comparing of two things you think shouldn't be compared isn't.
Also, since we're on the topic of comparing things, scientists have discovered that, yes, you can compare apples and oranges. You can compare anything with anything else, really, that's the point of comparing things. What you can't say is that based on these small similarities, two very different things aren't very different because you'd be dismissing the differences to justify your position.
What's wrong with that? Games from different genres that appeal to different audiences and different in concept and goals.
When you buy a shooter do you expect it to constantly take control away from you and to be filled with frustrating, annoying and most importantly pointless QTE's that add nothing to the experience but rather take away from it? I don't.
When you watch a family movie do you expect to find someone with a chainsaw cutting heads off ponies in graphic scenes that require 100 liters of whathever is used to simulate blood? I don't.
People were ready to jump on this even before release and there was a bit of an echo chamber effect from there. It wasn't perfect but there was a lot to appreciate and I look forward to them improving on things with a future release.
Ryse wasn't that bad and so was The Order. The difference is that Ryse kept you in the game for the most part while the Order is constantly wrestling control from your hands for the sake of it's cinematic experience.
You mean learn how to make a decent linear 3rd person shooter with good story telling, great voice acting, incredible atmosphere and amazing graphics?? Sure, there's lots to learn! The order is better than many give it credit for. It has its flaws, mainly in the limited types of different gameplay and the werewolf fights.
No offense but I actually mention in the article that the game has decent points to it and I only mention the two lowest points that don't really go in line with anything you mentioned. Please don't judge an article by it's title alone.
That is fair enough and you're right I didn't read the article. Having said that there is plenty to learn from negatives of any game, even the best ones yet you chose just one game. The game that garnered the most heat last year. It's also been early a whole year since it released. Excuse me if I think that seems like click hunting by means of controversial topics.
I can see why you think that, but I have honest and genuine issues with the game, though I do not think it is anywhere near as bad as many make it out to be. Thank you for admitting that you didn't read it before making a judgement, not many would fess up to that. I do appreciate any feedback given!
The only thing Ready at Dawn was guilty of is trying to sell a cinematic experience game to "Dude Bros."
Dude Bros wanted co-op, they wanted online multiplayer, they wanted extra modes, etc. But they were not selling that type of game. Their words were a cinematic game.
So it was bashed obviously for being a PlayStation exclusive, but also expectations of things the developer wasn't offering. Same with no man's sky. It's being hit with negative articles and comments because SOME gamers want one thing, but Sean and crew are offering something else.
It's like gamers can't accept what is being told to them before things actually come out. Then bash it from their expectations. Don't like what they told you they are making, then move on to something you do like.
Hey guys! Just wanted to say thank you for all the feedback though I do want to touch on one particular topic. I, in no way, think that The Order 1886 is a terrible, or even bad, game. I do believe that it is a flawed game that I personally have issues with in terms of the world building and pacing between cut scene and gameplay, but I still do think it is a good game overall. But still, none the less, please do not judge an article based on the title alone. Within the first three or so paragraphs I even mention that there is plenty of things the game does right, great even.
Again, thanks for all the feedback, I do really appreciate it. I am willing to answer questions about the article if you have any.
The Order 1886 wasn't a perfect game, but still I enjoyed it. The atmosphere was perfect and the gameplay was good. I recommend this game for the ones who haven't played it yet now that you can get it very cheap
The order was a well told story, which took priority to action. Great graphics, smooth controls, fantastic weapons and good gameplay. The order was targeted for having a short story, but it's games out there that can be completed in the same amount of time or less. The order had decent sales numbers, hopefully enough to warrant it's seqeul. Now as far as replay ability it falls short, after you find all items needed for the platinum trophy there's nothing left. I'm usually a person who says why devs keep putting multiplayer in every game. The order is one I think could have done with multiplayer. Imagine a five versus five game mode, let's call it hunters versus lycans. Where the more the lycans feed the stronger and faster they get. On the other side hunters have a chance at weakening the lycans by eliminating the alpha lycan, either trapping or killing. If trapped the lycans can release the captured and regain their strength. Just some thoughts though.
Lesson #1: If you want to know how to not make a game, look no further than The Order 1886. Graphics alone don't make a game good.
Lesson #2: If you think your game will anger the general gaming population, bomb hard on Metacritic, and become another game that fail the massive hype you've built up for it, smoke and mirrors is your best friend. You'll need the sales.
Of course this is all IMO. This is honestly how my feelings are with this game. Take it or leave it.
The Order is definitely a game that embodies all flash but no substance. It looked great, no doubt about that and may have played well but that's all it did , everything else was just mediocre.
"the world that the game was starting to establish actually had hints of being vaguely intriguing,"
This was a huge glaring hole in the game. It seems the devs were so confident that this game was going to be a hit that they purposely left out the more intriguing parts of the world and left vague hints of this world to be explored in the sequels. Unfortunately it just felt flat and nothing more than a missed opportunity to make the game a better experience.
The biggest casualty of the game though is the actual game play. The Order was a group of knights fighting the super natural. The fact that you hardly fight anything supernatural is the biggest crime this game committed.
I remember one of the biggest complaints for Aliens: Colonial Marines was you hardly fought any aliens but instead you fought human enemies throughout most of the game, that was a huge rip off.
Developers can definitely look to this game when trying to avoid the many things that may have looked good on paper but executed poorly in the actual game.
Just make sure there is a good game to back up all those flashy graphics.
I actually replayed the game recently and I think it's good. Perfect? No. But I still liked it.
The media and opposing fanboys had it out to trash this game as soon as they could. Funny thing is The Order offers better graphics and more controllable physical gameplay than telltale games, until dawn, etc.. But they praise those titles and bash The Order? Total visible biasedness towards the game. It wasn't perfect but it offered more than similar QTE games that get more praise than they deserve.