Beware: here there be spoilers!
Update: It looks like another early copy holder has published a series of leaked vids that show off the first hour of The Order: 1886‘s gameplay footage. You can find a playlist of the four-part series below.
Original story as follows.
If you’re curious as to how The Order: 1886, Ready At Dawn’s steampunk take on the Arthurian legends, looks outside of a controlled environment, check below for a new batch of leaked footage.
The leak itself comes from a channel called AGB Leaked Videos, and features an off-screen recording by an Italian gamer–possibly reviewer or game tester–who records what appears to be 11 minutes of early game progress.
And since the entire thing is in Italian the leaked footage is pretty much for demonstration purposes.
The Order: 1886 has been praised for its use of superlative photorealistic graphics, and all throughout the leak the game’s impressive visual fidelity is clearly seen. Even using off-screen recording the footage shines with quality, making it one of the most beautiful-looking PlayStation 4 games on the market.
The footage further highlights The Order‘s solid narrative, which has been highly praised to deliver a unique, winding story arc that blends real historical events with its distinct fantasy line.
Amid the backdrop of techno-industrial London, the story is woven through the classic Arthurian legends of the Knights of the Table Round, harking back to ancient times for its complex narrative.
Despite its pristine graphics and strong story, reports indicate that The Order: 1886 is actually pretty short compared to other AAA games.
And nearly all of the footage is spent in conversation or exploringin the high-resolution environments.
Renown games industry insider and NeoGAF frequenter Shinob602 has been quoted saying that The Order: 1886 takes an estimated “8-10 hours to complete, 10-12 if you take your time“.
Since the game is absent of any kind of multiplayer component it looks like Ready At Dawn’s third-person story-driven shooter might be beaten by gamers the first day.
Then again, it might prove to be “just right” in terms of size, as many gamers don’t have the time to devote to grindy timesinks.
But then again there’s surely other things we’re not seeing, like the possibility of New Game+, different endings for higher difficulties, or miscellaneous exploration type activities. So it might actually have some replay value–or it might not.
Even still the game has been criticized by many as being a sort of “interactive movie”, citing its “cinematic experience” as a detrimental factor that takes away from its gameplay.
Watching the leaked footage it remains clear that The Order is indeed heavily narrative-driven, and hardcore Call of Duty gamers won’t really find this too appealing. But that isn’t always a bad thing, is it?
In any case, The Order: 1886 surely has proven its worth in the departments of story and graphics.
It seems like a different sort of game with emphasis on elements we don’t really see highlighted too much, and it’ll be interesting to see if it proves to be a breath of fresh air in an industry dominated by Call of Duty clones that emphasize instant gratification or long-winded grindfests like Destiny.
The Order: 1886 is slated to release Feb. 20, 2015 exclusively for the PlayStation 4. For more information visit the game’s official website.
