Ryse: Son of Rome (2013). An underrated game ? Does it deserve a sequel ?

[FarSight XR-20]

'The Gods do not favor us ! We must-'
'What ? Fall back ? Retreat ? Is that why you left your post to tell me ? Is that why you left your men ? We have been summoned by the gods and you want to flee ? I should kill you myself. You bring dishonor to your men, you bring dishonor to me, you bring dishonor to ROME ! I swear to you Centurion, Rome will not fall. Not today. Today, we fight !'

Click to shrink...

I finally decided to try Ryse: Son of Rome on Game Pass more than 7 years after its original release for the Xbox One launch and I loved it. Never played it before because of the very poor reviews and Metacritic it got (60/100).

Obviously the game has some flaws (repetitiveness mostly) but I think the game also has great strenghts for a new IP and a developer (Crytek) that only made FPS before.

First, the graphics are absolutely stunning (even for today). Rome looks beautiful and extremely detailed, the art direction is really good.

I thought it had an enjoyable story with a high-budget presentation, great acting and atmosphere. The Roman Legion formation sections and the final ending sequence were epic. And some of the cutscenes, damn...

And that sequence in the Coliseum reminded me SO MUCH Gladiator (the movie), loved it.

Spoiler

It was like a mix of the "My name is Maximus" scene and the sword duel with Emperor Commodus at the end

I also loved the feeling of the gameplay (the executions sequences are really impressive in my opinion, quite brutal, visceral and with a lot of different animations).

The (light) tactical elements were an interesting feature and the Multiplayer mode in the Coliseum a welcomed addition as well (I honestly didn't expect that game to have a Multiplayer mode and it turned to be quite good).

I think it has some signs that the game was rushed to release alongside the Xbox One and they also wasted time on that Kinect first-person version for the Xbox 360 before rebooting the project, which probably didn't help Crytek at the time.

Too bad it never got a sequel ultimately... Also sad for the developers as the years that followed Ryse have been difficult times apparently.

I read they were planning to turn it into a franchise going through different eras and empires with perhaps more fantasy elements (there were rumors shortly before release of a Ryse: Knights of England with dragons).

Ryse: Knights of England – Crytek Refuses to Comment on Rumours

gamingbolt.com

I think this idea had a lot of potential (feudal Japan, ancient Egypt, the Middle Age and the war between France and England, Imperial China... or even a Ryse: Son of Sparta) and sequels could have improved a lot of things with more time and new approachs perhaps.

Though, as someone who is very interested by this period of time and a fan of the Gladiator movie, I badly want more AAA games set in Ancient Rome too. So many events to explore (the war with Carthage, the Civil Wars of Tetrarchy between the co-Emperors, the fall of the Roman Empire...).
In my opinion, a criminally underused setting in video games in recent years, among many others (most of the games about Rome are old strategy games).
Plus Ryse ends on a cliffhanger (somehow), so I'm not sure what I would have prefered between a sequel set in the same time period or another historical setting...

Anyway, please MS, fund a sequel on Series X. I think it could easily become the pillar franchise it was supposed to be with some commitment and now Game Pass.

Also, that incredible transition from Cutscene to Gameplay ala Lost Odyssey at the beginning !

Spoiler: LOST ODYSSEY

 

[Starlatine]

underrated? maybe. its not as bad as it was painted. its not great either though

does it deserve a sequel? probably not. its not really such an unique plot and setting that you can ONLY keep going as a ryse 2. make another roman themed game if you must. microsoft did try to get ryse rights and failed, so don't hold your breath for one anyway

 

[driqe]

Hell no

 

[Jaded Alyx]

Game is like $3 on Steam btw

 

[Lashley]

Yes x 2

 

[MJnR]

I had plenty of fun with Ryse, I'm in for a sequel. I also agree we need more AAA games set in Ancient Rome.

 

[Adrifi]

underrated? maybe. its not as bad as it was painted. its not great either though

does it deserve a sequel? probably not. its not really such an unique plot and setting that you can ONLY keep going as a ryse 2. make another roman themed game if you must. microsoft did try to get ryse rights and failed, so don't hold your breath for one anyway

Click to shrink...

If Crytek won't sell the IP to Microsoft then it's time for...


Rise 2

 

[2CL4Mars]

I think a lot of flawed games deserve a sequel, including Ryse oh and the Order 1886.

 

[sora bora]

The Bouncer of last gen.

 

[SofNascimento]

I quite like Ryse. It'a simple game in terms of mechanics yes, but it's fun and the production values are very high. I think it did deserve a better reception, yes.

And I still want my high quality AAA action-adventure/RPG game set in Ancient Rome! There are a huge numbers of strategy games in that period but stuff like Ryse are very rare. I thought Assassin's Creed might recreate Imperial Rome but I think that ship has sailed, they are after rural/semi-fantasy settings.

My dream is Rockstar doing it. Just take a look at this and say it wouldn't be great:

Plastico Museo civilta' Romana

10470 views on Imgur: The magic of the Internet

imgur.com

 

[Adrifi]

I would like a sequel but in a different time period. It's not like we are going to see Marius again anyway...

 

[Gordon's Tulpa]

Underrated? Nah. Does it deserve a sequel? Sure.

 

[Icky Thump]

Honestly I feel like there have been a few of these threads and nobody ever shows the best parts of his game.... Without spoiling it... In the north.

 

[Obi Wan Jabroni]

They have a solid foundation to further improve the combat and make it something special.

That of course will never happen.

 

[Dogstar]

No I don't think it deserves a sequel. I bought it cheap on PC but I didn't come close to finishing it, as it was so boring. Once I'd seen the very pretty graphics there was not a lot left to pull me in. It felt like a tech demo, and not a lot more.

I would be happy to see something with the same setting, but with some decent gameplay.

 

[kubev]

I've tried to get into Ryse and never really could. Honestly, I just don't think it's interesting enough, so it'd seem odd to me for anyone to build a sequel on such a weak foundation. I don't mind the setting, but I don't think it makes sense to make another game in a different setting and have it be a sequel to Ryse, nor do I think it makes sense to create a better game in the same setting with suddenly more interesting characters and deeper game play and have it be a sequel to Ryse. I'd just prefer something else that builds on Ryse's foundation but can be looked at as a fresh new start to something more noteworthy. Ryse is a tech demo to me, nothing more.

 

[evilcar]

It's not a perfect game but I really enjoyed it. I got hooked and beat it in one day and I think a Ryse 2 could be something really special.

 

[V has come to]

one of the worst games i've ever played

 

[Fahdi]

You guys should play it on the hardest setting without the prompts. Game becomes infinitely more fun.

 

[kowalski]

There was a sequel but it was canceled during development.
Todd papy, GoW: Ascension's director was working on it.

 

[Voodoopeople]

This was by far the best graphical showpiece from either console at launch, for me. Helped convince me to go green first. The problem is that MS didn't release another game the entire gen that had higher production values. For me at least.

 

[Flevance]

It got what it deserves, I wouldn't care if it ever got a sequel unless it got some serious improvements

 

[Chumunga64]

I assume this thread was made because OP saw the baffling love the order: 1886 was getting here and wanted to see if they can do it too

 

[nekkid]

Considering its development it wasnt that bad, and garnered fuck loads of unfair criticism for being 900p (from the same people who dismissed the black bars in The Order as a stylistic choice). A sequel could really have expanded into a great game IMO.

 

[KrillinLikeAVillan]

There were some genuinely good things about the game, sadly not enough.

 

[Kemono]

I like it.

Another go at it with better gameplay and a longer campaign would be awesome.

We need more games in roman times.

 

[Darkstorne]

Weird game.

I appreciated the effort to make shield wall and formation tactics a part of the gameplay. But I instantly detest any video game that takes a historical time period, completely ignores historical accuracy, and writes an entirely fictional narrative that inevitably is nowhere near as interesting as the real events the writers have chosen to ignore. So Ryse deserved to fail for that alone imo.

 

[TheBaldwin]

It was good.

It got way to much hate because the hatred for the Xbox One was super high at the time (despite the PS4 launch titles being absolutely awful)

I dont really need a ryse sequel, I just want a god damn game set in Rome. And not a 'ohhh its set in rome but we also have Magic and weird shit thats not historically accurate' etc

 

[pksu]

Ryse is still a beautiful game but lacks depth both in gameplay and in story. The story just isn't interesting and mechanics are too simplistic, nothing to keep me playing more than few hours.

 

[nampad]

Deserve?
No, it was mediocre in every way except the graphics. The presentation felt so forced and amateurish compared to the heavy hitters. There are way better games that failed.

Do I want one?
Yes, I liked the idea of the game quite a bit, the execution was just bad. And I would be fine either with ancient Rome or any other time period and location.

 

[Trago]

The game was pretty good for a lunch title. I think the combat was a bit basic, but I loved the visuals.

I think there should be a sequel, but set in a different time period.

Use those different locations and eras as visual showcases.

 

[Grimmjow]

No x2

The graphics are still amazing through.

 

[jett]

The only thing that was good about this game was the graphics.

 

[Taffy Lewis]

The only good thing about this game were the visuals, but everything else was terrible: The story, the extremely linear Simon says-style gameplay, the weird Kinect remnants. At least it wasn't all that long.

 

[Deleted member 46804]

No it doesn't. It was a beautiful, serviceable launch game that is also the most generic thing ever.

one of the worst games i've ever played

Click to shrink...

Says man who has played 10 games in his lifetime.

 

[Inti]

In my opinion, this game suffered greatly because of all the hive mentality, that hated the Xbox One, deserved in part, due to its abysmal launch messaging. But this game was beautiful and in my opinion very fun. It laid a very intriguing foundation and could have been a great franchise to develop further. A shame really, if you ask me, I honestly don't think this is a Masterpiece, but it deserved more than all the hate it got because of "LOL QTEs simulator" bandwagon. My two cents.

 

[indosmoke]

I played it for the first time a couple of years ago, and it (still) looked incredibly gorgeous. It's honestly crazy to think this is a 2013 XB1 game.

I'm a sucker for a good/underused setting like Ancient Rome, and also for interesting (but not completely nonsensical) story and character development. And while it wasn't amazing, I still quite enjoyed the story (and narration) in Ryse and the evolution of Marius.

Now the gameplay, uh. Not terrible and executions felt good, OK. But it was still extremely simple, linear, repetitive, etc.

All in all I don't think it was underrated (60 MC sounds fair; maybe a few more points if you're generous, but definitely not 70+).
I still think it should deserve a sequel funded/developed by MS, because why not? But now with HellBlade being MS property, I don't see it happening.

 

[R dott B]

What a great game.

I would love a sequel.

 

[HK-48]

no, I don't think so, quite a pretty game but unremarkable in most aspects, classic crytek

 

[Damn Silly]

Deserve? Eh.

I certainly wouldn't mind a series of pretty, history-based games that aren't the length of an Assassin's Creed or Ghost of Tsushima, however.

 

[lunanto]

Yes

and

yes.

 

[PcPlasticFuzz]

I loved it and would love a sequel.

 

[b0uncyfr0]

It was very beautiful for its time, its not as great now but still worth playing. It should definitely get a second game, but they'd realy have to push the core mechanics alil further. The combat was basically the same after 3 hours and the enemies were identical (which kinda sucked).

 

[AmAsuT]

Abandoning it would be a bad decision imo. Even if Microsoft doesn't want to (I think they do and we will hear about it by 2022-23) Crytek should make a sequel and publish it themselves. The mechanics and elements of the game, though simple and repetitive, are a solid foundation to improve upon.

 

[ghostcrew]

I liked the game in 2013, it was a really great launch title. Not sure it desperately needs a sequel though.

Those feel like separate questions to me.

 

[FarSight XR-20]

Weird game.

I appreciated the effort to make shield wall and formation tactics a part of the gameplay. But I instantly detest any video game that takes a historical time period, completely ignores historical accuracy, and writes an entirely fictional narrative that inevitably is nowhere near as interesting as the real events the writers have chosen to ignore. So Ryse deserved to fail for that alone imo.

Click to shrink...

I see what you mean but I think that, given the extremely low number of games set in that time period, an alternate history was better than getting nothing (in my opinion).

I quite like Ryse. It'a simple game in terms of mechanics yes, but it's fun and the production values are very high. I think it did deserve a better reception, yes.

And I still want my high quality AAA action-adventure/RPG game set in Ancient Rome! There are a huge numbers of strategy games in that period but stuff like Ryse are very rare. I thought Assassin's Creed might recreate Imperial Rome but I think that ship has sailed, they are after rural/semi-fantasy settings.

My dream is Rockstar doing it. Just take a look at this and say it wouldn't be great:

Plastico Museo civilta' Romana

10470 views on Imgur: The magic of the Internet

imgur.com

Click to shrink...

That would be great for sure. The architecture in these pictures is 10/10.

There was a sequel but it was canceled during development.
Todd papy, GoW: Ascension's director was working on it.

Click to shrink...

Apparently, MS wanted to fund Ryse 2 in 2014 but they wanted to own the IP. Crytek wasn't willing to sell the IP and then everything fell apart I guess.