Ryse: son of rome is actually enjoyable

Replayed it recently, beautiful game, still holds up pretty well for a 2013 launch title.
Characters and story were OK but ultimately forgettable and the combat while serviceable for its time feels like a slog nowadays after so many great action adventure games came out.

It's much too basic, stiff and repetitive (enemies are repetitive too) to enjoy it more than an hour or two in 2018.
I have nothing against QTE but here I feel they don't serve anything, the killing animations while cool and brutal, goes on even if you miss the QTE, there's very little sense of satisfaction past the first hour of game.

I remember people saying it's the Xbox God of War in 2013, now they want God of War to be Ryse, pretty funny...

I played it fairly recently and thought it was alright. Its a good looking game, and the combat is simple but fun. It is a bit repetitive, but that's ok in short-ish bursts.

Fun for a few minutes until you realise how limited the moveset of the character and enemy variety is, then it becomes a tedious slog. Which is actually kind of an impressive feat for a game this short, but if anyone has mediocre gameplay down to a fine art, it's Crytek I guess.

Did look nice though, for sure.

Funkallero said:

Replayed it recently, beautiful game, still holds up pretty well for a 2013 launch title.
Characters and story were OK but ultimately forgettable and the combat while serviceable for its time feels like a slog nowadays after so many great action adventure games came out.

It's much too basic, stiff and repetitive (enemies are repetitive too) to enjoy it more than an hour or two in 2018.
I have nothing against QTE but here I feel they don't serve anything, the killing animations while cool and brutal, goes on even if you miss the QTE, there's very little sense of satisfaction past the first hour of game.

I remember people saying it's the Xbox God of War in 2013, now they want God of War to be Ryse, pretty funny...

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I see this being mentioned more on this forum.. Whats the story behind it??

I liked Ryse, a lot, there were too many people hating on it though especially people who hadn't played it.

GHG said:

Kameo was actually a good game through.

Ryse is a glorified tech demo that practically plays itself. If you like Those types of experiences then fine but please don't try and throw better games in the same trash bin in an attempt to try and elevate it to something it isn't.

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Opinions, how do they work? If you dislike something, that's fine, but please don't try to tell others what to think and how to behave just because they disagree with you.

Graphics demo if I've ever seen one....

Didn't like it but it looks crazy.

I really enjoyed it. Will replay it if it ever gets an X patch.

I know people have a conniption fit when it's said but the new GoW's combat really reminds me of Ryse which is no bad thing as the combat was the best thing about it.

Ryse is a great game. Its only down point is its repetitive. But its still gorgeous, has a good story, and is fun. A great 7/10 if ever i played one

The game is a great for one playthrough.

The thing about Marius...

One of my favorite games this gen.

I bought it... tried it... it's... not fun :(
And this is coming from a guy who halfway enjoyed The Order: 1886.

I'm not sure what it was but the game list lacked something in my eyes. Played it as a launch title, AMAZING looking game that just didn't click completely with me. The combat even though simple was fun, and even though most of the time the game looked jaw dropping there were a couple scenes/areas that looked very bland.

The concept art that leaked before hand had me imaging the game was a big action adventure game, but it played more like a "beat em up" then anything else. I think that's where my lack of enthusiasm comes from with this one. It needed more variety and a bigger scope.

Played it on PC a while ago, pretty forgettable to be honest.

Moose the Mooche said:

I see this being mentioned more on this forum.. Whats the story behind it??

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To be honest the brutal "finish him" animations in GoW reminds of Ryse.
Other than that even the camera placement is quite different during regular combat, camera is often above the character and action in Ryse while it looks mainly over the shoulder in GoW 4.
Overall I see a much more dynamic and competent action game in GoW 4 versus an oldschool beat them all in Ryse.

I really liked it. Wasn't genre redefining but that's fine it was a good fun romp with a decent storyline.

I'd like to see a sequel with some more unlocks or moves kinda origins like.

Ancient Rome is a great setting for games and still has a lot of life left in it

Funkallero said:

To be honest the brutal "finish him" animations in GoW reminds of Ryse.
Other than that even the camera placement is quite different during regular combat, camera is often above the character and action in Ryse while it looks mainly over the shoulder in GoW 4.
Overall I see a much more dynamic and competent action game in GoW 4 versus an oldschool beat them all in Ryse.

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It's the camera placement and perspective, the more grounded feel of combat (and the storytelling), the way you can use your shield to attack as well as defend, the ranged attacks at your disposal (throwing pilums in Ryse, throwing the axe in God of War)... God of War looks like it will have a lot more to its combat, but at the same time it's easy for me to see where the comparisons are coming from. And yes, it's a good thing, Ryse was pretty fun, all in all.

Oh, and by the way, executions in Ryse ("QTEs") were very important on the highest difficulty because nailing them was the only way of regaining health, and getting damage bonuses, if I remember correctly.

I appreciated a story that had "villains" that ended up being more relatable than the leaders of your own faction over the course of the game, and a final battle that was totally necessary because of everything in play, but regretable because you had previously come to terms with that enemy. The different zones as you fight your way North were excellent, and each area felt about the right length. The shift from hard-historical to fantasty by the end had the feel of the modern reveal in the original Assassins Creed, even if the hints are obvious by the end of the first act. Because of how necessary counters become in combat, the latter half feels more satisfying than the first. The finishers acting as a small timing test to let the player choose different rewards for skill-kills was a good touch that got maligned because people assumed it had no bearing on gameplay like so many other QTEs at the time.That said, once you maxed out your upgrades from XP, the choice wasn't as important unless you're playing on higher difficulties, where you'd always choose health or focus. The finisher triggers opened the door for chain-finishers, which were clutch in the arena.

The "why" of the shield-line sequences makes sense, but having them at such heavily scripted moments and with no strategy beyond "don't get hit" felt like they had more planned but didn't implement it. I'd bet dollars-to-donuts this was a holdover from the old Kinect design. I think those segements in the midst of some of the more flashy assault sequences reminded the player of the linear design, to the game's detriment.

"Ryse: Son of Rome is actually enjoyable"

I love the simplicity of that statement.

I'm glad to know that other people are still capable of coming to these happy realisations, despite the dramas, uproars, backlashes and negative narratives of certain 'Hardcore Gamers' that fester and bubble continuously.

I'm glad that people sometimes still just stick on a game and say, "Huh. This is actually fun", and enjoy themselves.

The gameplay is too bad for me.

I enjoyed my time with it and in a way, it reminded me of the order 1886.

I received the game with a monthly Humble Bundle a while back. Didn't think much of it, since a lot of the critique was that the game play was repetitive and overall short. I think I ended up giving it a shot on a whim one weekend and absolutely loved it. It is short, and the combat is by no means complex. However, the game is gorgeous, tells a decent story, and has fairly fluid game play. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who has it, or can find it for ~$5 or less.

I honestly enjoy this game. It is a bit shallow, but has some great aspects!

Superman2x7 said:

I'm not sure what it was but the game list lacked something in my eyes. Played it as a launch title, AMAZING looking game that just didn't click completely with me. The combat even though simple was fun, and even though most of the time the game looked jaw dropping there were a couple scenes/areas that looked very bland.

The concept art that leaked before hand had me imaging the game was a big action adventure game, but it played more like a "beat em up" then anything else. I think that's where my lack of enthusiasm comes from with this one. It needed more variety and a bigger scope.

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It needed more enemy variety and a couple of different weapons to make combat feel a bit more fresh as you progressed through the game, if it wasn't for that repetitive nature it could have been an 8/10 game. The shift from first person Xbox 360 Kinect game to Xbone launch game didn't help either, I'm surprised that they managed to produce a game that was as good as it was tbh

Very bland, very boring and very repetitive experience. And I say that as someone who went into it expecting a dumb fantasy hack and slasher

I liked it a lot. I'm biased by it since it was my first XB1 game and when I finished it, the final achievement i earned pushed me over 10K GS lol

Extremely repetitive, but worth the price for the visuals alone (note: I paid $3 for it on Steam; YMMV).

I really enjoyed it, it was the reason I picked up the XB1 at launch.

Could have mixed the gameplay up in the middle but I loved the story and would have loved to have seen it continue

I enjoyed it enough to double dip and get the Steam version as well.

The new God of War looks like the better version of this game.

Funkallero said:

To be honest the brutal "finish him" animations in GoW reminds of Ryse.
Other than that even the camera placement is quite different during regular combat, camera is often above the character and action in Ryse while it looks mainly over the shoulder in GoW 4.
Overall I see a much more dynamic and competent action game in GoW 4 versus an oldschool beat them all in Ryse.

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Okay man, Thanx for the write up.
Hope it drops on Gamepass one day so i can try it. Curious i am sure

One of my games of this gen , Deep down im hoping we get a sequel one day.

It was my first taste of next gen'ish graphics on the PC. i said wow a couple of times by the graphics, which is rare for me. Its personally not one of these games i can play through for a second time, because the combat isnt deeper enough for it. I did feel like playing through it again on my newer hardware in 4k/60fps.

I enjoyed it and I thought the ending was satisfying.

It was written by Steven Hall, writer of the Raw Shark Texts (fantastic novel), and it shows. I got this as a gift at release and had a BLAST with it. Never understood the hate it got...

It was far better then previous lead me to believe, it looked amazing. But when I first played it last year on PC, the encounter design was not memorable enough and didn't feel like tying things together... more like "another room of X", like padding (I feel "repetitive" is somehow not the right word). I didn't like the upgrade/XP system and most of all, the story was subpar compared to what other exclusives were pulling at the time. Not only in story, but also in dialogue.

I wonder how this would have gone, had they hired/borrowed someone from Platinum to design the encounters and help with the abilities and choreography, but keep the self-serious tone untouched.

I quite enjoyed this game. Too bad it was a victim of the backlash to get proper credit in its time. Not that its near flawless but it got a bad rap. I'm not sure it could have ever been received better with the headwind that MS faced (and still faces) but it would have been improved in my opinion by having its locked difficulty mode as the starting difficulty and by not playing out the animations of executions when combos were failed, it lets you play very badly and still be fine/see all the nifty animations at default settings.

It was the best game I've ever played that received a score of 6. I must've played through it 5 times.

Wolfman said:

Fun for a few minutes until you realise how limited the moveset of the character and enemy variety is, then it becomes a tedious slog. Which is actually kind of an impressive feat for a game this short, but if anyone has mediocre gameplay down to a fine art, it's Crytek I guess.

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Far Cry and Crysis are among the best designed FPS games in existence, with sublime mechanics and fantastic AI and encounter design -- sheer brilliant moment to moment gameplay. In terms of power fantasy FPS games, you don't get much better than Crysis. There's absolutely nothing "mediocre" about most of Crytek's work in the genre. Ryse is a relatively atypical "casual" Crytek game with rather different design goals. They went down that road for a while with their VR stuff, for instance. But Crytek's FPS work is genre-defining. Ubisoft have never truly recaptured what made Crytek's games special. They couldn't even preserve a lot of what made Far Cry special when they remastered Far Cry.

The idea that Crytek's FPS games had "mediocre" gameplay and that people simply played them because they were pretty is a recent notion that is absolutely ludicrous. Also the idea that Crytek's games were "tech demos". People didn't play the Far Cry demo over and over and over and over because it was pretty. They played it because the gameplay blew their minds. Same for Crysis. Even Crysis 2 has incredibly tight gunplay and fantastic AI and really nice encounter design. Crytek were fantastic FPS designers. They knew how to create compelling combat encounters with flexible tools and guns that felt great to use, plus a great sprinkling of physics on top. Even Crysis 2 had heaps of physics, something that is largely missing from competitors. Crysis 3 had some pacing and structure issues, but they seem to have found their footing again with Hunt: Showdown.

Zhukov said:

Oh hey, that's the game where Queen Boadicea attacks the city of Rome. With elephants.

I don't insist on strict historical accuracy or anything, but that shit made my brain hurt.

Also, they keep talking about Damocles (as in "sword of Damocles") like he was fucking Roman Batman.

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Velord said:

Yeah, same here. I didn't expect the game to be super historically accurate or anything but uh...the game's story was on the "so weirdly wrong it's distracting" side of things. Really pretty game though.

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Darkstorne said:

Gross, really? Boudicca sieging Rome with War elephants, a staple in Celtic Britain warfare. And the Emperor Nero's infamous death as he took his own life surrounded by the few servants he could find for lack of friends, with his last words "what an artist dies with me" so beautifully recreated.

Repetitive gameplay aside, the story is the reason this game should be vilified. It's the perfect example of why games are STILL so mocked as an art form. Because a developer can take a setting like the Roman campaign in Britain and opt to ignore absolutely all historical accuracy in favor of making a stabby stabby dumb dumb vidya gamer bloodbath. Literally some of the greatest historical stories and events in the world, and they ignore all of it in favor of Boudicca on war elephants. Triggers me whenever a gamer praises this story because it just cements the view that gamers wouldn't appreciate a good historical adventure anyway.

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Don't worry, the game is 100% accurate. Marius dies halfway through the game and everything after that takes place in his imagination as the synapses in his brain fire one final time before death comes to claim him.

This is some Jacob's Ladder shit.

I thought it was a competent launch game with great visuals and hype-moments (especially when you are in formation) and gorgeous environments, but outside of that the story was a wash for me and the colour QTE-ing was just nonsensical. It hardly left much of an impression on me towards the end, I could feel that the Colosseum build-up was meant to be epic and huge but the game prior to that just didn't lead up well enough.

It would've been nice if you had more AI units throughout and the gameplay revolved more anound best utilising them for combat or something. I wasn't feeling the whole one-man-army thing here especially for a a Roman...

Flagship said:

I thought ti was a competent launch game with great visuals and hype-moments (especially when you are in formation) and gorgeous environments, but outside of that the story was a wash for me and the colour QTE-ing was just nonsensical. It hardly left much of an impression on me towards the end, I could feel that the Colosseum build-up was meant to be epic and huge but the game prior to that just didn't lead up well enough.

It would've been nice if you had more AI units throughout and the gameplay revolved more anound best utilising them for combat or something. I wasn't feeling the whole one-man-army thing here especially for a a Spartan...

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He wasn't a Spartan.... He was a Roman. Son of Rome. Not son of Sparta, lol.

Still one of the best looking games of this generation. Combat was really satisfying and I didn't even mind the "match the color" executions. Regaining health and more XP incentivized doing them correctly. It was brutal and felt great.

It needed some variation in gameplay though. It tried with the Commander sequences but they weren't good.

zoodoo said:

I got this game free with gwg for a while but never played it until yesterday. It's pretty enjoyable.

Yes the game is design like a call of duty with similar set pieces but it actually works. The monetization is awful though. You can buy character upgrades with real money. Apparently it was supposed to be for those that want them faster. Back in the days, cheat codes would do that.

The combat while repetitive is fun for some button smashing time. For a launch game it also look very good, more than some recent games. I am at chapter 4 and will probably finish it by this weekend.

Give it a try people.

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I think the game got a lot of flack because it was representing a system that people were pissed about at the time, and also because it was riding on the launch of a console, but the game isn't bad, it is quite enjoyable and a serious looker even as a launch title.

Does anyone know if there will be an X1X patch for Ryse? 1080p with stable 30fps would be reason alone to double dip.

GHG said:

Kameo was actually a good game through.

Ryse is a glorified tech demo that practically plays itself. If you like Those types of experiences then fine but please don't try and throw better games in the same trash bin in an attempt to try and elevate it to something it isn't.

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What? Did you actually played the game?

Lukas Taves said:

What? Did you actually played the game?

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From the comment, it's evident that he didn't or simply just tried it for a few minutes lol. And as I was saying in my previous post, it's comments like these that hurt the game, most of it coming from people who simply looked at videos or parrot hater comments.

Really liked it too, the combat was good (really liked the color system), the game looked great and the "arena mode" was super fun once you were good with the combat. Really underrated game.

The Archon said:

The game is a great for one playthrough.

The thing about Marius...

Spoiler

Marius is a fucking terminator dude doesn't know when he needs to stop

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I'd agree if you could just go on the highest difficulty right away, but since you need to beat the game once to unlock it, the game actually requires two playthroughs to be properly appreciated.

Its a good game. I dont know why it got hate.

I picked it up for about ten bucks or less on PC and I really enjoyed it. I love ancient Rome and I love action games. I knew what it was going into it and didn't set my expectations at unacheivable levels. I really enjoyed it, despite it being short and somewhat repetitive. If they put out another one, I'd play it, though not for $60