The Order: 1886

The Order: 1886 is an action-adventure game designed exclusively for the PlayStation 4 by the American development studio Ready at Dawn , which was developed in collaboration with Sony Computer Entertainment Santa Monica Studio . The video game was released on February 20, 2015.

action

The storyline of the game is set in London at the time of the 19th century and presents an alternate version of the Victorian era . After a centuries-long struggle between humans and so-called half-bloods, beings half human half animal, the story of the game begins in 1886. The player takes on the role of Sir Galahad, knight of a secret order that has been protecting humanity from half-bloods for generations. Together with other members of the order like Sebastian Malory, Marquis de Lafayette and Isabeau D´Argyll, it is important to fight the monsters and to get a burgeoning revolution of the poor population under control.

The story mixes real-life locations such as Big Ben , the London Underground or the Palace of Westminster , famous personalities of contemporary history and actual historical events of the epoch with alternative events from a parallel world. For example, there are connections to the Arthurian legend and the industrial revolution or mystical elements such as black water, an elixir that extends life and strengthens the body's self-healing powers.

Visually, the alternative version of London is reminiscent of the art genre of steampunk with elevated railways, airships and steam- or electrically-powered machines. The characters have futuristic-looking weapons that can fire flashes of energy and already have wireless communication.

characters

Sir Galahad: The main character of The Order 1886 is Sir Galahad, one of the oldest and best fighters in the Order. As with its namesake from the legend of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, bravery and generosity are among his outstanding virtues. In his long time as a fighter against the bloodthirsty half-bloods, his convictions, his mastery of the art of war or his leadership quality were never questioned. But when human rebels rise up in London and accuse the knights of the order of protecting only the aristocrats but leaving the people to their fate, Sir Galahad's unshakable belief in the order's goals is shaken. Between the escalating class struggle and moral gray areas, he has to face the changed reality and ask himself whether he has always followed the right path. His closest confidants are Sebastian Malory, aka Sir Percival, and the beautiful Isabeau. Malory is an old friend and companion, at the same time a valuable advisor for Galahad. For Lady Igraine, as Isabeau D'Argyll is called, he is a respected mentor and instructor. This relationship could go way beyond that, if the two of them are allowed to.

Isabeau D'Argyll: Born in Hibernia (present-day Ireland ) in the 18th century , the attractive Isabeau was adopted by the Shadow Lord. She is a courageous young woman, inspired by the desire to become a Knight of the Order like her older brother Alastair. Even at an early age, she feels the urge to learn the necessary skills. So she was placed under the guardianship of Galahad. This promotes Isabeau as her mentor and after a short time she becomes a member of the order, faster than any applicant before her. During her training, her relationship with Galahad evolves from that of a student to her teacher into an equal partnership. You and Galahad are attracted to each other, but the Order does not allow deeper emotions. So Isabeau always puts her duty as a knight above her personal wishes.

Marquis de Lafayette: Born in 1757 in Auvergne , a province in the south of France known for its hot-blooded inhabitants, Lafayette comes from a family of famous warriors. Orphaned at a young age, he was raised by his beloved grandmother and won the trust of King Louis XV at an early age , in whose palace in Versailles he found a new home. But the followers at the royal court regarded him only as a peasant booby and loathed his origins from the deepest provinces. Without further ado, Lafayette sought fame and honor elsewhere and became one of the youngest generals in the service of George Washington , at whose side he fought in the American Revolution. After returning to his native France, he campaigned for the rights of his people. As a self-declared advocate of freedom, he went into the battles of the French Revolution, but disappeared without a trace shortly after Napoleon's seizure of power. But Lafayette did not remain idle and hired himself out as a mercenary in the fight against the half-bloods. Here the knightly order became aware of him and Sebastian Malory personally recruited the great fighter for The Order. Lafayette is a deeply emotional person who is not averse to the fair sex.

Sebastian Malory: The mysterious Sebastian Malory is Galahad's long-term partner and one of the few knights who can match him in strength, courage and perseverance. Its responsibilities include meticulously recording all of the official and unofficial events in which the Order is involved. He also serves as an important advisor at meetings, but always remains a knight at heart who loves battle and danger. More than two hundred years older than Galahad, Malory fought alongside King Edward III for the restoration of the British crown. Despite the great age difference, the two knights meet on an equal footing, Galahad blindly trusts the advice and friendship of his companion. A genius at strategic warfare and a passionate protector of his people, Malory is also known for taking immense risks in combat.

Gameplay

In The Order: 1886 is a linear structure, for single player designed third-person shooter , where the player follows the events from the perspective behind the player character. The action inserts require precise shooting at opponents and the use of cover options in the area. There are different weapons to choose from.

Combo gun: The standard equipment of the knights of the order includes the combo rifle, which is equipped with two barrels. Effective against distant targets, in close combat or against a whole group of enemies, the second trigger comes into play. It creates a shock that paralyzes opponents.

Arc gun: This weapon fires arrows or electric shocks. The power of the electricity is increased by charging the weapon and eliminates enemies in a wide area.

Thermite gun: The heavy machine gun fires thin strips of metal that are ignited by a subsequent flare.

Submachine gun: Also available as a self-loading. The precision with this weapon is quite low.

revolver: They have a very high penetration power against all opponents. They are available in different versions such as B. "Dragoon" or the Duelist's Revolver.

Fragmentation grenades: Effective against barricaded opponents, among other things. The grenades can also be placed on walls and detonated with a time fuse.

Smoke grenades: When detonating, a fog is released in a relatively small radius, in which opponents are incapacitated for a short time, but they try to escape from it.

crossbow: The crossbow is a quiet weapon that fires bolts.

development

Ru Weerasuriya, Creative Director and co-founder of Ready at Dawn, described his personal gaming experience with Uncharted 2: Among Thieves as a decisive influence that led to the development of the game . The action-adventure game developed by Naughty Dog , which was praised for its emotional, film-like staging, served Weerasuriya as a model for his own film-like story. The first concepts for the game emerged shortly after the studio was founded, but remained in the development limbo , as the seventh generation of consoles that was current at the time did not have enough technical performance to meet the developers' expectations. Instead, the studio took on several commissioned works for Sony. Implementation of the concept only began with the publication of the developer kit for the PlayStation 4. The plot was written by Ru Weerasuriya in collaboration with television screenwriter Kirk Ellis ( John Adams ). The game was originally developed under the working title Requiem and was intended to be set in part in Jerusalem during the Crusades . However, due to the proximity of the scenario to Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed , this approach was rejected again. The Order was visualized in 1886 using film production techniques. The motion capture of the figures, the guidance of the virtual cameras, the lighting technology or the cinematic staging of the scenes ensure a presentation based on cinema films. The animations of the characters consist of up to 100,000 polygons. There should be no visible graphical difference between game scenes and cutscenes. Technically, the developer uses the RAD Engine 4.0 graphics engine , which has been specifically optimized for the PlayStation 4 .

The game was first introduced to the public at the 2013 Electronic Entertainment Expo . In June 2014, the release date was set for February 20, 2015. In mid-January 2015, Sony announced the completion of the development work.

Web links

Official website (German)

Individual evidence

↑ Action information on the official website ( memento of the original from September 14, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.

↑ New details on the background story of the shooter

↑ Presentation of the figures ( Memento of the original from September 14, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2
↑ Weapons and Devices ( Memento of the original from September 14, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2
↑ How Uncharted influenced PS4 exclusive The Order: 1886
↑ The Order: 1886 development was in limbo until the release of PS4 kits
^ The Order: 1886 co-written by Emmy winner Kirk Ellis
↑ Technical details about the game from PCGames
↑ Impressions of the game scenes from Gamesradar
↑ The Order: 1886 in the Gamescom preview - impressive optics and surfaces
↑ The Order: IGN announced at E3 2013 in 1886
↑ The Order: 1886 - Release date and information on Collector's Edition
↑ The Order: 1886 - Gold status and trailer with reactions from selected players

[1] Action information on the official website ( memento of the original from September 14, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2

[2] New details on the background story of the shooter