The Order: 1886

About The Order: 1886

The Order: 1886 drops you into an alternate Victorian London where elite knights fight half-breed monsters using steam-powered tech and thermal imaging. Developed by Ready At Dawn and published by Sony for the PlayStation 4, this title arrived on February 20, 2015. You play as a member of a secret society that has guarded humanity since the days of King Arthur. The story follows four squad members like Sir Percival and Lady Igraine as they battle an ancient threat while navigating social unrest among the lower classes. It is a linear shooter that prioritizes cinematic presentation over open exploration.

Gameplay

Sessions consist almost entirely of third-person cover shooting with minimal free movement. You navigate tight corridors or ride in vehicles while enemies swarm from all angles. The combat relies heavily on quick-time events to perform finishing moves or interact with the environment. Your character can switch weapons instantly between rifles, shotguns, and melee attacks that trigger specific animations. Thermal vision lets you spot hidden threats through walls, while grenades clear out groups of foes. There are no traditional multiplayer modes despite the listing, as the experience focuses strictly on a short, scripted single-player campaign with little room for player choice or exploration.

What Players Think

Player reception has been mixed since launch. IGDB shows a score of 66.3 out of 100 based on 262 ratings, suggesting a divide between those who loved the visuals and those frustrated by the mechanics. The community average playtime hovers around six hours, confirming the linear nature of the experience. Many users report skipping cutscenes to finish the game faster rather than engaging with the narrative fully. Review snippets often mention the high production value but cite repetitive gunfights as a major drawback. There is little chatter about long-term engagement or replayability, with most players treating it as a one-time cinematic event rather than a marathon title.

PlayPile's Take

This game works if you want a short, visually polished shooter that feels like an interactive movie. The price point reflects its limited content length compared to modern standards. You get very few achievements to chase since the campaign is strictly linear with no branching paths or side quests. It is not for players who need open worlds or deep RPG systems. Finish it in one sitting and move on. If you buy this expecting hundreds of hours of gameplay, you will feel shortchanged by the six-hour runtime.

Storyline

The Order: 1886 is set in an alternate history London, where an old order of knights keep all of the world safe from half bred monsters, who are a combination of animal and man. In the game's history, around the seventh or eighth centuries a small number of humans took on bestial traits. The majority of humans feared these half breeds and war broke out. Despite the humans outnumbering the half breeds, their animal strength gave them the upper hand in centuries of conflict. Centuries later, humanity finds new hope in King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. King Arthur and his like-minded knights take the fight to the half breeds, but Arthur soon realizes it's a losing battle. Through a mysterious turn of fate The Knights discover Black Water, a mystical liquid that significantly extends their lifetimes and gives them remarkable healing abilities. Despite this new advantage the half breeds continue to win battle after battle, until the industrial Revolution turns the tide. Inventors are far ahead of their time, inventing technologies such as thermal imaging, Zeppelins, and wireless communications. New weapons belch electricity, ignite clouds of molten metal on top of enemies, and fulfil dual functions as Fragmentation grenades and proximity mines. By 1886, the war still goes on, but the humans almost have martial law. A new threat emerges in the form of the lower classes rebelling against the rich and the social order, with the Knights supporting the well-to-do upper classes and nobles. The game features four main protagonists from the same squad, who each has a given name, and the adopted name of one of the original Knights. The oldest is Sebastian Mallory, the second to bear the name of Sir Percival, and the descendant of Thomas Mallory, who in the 1400s wrote Le Morte d'Arthur, the definitive Arthurian Text. A close friend of Grayson, he is one of the best Knights in the history of the order. Grayson is the third to bear the title of Sir Galahad, and has battled the order's enemies for centuries. He views Mallory as a mentor, Lafayette as a friend, and Isabeau as a potential love interest. Other than that, little is known about him so far. Isabeau D'Argyll is one of the younger Knights in the order, but is much older than her appearance of being in her late twenties. The latest Lady Igraine, Isabeau was Grayson's apprentice and if not for her commitment to the order, his lover. Marquis de Lafayette was a French military officer who fought in the French and American Revolutions. His tactical expertise brought him to the order's attention, and Mallory approached him and convinced him to join the order. Although the group's youngest, his globetrotting has given him a whimsical outlook on life that grounds the squad. As an apprentice, he does not yet bear the name of a Knight.