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[LectureMaster]

Ready At Dawn co-founder discusses failed The Order: 1886 sequel pitch | VGC

Andrea Pessino thinks “very proud” Sony passed on a sequel because of poor reviews…

www.videogameschronicle.com

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Ready At Dawn co-founder Andrea Pessino has opened up about the now-shuttered studio’s failed attempt to develop a sequel to The Order: 1886.

Released in 2015 exclusively for PS4, the game proved to be a critical misfire for the once lauded studio, which had previously collaborated with Sony on a number of well-received titles.

They included PSP games Daxter, God of War: Chains of Olympus and God of War: Ghost of Sparta, plus God of War: Origins Collection for PS3, which garnered scores on review aggregation site Metacritic ranging from 84-91.

The Order: 1886 received a 63 score on Metacritic, despite scoring “way higher” in mock reviews, Pessino told MinnMax, and this is why he believes Sony passed on a sequel.

“I don’t think it was the sales, I think it was the critical reception, that’s the thing,” he said. “Sony is a very proud group and rightfully so, and the critical reception, if it had even been just in the 70s, we would have had the sequel, I’m convinced. Just a few points more and it would have been OK.”

With The Order reportedly receiving mid-70s scores in mock reviews, it’s claimed that Sony had decided on a release date and it was non-negotiable, so Ready at Dawn did it’s best to get the game in shape with the time it was afforded.

“One of the problems is that so much was cut,” Pessino said. “A lot of the more subtle narrative parts were lost because so much was chopped away and things that were supposed to be interactive became a movie.”

“We needed another year, that’s the reality,” he added. “We needed at least one more year, we didn’t get it, so we were like, cut, cut, cut.”

Pessino said 2018 would have been a “very realistic” launch window for the sequel, which would have featured multiplayer. And while he didn’t confirm what year the game would have taken place in, he said the fan theory that it was going to be set in 1986 was wrong.

Ready at Dawn, which also developed the Wii version of Okami and the multiplayer brawler Deformers, later switched its attention to making VR games, including Lone Echo and Echo Arena, before being acquired by Meta in 2020. The studio was closed by the Oculus maker last year.

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[LectureMaster]

adamsapple My man finally with a W.

 

[adamsapple]

adamsapple My man finally with a W.

Said no to Resistance 4
Said no to Days Gone 2
Said no to Order 1886 2


Common Sony management L.

 

[kikkis]

Considering gameplay wasn't stellar, i am not sure multiplayer would have been seller. Reminda me of tomb raider multiplayer

 

[KyoZz]

It was not a great game, and the story was bad too. It's a shame because visually it was pretty good and I also very liked the steampunk Victorian aesthetic.

 

[LectureMaster]

Said no to Resistance 4
Said no to Days Gone 2
Said no to Order 1886 2


Common Sony management L.

Yes to Horizon VR
Yes to Horizon Lego
Yes to Horizon Online

W for my man Herman.

 

[Danjin44]

In my opinion Order 1886 should have been survival horror game which lets you use Tesla’s weapons freely and actually fight proper Werewolves and Vampires.

 

[LectureMaster]

With The Order reportedly receiving mid-70s scores in mock reviews

What the fuck is a mock review???

What's the mock review score for Avowed?

 

[Bernardougf]

Said no to Resistance 4
Said no to Days Gone 2
Said no to Order 1886 2


Common Sony management L.

Couldn't agree more...I make funny of hellblade 2 .. but having diverse offerings is always good, So Im happy MS greenlighted their sequel

 

[Bernardougf]

What the fuck is a mock review???

What's the mock review score for Avowed?

Guiding your game plan based on this current press/media cesspool is not a great idea no matter how many 9's you want...

 

[Red Crayon Aristocrat]

In a way, western gaming died with The Order, nothing since has captured my interest quite like that game did.

 

[Grizzled Ghost]

Should've pitched The Order 1986 at the height of the Stranger Things craze.

 

[Loomy]

Yes to Horizon VR
Yes to Horizon Lego
Yes to Horizon Online

W for my man Herman.

Pretty sure all 3 of those were pitched - at the latest - during the PS4 days.

 

[nial]

Couldn't agree more...I make funny of hellblade 2 .. but having diverse offerings is always good, So Im happy MS greenlighted their sequel

I don't think that argument applies to any of those Sony games outside of Resistance 4.
Stuff like Astro Bot and Returnal add to a diverse output, not a fucking The Order 1886 sequel.

 

[R3TRO]

The Order was great.

 

[bender]

Said no to Resistance 4
Said no to Days Gone 2
Said no to Order 1886 2


Common Sony management L.

 

[AeonGaidenRaiden]

Said no to Resistance 4
Said no to Days Gone 2
Said no to Order 1886 2


Common Sony management L.

Dont forget Driveclub 2

 

[HeisenbergFX4]

Andrea Pessino is a visitor here and pretty cool guy to talk with btw

 

[adamsapple]

Dont forget Driveclub 2

 

[Gamerguy84]

A graphic powerhouse for its time. Excellent weapon design. I would have loved a sequel.

I forget why it didn't score well but I remember controversy.

 

[adamsapple]

Andrea Pessino is a visitor here and pretty cool guy to talk with btw

 

[fart town usa]

Ready at Dawn deserved better.

Modern Sony blows.

 

[Hawking Radiation]

This should have been a Last Of Us level type of sequel with a strong focus on single player. I don't think the multiplayer would have gone down well.

 

[Wolves hunt in packs]

adamsapple My man finally with a W.

I would replay The Order a thousand times before playing any Hellblade.

 

[bender]

I regret not purchasing this years ago during its' historic lows on PSN ($2.99). It only goes on sale now for $9.99 and I keep hoping it gets added to PS+.

 

[James Sawyer Ford]

The game took years to develop and was not good. It had great aesthetics, but was completely devoid of compelling gameplay. I don't think a year would have saved it. This game would have needed multiple years to create a more compelling structure to it.

Shouldn't be any surprise why Sony didn't greenlight a sequel. More revisionist history that this game was somehow great when it wasn't.

That said, it must have been a hard choice because clearly the game looked the part. There's certain things to like about the game. Maybe they did not do a good enough job convincing Sony they had a path to greatness, especially with their handheld roots.

 

[ZehDon]

The visuals were otherworldly, and the setting and concept were strong, I gotta admit: I didn't play much before I put it down, and I never went back to it. I struggle to remember much besides its graphics, to be honest.

 

[kazuyamishima]

The game had a score of 63 on MC and panned by critics and users.

It sold close to 2m. copies but possibly lose money in it.

Is this another example of a Sony game panned initially but that in fact is the "bomb" after many years??

 

[CLW]

The setting/world were great but gameplay and story just didn’t cut the mustard soooo much potential for a series 2025 the year of The Order 1888

 

[James Sawyer Ford]

The game had a score of 63 on MC and panned by critics and users.

It sold close to 2m. copies but possibly lose money in it.

Is this another example of a Sony game panned initially but that in fact is the "bomb" after many years??

Yep. Just like how the InFamous, Resistance series, Heavenly Sword, etc. are masterpieces of the early PS3 era and we didn't know how good we were eating back then

Don't get me wrong - those games were enjoyable in their own way, but they were certainly not masterpieces.

 

[kazuyamishima]

Yep. Just like how the Resistance series, Heavenly Sword, etc. are masterpieces of the early PS3 era and we didn't know how good we were eating back then

I mean I liked the Resistance games, Heavenly Sword, The Order 1886, Days Gone and all of the other ones that didn't resonate with a lot of users back then, Days Gone had a better outcome considering that Sony had to practically reduced its price to about 66% off after a couple of months in order to sell some copies.

But Those games were really something different compared to the current Sony catalogue, when they launched, users had the opportunity to support them, but they chose to bash them, but now they are the bomb? I mean c'mon. I find that very hypocritical.

 

[Fake]

Gonna tell you why your game fail:

I was expecting a Gears of War competitor and what you deliver was a TLOUS with more dialogue that any other game for the time.

This was like watching a trash movie and I was looking for gameplay.

 

[James Sawyer Ford]

I mean I liked the Resistance games, Heavenly Sword, The Order 1886, Days Gone and all of the other ones that didn't resonate with a lot of users back then, Days Gone had a better outcome considering that Sony had to practically reduced its price to about 66% off after a couple of months in order to sell some copies.

But Those games were really something different compared to the current Sony catalogue, when they launched, users had the opportunity to support them, but they chose to bash them, but now they are the bomb? I mean c'mon. I find that very hypocritical.

Yeah exactly. And the games these days literally sell 10-20X what these games sold on the PS3. Resistance was lucky to get a few hundred thousand during its NPD month. Spider-Man sells nearly in the double digit millions in months.

 

[Sharius]

Even i can say how they failed for sequel, 'cause i won't buy it until they prove it ti me that it's worth to buy, preorder the first one, aside from pretty graphic, gameplay just plain and short to make it worth the price

 

[VeganElduderino]

wtf is going on with Sony? like where the fuck are the great 1st party single player games like Uncharted etc?
I'm looking at my ps5 right now , I want it to do something , like poke it with a stick!
is it dead? are we going to get another big single player game?
its the first time I feel like I made a mistake buying a console

 

[AJUMP23]

Ready at dawn more like unprepared at sunset.

 

[Buggy Loop]

Said no to Resistance 4
Said no to Days Gone 2
Said no to Order 1886 2


Common Sony management L.

They said yes to a dozen GaaS

double L

 

[kevboard]

why would Sony greenlight a sequel to one of the worst games they ever published?
and it didn't even sell 2 million copies (thank fuck)

 

[StreetsofBeige]

I remember YT videos of the game being about 5 hours long. And half that were cut scenes. Some acts in the game didn't even have gameplay. It was literally a cut scene. I dont think that has ever happened in a video game where an act or mission has zero gameplay. At least no game I ever played.

Also, the final wolf boss is the same as one of the other wolf bosses earlier in the game. All you had to do is scan the room and wait for the wolf to jump out and shoot it. It then runs away. Repeat.

I believe the guy saying they ran of time or budget. Problem is the way the game was made, it was front loaded in graphics and cut scenes. So when Sony said they are cutting resources and get the game out soon, thy didnt have time to do more gameplay. But the cut scenes and art were solid.

 

[kevboard]

I remember YT videos of the game being about 5 hours long. And half that were cut scenes. Some acts in the game didn't even have gameplay. It was literally a cut scene. I dont think that has ever happened in a video game where an act or mission has zero gameplay. At least no game I ever played.

technically the first "mission" in Halo 3, Arrival, is the intro cutscene lol

Also, the final wolf boss is the same as one of the other wolf bosses earlier in the game. All you had to do is scan the room and wait for the wolf to jump out and shoot it. It then runs away. Repeat.

even worse, both bosses are just QTEs



my favorite video on the game is Red Letter Media's, it was a perfect game for them to review as they mainly review movies, and this is barely a game.
towards the end they actually review it like a movie, where it breaks apart even harder than during the gameplay review.

 

[VeganElduderino]

why would Sony greenlight a sequel to one of the worst games they ever published?
and it didn't even sell 2 million copies (thank fuck)

well because they have a fucking good foundation? it can only get better....

 

[kevboard]

well because they have a fucking good foundation? it can only get better....

sure, but with less than 2 million sales, a complete reboot would almost be necessary.
no one played the first one, it is known as a horrible game, and the budget on that game was probably massive already relative to the playtime it had. imagine if they had to increase the production quality for a sequel, make it longer, less cutscenes, more interactive... and all that to follow up what is essentially a commercial and critical failure...

it just doesn't make sense.
maybe WAY down the line at some point they could try to reboot it. I could see that happen, but a sequel was unrealistic to expect here

 

[StreetsofBeige]

sure, but with less than 2 million sales, a complete reboot would almost be necessary.
no one played the first one, it is known as a horrible game, and the budget on that game was probably massive already relative to the playtime it had. imagine if they had to increase the production quality for a sequel, make it longer, less cutscenes, more interactive... and all that to follow up what is essentially a commercial and critical failure...

it just doesn't make sense.
maybe WAY down the line at some point they could try to reboot it. I could see that happen, but a sequel was unrealistic to expect here

And according to the OP's quotes, they even wanted to add MP to the sequel. Unknown if he meant coop or competitive MP modes, but that would be additional costs and complexity too.

 

[Salz01]

I liked it. Still play it every now and then. Would have liked a more fleshed out sequel.

 

[Slothbeing1209]

The game overall combat is good.
Problem that they like to cut every thing to small cinematic shot.
And the boss battles are boring af.

 

[VeganElduderino]

sure, but with less than 2 million sales, a complete reboot would almost be necessary.
no one played the first one, it is known as a horrible game, and the budget on that game was probably massive already relative to the playtime it had. imagine if they had to increase the production quality for a sequel, make it longer, less cutscenes, more interactive... and all that to follow up what is essentially a commercial and critical failure...

it just doesn't make sense.
maybe WAY down the line at some point they could try to reboot it. I could see that happen, but a sequel was unrealistic to expect here

known as a horrible game?
far from it! I played Horrible games and that is not!!
for the sales number I can see why its not getting a sequel, but its Sony's own fault for the poor sales....

 

[Chuck Berry]

In my opinion Order 1886 should have been survival horror game which lets you use Tesla’s weapons freely and actually fight proper Werewolves and Vampires.

Looks like EverydayBeast took over Danjins account holy shitballs

 

[Grizzled Ghost]

Is there an example of a franchise that flopped this hard on it's initial release getting a good sequel? I'm sure there must be. I'm just genuinely wondering.

There's Hellblade I guess, a game that parallels this one in a lot of ways. Though I don't know if that sequel is generally considered "good"

 

[Radical Dreamer]

Yes to Horizon VR
Yes to Horizon Lego
Yes to Horizon Online

W for my man Herman.

Yes to concord xDDDD

 

[Neolombax]

What a shame, I personally liked the game but content was the main issue. There just wasnt enough meat to it.