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

Gaming
1
Does Ryse: Son of Rome deserve a sequel
  • Yes, a sequel set in Ancient Rome
  • Yes, a sequel set in another period time
  • No
0 voters

‘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 ! ’

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.

1600×900 303 KB

2560×1440 1.19 MB

1280×720 162 KB

3840×2160 2.02 MB

1920×1080 252 KB

3840×2160 493 KB

1914×973 691 KB

1920×1080 233 KB

2560×1440 579 KB

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.

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).

https://gamingbolt.com/ryse-knights-of-england-crytek-refuses-to-comment-on-rumours

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 !

https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/aacc0492-a421-4a0d-bd36-e7bf2154ad3d/d6uqija-ccd983b1-9b0c-4b1e-97e2-f5ed2675d0a9.gif?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJpc3MiOiJ1cm46YXBwOjdlMGQxODg5ODIyNjQzNzNhNWYwZDQxNWVhMGQyNmUwIiwic3ViIjoidXJuOmFwcDo3ZTBkMTg4OTgyMjY0MzczYTVmMGQ0MTVlYTBkMjZlMCIsImF1ZCI6WyJ1cm46c2VydmljZTpmaWxlLmRvd25sb2FkIl0sIm9iaiI6W1t7InBhdGgiOiIvZi9hYWNjMDQ5Mi1hNDIxLTRhMGQtYmQzNi1lN2JmMjE1NGFkM2QvZDZ1cWlqYS1jY2Q5ODNiMS05YjBjLTRiMWUtOTdlMi1mNWVkMjY3NWQwYTkuZ2lmIn1dXX0.YgUne2Sv62CEGlsioBT7iQiq69UxJiHL7pivuWpEe-4(image larger than 10.2 MB)

3 Likes
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Ryse: Son of Rome was a good 7.0/10 game and I see it as the same as The Order: 1886. A lot of potential with a great story and characters in which both were a visual showcase and still are. I would love a sequel to both of these games but sadly, I think the time for it is long gone.

1 Like
3

Yep

I dont think these IP’s will ever see sequels.

4

Yea it was a “Sony” game before Sony started pumping them out in mass and it was a fun game Sadly it was ahead of it’s time and got caught in the Xbox launch backlash. Visually the game still holds up today and has huge possibilities for a sequel.

If this game was launched now With 4k graphics, ray tracing it would have been a great launch showcase for the Series X

1 Like
5

Yes it deserves a sequel for sure. Tons of potential here.

1 Like
6

make a sequel with a better combat system in the same time period and we are good

7

Doesnt Crytek own the IP?

8

The game was flawed in the most important area: gameplay. Yet it was still remarkable. A sequel that addresses the flaws could result in an excellent game.

Considering that this was a launch title, Crytek delivered in many areas.

Farsight your post sums it up beautifully and I’d just be repeating your points, really. Rome in that time is truly underrepresented.

This game solidified, in my eyes, Crytek as a great developer that could make non-FPS AAA titles with enough money and time. They fell short, sure, but not by much. The difference between a 6 and a 9 Metacritic score comes down to more polished gameplay and a sequel would probably focus on addressing this.

If not Ryse 2, I’d love for Crytek to make more non-FPS games. Their engine seems to suit 3rd person games well.

1 Like
9

I found this from 2014. Apparently, Microsoft wanted to buy the IP alongside funding Ryse 2 but Crytek wouldn’t sell it. Don’t know if it’s true or just rumors.

Online rumors claim that a sequel to the 2013 Xbox One launch game Ryse: Son of Rome has now been cancelled, reportedly due to issues between the game’s developer Crytek and publisher Microsoft over the rights to the franchise.

The reports, which come via unnamed sources, claim that pre-production of Ryse 2 was slated to begin but Microsoft said they would only fund its development if they could buy the Ryse IP from Crytek. That is apparently something that the developer did not wish to give up. A Microsoft spokesperson has been quoted as saying the company has “nothing to announce about the future of the franchise at this time.”

10

It was fun as a launch title in 2013. And looked lovely. But I fear it’s a heavy case of nostalgia with this one. A sequel that fixes the gameplay issues would be great but it would also need to open the world a bit and add some exploration as I don’t think these really linear tech demos translate out of launch windows. Absolutely not saying it needs to be an open world game at all, just that it was very very linear and narrow and that wouldn’t translate so well.

I would like a sequel but I doubt it’s at the top or close to my wants as a gamer. I’m still mourning the fact I will never play sunset overdrive 2 - that was an absolute classic caught in the 720p wars and of course the poor Xbox launch. But that would be way way higher for me than Ryse 2. A quantum break sequel similarly that fixed the issues there would also be great.

1 Like
11

It, to this day still looks incredible which is crazy because it was made on the shitbox OG XB1 at launch. Just imagine what they could do now with RT…

12

Definitely an enjoyable game. Not all games need to become a series or saga, and I think only one Ryse is fine.

13

Those saying gameplay issues, what difficulty level did you play on?

14

More than a sequel, I would say that we need more games in ancient rome. I liked the game, but not as much to have a sequel.

15

Production value wise the game was excellent but gameplay wise it was a really boring and dull experience, I played it on PC a couple years later on Hard and dropped the game at the last level (or at least I thought it was one of the last levels).

It deserves a sequel with a vastly improved combat system with more weapons, enemy types e.t.c. which is the main thing that a sequel would need to get much better next time. The potential is there for a great game, I am not so sure that Crytek can deliver one though.

16

Ryse is a Great start for a new IP, the proof is player’s talk about it till this day. On this case, the final judge depends on the sequel.

I liked the combat system, fan for James Goddard works which always are unique. Liked 1 vs 1, finishing move, rage, using background as a weapons, camera perspective, at the time, nothing similar to Ryse. Back on 2015, I did an article about what a sequel can be? Mentioned expectations like you guys [ more weapons, enemies, add RPG elements … etc ] but now I think Ryse 2 should be something different, Especially when the team involved James Goddard.

2 Likes
17

I just saw that he is working on an unnanounced game at Microsoft as Principle Design Director and Animation Director (since 2019). Could it be a Xbox Publishing game ?

What’s crazy is that they didn’t have the 10% GPU boost because they had to allocate 10% of the power to the Kinect features at that time.

Quantum Break is another game I badly want a sequel (though I don’t think it will ever happen). Xbox One was such a tragedy for new IPs outside of Sea of Thieves. The 2013 fiasco screwed so many things.

#SaveBeth

3 Likes
18

The I.p is not bad and the visuals were great. I think with the right dev a reboot could be very good.

1 Like
19

Yes, he works with XGS publishing. Not doing full games but help on building games concepts, battle systems, character animations, boss battles, still a major role…

I’m waiting for the new project that’s he involved in cause I believe it will contain melee battle system ( hack n slash game maybe? ) but mostly, will be the Next Killer Instinct.

20

The poll needs a “Yes - Developers choice for setting” option. I don’t really mind when or where it’s set, as long as they keep the mystical elements.

1 Like