Ryse: Son of Rome

“Ryse: Son of Rome rises above its rote hack-and-slash design with a handful of inventive ideas and a killer story.”

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Brilliant combat, a sumptuously produced story and some of the best visuals we’ve ever seen make up for the limitations of the gameplay. Ryse: Son of Rome is bloody good fun.

The visual showpiece for your Xbox One.

Ryse: Son of Rome feels a lot like a Call of Duty title in Roman clothing. It's bloodthirsty combat and fast pace gets the adrenaline pumping and the set pieces are bombastic and spectacular. Storming the British coast feels and looks like the D-Day landing but in ancient times, and achieving this level of intensity and maintaining it is an impressive feat. The narrative is well put together and expertly delivered and although it's repetitive the brevity of the experience helps to prevent it feeling like a slog. Rome wasn't built in a day but you'll easily complete Ryse inside of one - but you...

Ryse has an entertaining story and sky-high production values. The gameplay that’s there isn’t bad – it just stops in its tracks before it gets anywhere near close to demanding. The multiplayer mode has some neat ideas, like a deadly, shifting Colosseum, but it’s hamstrung by the same combat issues that affect the main campaign. But if spectacle is what you want, Ryse: Son of Rome will keep you entertained.

Ryse is fun at points but is ultimately held back by its repetitious nature. Still the game is a great way to show off the graphical capability of the Xbox One.

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You are not entertained.

It’s surprising that the game finds so much more context here, your ill-equipped gladiator rising through the ranks and showered with gold. This is spent purchasing weapons and armour in an effort to improve your survival odds, whilst also an opportune moment to garb your character in something other than the sweaty loin cloth they start off with. Such items are provided through randomised in-game booster packs, with micro-transactions rearing their ugly head for those that want gold without having to invest their time in grinding through multiplayer matches, not that you ever need to do so.

Ryse: Son of Rome is a great tale set in the Roman period, with its visceral limb chopping and an authentic weight to its centurion credentials, but as a third-person action adventure it’s something of a one shot deal with little to pull you back in once you’ve seen Marius’ journey through. Its gorgeous visuals and in-your-face combat may wow, but their shine dulls with unfortunately little to be offered in their place to reignite that initial excitement.