Recent reviews by Shade

A few years ago, I saw the "official reveal trailer" for Ready or Not.


Sure, this game is called Ready or Not. It is indeed a game where you play as a SWAT team (or Hostage Rescue Team, if you spend $120 to get that skin). You run one of several missions with teammates, whether they be AI or online players. You do indeed "take down the bad guys" and sometimes rescue hostages.

You can can use a taser, pepper-ball gun, and other less-lethal weapons to take down your targets. You can also go in with rifles, SMGs, pistols, etc. with various attachments. The gun-play feels nice, if a bit samey (a lot of the guns feel exactly the same as the other ones in their class, at least to me).

The visual quality is much better than I expected. Lighting is done well, and most environments feel like they were handcrafted, as opposed to being generic map generator creations.

However, what we were shown and what we have are two very different things. A few years ago, we were shown tense, emotional content. Human trafficking dens, a school shooting, a dead child. Potential story content with how officers deal with the things they've seen and done. We were shown a mission in a wooded area.

None of these things are in the game.

Instead, we have a smattering of levels where you fight the exact same gangbangers with perfect aim and reaction time every time you so much as open a door. These thugs are in every single level I've played except for the "terrorist hunt" villa level. If there are hostages, they are generic civilian models or, in the case of the Hotel, a single "differently-dressed" woman.

Missions are not tense. The game has no story to it other than "go in and take care of the bad guys". There are no incentives to use the less-lethal equipment, so the best loadout is always a P90 or assault rifles. (Interestingly, the game mentions Rules of Engagement, but there are never consequences for killing all the enemies in a level). There are no real achievements, and once you've played through a few levels, there really isn't anything to do except mess around with friends.

While this is a fun game to play for a while, it's not the same game we were shown. I do recommend this game, but not at full price, and I certainly don't recommend the Supporter edition. $120 for a single skin and slightly earlier access (around 2 weeks) to upcoming features isn't even remotely worth that cost.