In an action game on Steam, MeinMMO author Ody fought alongside Roman legions against wild barbarians for 70 hours. It was supposed to have ended after about 6 hours. So what kept him engaged for so long?
From the first trailer, I was in love with Ryse: Son of Rome, the action game by Crytek from 2013. However, there were two problems back then. The first issue was that Ryse: Son of Rome was exclusively available for Xbox One at release. The second problem: I didn’t have an Xbox One at the time.
The problems solved themselves after a year. Ryse: Son of Rome was finally released for PC on Steam in October 2014. You can grab the game for just €2.99 until November 30, 2025. After 70 hours in the game, I can say it was definitely worth it.
Upon its release on Xbox One, Ryse: Son of Rome received a rather mediocre reception:
- On Metacritic, the metascore (based on 77 critic reviews) is 60, while the user score (based on 1,926 reviews) is also a balanced 6.6
- The GamePro gave it a score of 68 points for being a “graphically opulent, but gameplay-wise meager spectacle of antiquity for uncritical slayers.”
You can watch a trailer for Ryse: Son of Rome here:
Absolutely predictable story well staged
The main plot of Ryse: Son of Rome is not much more than a version of the movie Gladiator. The protagonist Marius Titus’s family is killed by barbarians, after which he joins the Roman campaign in Britain.
Throughout the story, the emperor’s family turns out to be the real villains, and Marius swears revenge. The game takes many elements from the film but rearranges them in different ways. Additionally, the focus is not on being a gladiator but on that of a general.
Even though the story doesn’t necessarily shine with originality, it does so with its cinematic presentation. The game still looks great even 12 years after its original release, especially (but not only) in cutscenes.
The gameplay is only as challenging as you make it
A major criticism of the game has always been the gameplay. It can be quite dull: beat down the enemy until the finisher symbol appears, press the button, done – repeat. Although there are different enemy types, especially on the lower difficulty levels, you are hardly challenged.
Only on higher difficulty levels does the game become a real challenge. That’s where the gameplay truly shines, in my opinion. The best example of this are the finishers, which only become really relevant then.
On the highest difficulty level, for example, your finishers must be executed perfectly to gain bonuses (like increased damage or healing). You need to memorize the movement patterns and key combinations for each finisher animation and execute them correctly under time pressure.
Flow is everything
In battles, you easily develop a flow of attacks, blocks, and dodges. Staying in this flow is rewarded by the game: the higher the combo counter, the higher the damage – and the more extravagant the finishers get. Once you’re in this flow, even lengthy battles can feel incredibly satisfying.
It’s precisely this combat feel that made me play through the campaign multiple times and dive into the online mode for many hours. By comparison: you can complete the main story in about 6 hours, and even if you want to see everything, it takes only about 20 hours (according to howlongtobeat.com).
If you’re looking for an action game in ancient Rome with cinematic presentation and fluid combat feel, then Ryse: Son of Rome is definitely worth recommending. However, you need to be able to overlook the somewhat predictable story and the often repetitive gameplay.
The similarities between Ryse: Son of Rome and Ridley Scott’s Gladiator are hard to miss. Even fans of the film should give the game a look. What might not be immediately noticeable: During the filming of Gladiator, an actor passed away, yet through innovative tricks, he was still included in the film.
