Welcome to Storyview, the review show that appraises a video games’ story. Today we’re looking at Ryse: Son of Rome. This Article will contain spoilers from the first half-hour of the roughly 5 hour game.
Plot
Ryse: Son of Rome follows the story of Marius, a spartan solider. The story starts with Marius protecting the emperor of Rome while a battle rages in it’s streets. After reaching a safe area, Marius proceeds to tell his life’s tale to the emperor. You’ll play through Marius’ life, from the start of his military career as a cadet all the way to his promotion to general. While Marius is new cadet, attacking barbarians kill his entire family in their villa. Marius then joins the 14th legion of the Roman Army to take revenge on the people who slew his family. It might not sound kind of cliché, and not all that interesting, well truthfully for a while in the middle it isn’t, but there is a pretty solid plot that unfolds in the story, including a cool ending. And don’t worry, there’s definitely some roman mythology that plays a part, if that’s what you were hoping for. I won’t say too much since it’s such a short story, but let’s just say there are some twists and turns that will surprise you.
Writing
The writing of Ryse: Son of Rome is also solid. The dialog certainly sounds natural – as it should for a native English game – but that isn’t to say it isn’t without its problems. There’s too few characters that you really get to know, in fact there’s really only two, Marius and his commander. Sure, there’s other characters that pop up and while they all have great personalities, they’re usually only there for a scene or two. It’s also a shame because when the writing is funny it’s REALLY funny, but there’s probably only 3 instances of humor in the entire game. Some banter between Marius and the nameless solders may have made the solders feel a bit more real – instead of just useless meatsheilds that follow you around.
Voice Acting
Ryse: Son of Rome really surprised me with its voice acting. It’s exceptional – something I was not expecting. Every single character has a strong voice, with some breakout stars to boot. The only reason I even remembered some characters is because of how great of a vocal performance they give. The only voicework that I felt was a little uneven was Marius. At times, I felt his voicework could have been a little better, but at other times I felt he was spectacular.
Immersion
Immersion is a rollercoaster in Ryse: Son of Rome. The environments are pretty – and occasionally jaw dropping, and the variety is also rather impressive. You’ll go from a war on a rocky beach, to a lush forest, to the streets of Rome. Unfortunately, the enemies don’t have the same diversity. Get ready to get kill hundreds of clones, cause you’ll fight the same enemy more times than you can count. It gets a little better towards the end of the game, but it’s still too little too late. Also, at times, the game seems to be overly gruesome just to try to be “Cool”; but for me it felt unneeded and didn’t do much to make the battles feel real. On the positive side, the facial features of the characters are outstanding. The minor changes in facial features during Cust scenes is rather incredible in how much it brings the characters to life.
Conclusion
Overall Ryse: Son of Rome has a way better story than I ever imaged it would. It’s story voice work along with an above average plot not only makes it a game worth playing – but it’s a game worth remembering.