Available in early access since December, Ready or Not (RoN) presents itself as the spiritual successor to the SWAT series. By offering an old-fashioned formula, realistic and tactical, and scenarios rooted in reality, the tactical shooter has managed to top the sales charts on the Steam platform on PC in just a few days.
The spiritual son of the SWAT series
We must admit that this game could literally have been called SWAT 5, as it pays homage to Sierra’s cult series, to Sierra’s cult series, not only in terms of gameplay, but also in terms of the general atmosphere of the game, as the developers of VOID Interactive have based themselves on the daily life of American intervention units.
This choice is rather intelligent. Indeed, contrary to many other countries, which have chosen to create elite intervention units with national competence, the Americans have allowed several hundred SWAT (for Special Weapons and Tactics) units to develop. If some of them are extremely prestigious and professional, such as those of the FBI or of the Police Departments of the big cities, others are much more “rustic”, as much for the methods as for the equipment.
This script anchoring is also felt on the side of the crisis situations: we are clearly in the United States, because it is question here of clandestine laboratories of methamphetamine, of hostage-taking in a hotel, or of raid on the villa of a drug trafficker…
Rustic and authentic gameplay
Logically enough, the mission starts with the equipment sequence. Here again, the choice of anchoring the mission in the reality of SWAT is striking: in RoN, there are no useless or crazy gadgets: we are dealing with classic equipment, which can be found in any American police station and which is perfectly tested..
The same goes for the weapons, which are realistic and all in the US police force. Their modeling is faithful, and the gunplay is demanding enough to be “easy to learn, hard to master”. Using the burst or the shotgun will require a little learning for example. Special mention to the tactical shield that will save you many games !
Then the mission begins and, as with its distant predecessors SWAT and RAINBOW 6, it’s all about slow and silent progress, with a strong emphasis on reconnaissance and inspection. In the spirit of a police intervention, it is therefore necessary to neutralize, secure, challenge and, like its predecessors, the use of lethal force is considered a failure in RoN.
In fact, the tension is present at all times and mistakes are never forgiven. And this is where cooperation comes into its own: if a team member deviates from his role by forgetting to watch an exit or cover an angle, it’s a guaranteed game over, and all the more penalizing because, from one game to the next, the entire mission configuration varies and the objectives and traps have changed location !
A real success that should question the AAA
A difficult, slow and authentic game? This is exactly the opposite of what the big publishers are proposing nowadays, which multiply competitive multiplayer games with poor scenarios and non-existent authenticity.
But are players afraid of this demanding game? It would seem not, as it is currently rated “very positive” on the Steam platform, and is at the top of the sales charts. A success that is quite surprising when, at the same time, the behemoth BATTLEFIELD 2042 has had an absolutely catastrophic launch, and the future of the RAINBOW 6 license is far, very far, from exciting the crowds and continues to trample from Tom Clancy’s legacy.
We can also see that even if the game is not graphically perfect (it is still in beta), it is generous and authentic. The dark environments also force you to use all the light tools at your disposal (light intensifier, sticks, relevant use of the tactical lamp). And above all, its intransigence is a real challenge, which pushes the players to excellence as could do, for example, the episodes Rogue Spear or Raven Shield of the RAINBOW 6 series.
We can only hope that RoN will be a success, and mark the revival of the authentic and punishing tactical shooter. There is a real market to be had here: that of players looking for realistic games anchored in reality, who are still waiting for a successor to the canonical RAINBOW 6 and GHOST RECON, which transported them to the heart of perfectly plausible international crises.
