The Order: 1886 Delayed into 2015, New Screenshots and Trailer

Sony and Ready At Dawn have decided that they need a little more time to develop The Order: 1886, so they’ve pushed back one of their marquee titles into 2015. So much for you early adopters who now have to wait just as long as the rest of us stragglers to get the games you were promised.

Apart from the news of the delay, Sony provided a new trailer and batch of screenshots that should help flesh out the story. We all know that it takes place in alternate Victorian Era London, but King Arthur is now running England and he has formed the Knights of the Round Table powered by the Industrial Revolution to deal with a rebellious army of Half-Breeds. They also have a magic drink called Blackwater, and drinking it allows them to heal themselves.

I’m sorry for saying so, but this is by far one of the most fascinating video games in the PlayStation 4 line-up. Not so much because it looks fun or interesting, but mostly because I have no idea where all the hype is coming from. It’s a third-person shooter which uses futuristic weapons in the past? Is that it? Are we liking this because it provides “exclusive” ammunition in the console wars or because it’s “next-gen.” Or is it because it’s a new IP?

What am I missing here? Retelling history in video games is getting really tired with Assassin’s Creed coming out every year. Third-person cover-based down-the-ironsight shooters are a formula of the previous generation that we seriously need to evolve beyond. This Blackwater sounds like nothing more than an attempt to give context to the ancient art of ducking behind a wall to heal your wounds, and apparently not even brown is a cool enough color to make the palette.

This game screams everything we’ve been begging to get away from in our cries for originality in the gaming industry, but it’s one of the PlayStation 4’s highlights. Are we really that desperate for a next-gen game?

Guess we’ll have to find out more at E3 this year.