Ryse: Son of Rome

Ryse: Son of Rome is an action-adventure game from 2013, built by Crytek and released by Microsoft Studios. It takes place in a reimagined version of Ancient Rome and centers on the Roman centurion Marius Titus, who rises to a leadership role within the Roman Legion. The game is known for its focus on cinematic execution moves and a cooperative multiplayer mode where players battle waves of enemies inside a gladiator arena that shifts and changes during each match.

The game’s development started in 2006, originally planned as a first-person title for the Xbox 360 that relied entirely on Kinect. Over time, Crytek shifted the design to a third-person hack and slash game, reducing Kinect’s role. Development began at Crytek Budapest but later moved to the company’s headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany. The combat system stresses “flow,” meaning players can move from one enemy to the next with little interruption after a kill. Crytek worked with The Imaginarium Studios to create the game’s cinematic and motion-capture technology. Competitive multiplayer modes, which were being built by Ruffian Games, were ultimately scrapped.

First shown at E3 2010 under the name Codename: Kingdoms, the game was reintroduced three years later as Ryse: Son of Rome. It launched in November 2013 as a title for the Xbox One, then came to Windows on October 10, 2014. Reviews at release were mixed: critics praised the visuals, story, emotional depth, character work, art direction, music, and high production values, but criticized the short length, repetitive and simple gameplay, and linear design. Crytek’s CEO Cevat Yerli said he was not happy with how the game sold. After launch, several multiplayer-focused downloadable content packs were released, but a planned Challenge Editor was canceled.

In gameplay, Ryse: Son of Rome is a third-person hack and slash action-adventure game. Players control Marius Titus, a Roman general seeking revenge for his murdered family. As the game progresses, players get weapons to attack or defend, such as a sword for striking enemies and a shield for deflecting attacks and breaking enemy defenses. Players can choose the strength of each attack. Besides melee combat, spears and javelins are available as ranged weapons.

Combat focuses on “flow,” letting players move quickly from one enemy to the next after a kill.