10 Seriously Underrated Video Game Intros That Deserve Another Look
3. Ryse: Son Of Rome
As with 2016’s DOOM, Ryse Son of Rome’s intro fully embraces the concept that less is more.
Instantly, you know something is wrong. Masonry is raining down onto the kind of floors you don’t find in a hovel, and as the camera pans up we realise this is a palace, and judging by the screaming outside, that it is under attack. Through it runs a panicked Nero, and even if you know nothing about the man, from his sniveling pleading and unhinged ranting you know he’s pure evil and chances are you already hate him.
We then transition to a scene of utter carnage with Roman legionaries engaged in bloody combat against invading barbarians, and in the form of two of the most brutally impressive sword thrusts in gaming history the protagonist, Marius, is introduced. You know he’s a beast, that he’s here for one thing only, and you can’t wait to see it happen.
Ryse is not a complex game, but what it offers – a smorgasbord of violent battles set amid epic scenery and a simple but satisfying tale of revenge – is all perfectly laid out in the first two minutes. It’s quick, savage, and brilliant.