Unfortunately for Microsoft, Ryse took a kind of kicking upon its first release. But while there were some fair criticisms of Crytek's Roman Empire hack and slasher, the game's disappointment probably had more to do with the unrealistic expectations of launch titles and the bad PR the Xbox One itself was receiving at the time. Because in reality, the title itself was actually a rather satisfying, if flawed, action game. Although Ryse admittedly left plenty of room for improvement, the title showed enough promise, be it in its superbly detailed world or its visceral executions, that playing through the campaign wasn't quite the slog some critics made it out to be. So even though it didn't come out the gate swinging like a Halo or Gears of War, Ryse: Son of Rome set a solid foundation for a brand new franchise, or at the very least, can be seen as a solid example of Microsoft's willingness to experiment with different genres and settings for its exclusive games.
Josh has over 11 years of experience as a published writer, having worked nine of those years as a full-time content producer at WhatCulture. In that period he has created hundreds of articles, videos and podcast episodes for multiple WhatCulture channels, specialising in gaming, horror and film & TV. He now primarily works as a senior content producer and presenter on WhatCulture Gaming where he co-hosts the WhatCulture Gaming Podcast, a top 3 UK most listened to gaming podcast that he co-created in 2018. Over the years he has reviewed several high-profile gaming releases, covered industry events with on-site reporting, opined on breaking news, and even kicked off his interviewing career by chatting to childhood hero, Tommy Wiseau.
