Every Major Xbox One Exclusive - Ranked From Worst To Best

13. Ryse: Son Of Rome

Ryse Son of Rome
Microsoft

Crytek's Ryse: Son of Rome took a kicking on its first release back in 2013, but there's a good chance the harsh critical reception had more to do with the negative buzz surrounding the Xbox One on the whole, rather than the quality of the game itself.

Sure, it was probably a little overpriced for the content you were given and the graphics weren't quite as eye-popping as the launch titles that graced Sony's console, but Ryse was far from the worst start the Xbox One could have had.

Launch titles are never perfect, and while Ryse's brand of Roman hack-and-slash gameplay admittedly got a little repetitive after a few hours, it was still a rather decent beginning to what could have been an interesting new franchise for Microsoft.

Good sword-and-sandals games are few and far between, so it's a shame that we'll probably never see a sequel that could build upon the potential of this first attempt.

Contributor

Josh has over 11 years of experience as a published writer, having worked full time as a content producer at WhatCulture for nine years. In that time he has created hundreds of articles, videos and podcast episodes for multiple channels, specialising in subjects such as 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 most listened to gaming podcast in the UK that he co-created in 2018. Over the years he has reviewed several high-profile gaming releases, covered industry events with on-site reporting, covered breaking news, and even kicked off his interviewing career by chatting to childhood hero, Tommy Wiseau.