Before you even say it – yes, we’re back, talking about Void Interactive’s Ready or Not, once again. Call it making up for all that time that I didn’t play it on PC, but it’s really made an impact. On the one hand, I’m marvelling at the tactical depth of Commander Mode and how it provides a great solo experience.
On the other hand, I’ve discussed at length how much fun co-op can be, oscillating between hilarity and sheer tension. But such is my obsession with the game that something else…let’s say, dawned upon me, rather than really striking like a bolt of realization. Like a lingering dread that finally hit the emotional surface.
Ready or Not is a terrifying experience. It’s easily one of the scariest games released this year. I say this as someone who survived the likes of Amnesia: The Bunker, Alien: Isolation, and The Outlast Trials, even though this is a fairly grounded experience by comparison.
There’s no nigh invulnerable monster pursuing you, constantly keeping you on your toes ahead of the inevitable final battle. Jump scares are somewhat present, but they’re not the source of the terror. There’s no supernatural element, no zombies, no otherworldly fog that wants me to repent for my sins (I swear – this time for sure, I’ll finish my Steam backlog). Even if there were monsters, it’s not something that my heavily armed squad and I can’t deal with.
And yet, every time I venture forth on a mission, which is familiar and yet still eerily fresh, it’s a terrifying ordeal.
Maybe it’s because the overarching threat is grounded in reality. Ever-pervading, like a heavy atmosphere that you can’t shake. Ready or Not’s horror isn’t simply in survival but in powerlessness. Again, not something you’d think when looking at D Platoon, but still inherently valid as you delve deeper into the experience.
It all really starts with the subject matter. There’s no nice way to put this – the world of Ready or Not is pretty messed up. You’re starting out rescuing hostages and talking down armed suspects. Sure, some of the 911 calls sound way too lifelike, but no big deal if the rest of the game is like this, right? Spoiler: It gets so much worse.
Missions veer into genuinely disturbing terrain, exposing the seedy underbelly of Los Suenos. There’s no shock and awe, no attempt to douse your screen in gore – just events, as they are, presented with unrelenting brutality. For all the censorship that Void Interactive has done to prepare for the console versions, that the experience can still be this unnerving really says something.
And it’s sad because we know that such…incidents are fairly commonplace in the world, happening in seemingly developed and civilized cities. Video games can offer escapist fantasy, but they can also bring our worst nightmares to life. As it turns out, reality is often stranger – and at times, more terrifying – than fiction. Even if you complete a mission, even if you save the civilians, detain the suspects, don’t get blown up by door traps, etc., the deaths and trauma are set in stone, just like real life, and there’s nothing you can do to stop it.
But what about the things that are in your power? After all, you have full control over your squad, commanding them where to go and what to do. However, they will sometimes act on their own, responding to threats in gruesome ways (unless you equip them with non-lethals only). If anyone dies – be it their squadmates or civilians – they gain stress. Too much stress and eventually they’ll want to leave, as you probably already know. You could prevent it, though, with the right decision-making and tactics. It’s required to get the highest score after all.
Yet the sheer unpredictability of Ready or Not will keep you on edge. Every door can feel like a gateway into something more diabolic (or, more simply, a dice roll between life and death). Every hallway might contain some kind of threat, never mind the disturbing sights. You never know when a suspect could suddenly open fire on you or your teammates, or rush down a corridor, knife in hand, failing to comply. Maybe they’re hiding under the beds. Maybe they’re in the walls. Fine, they’re not in the walls, but they will flank from behind and potentially kill everyone.
A suspect with a hostage is just as likely to comply with your request as they are to shoot the civilian. Quietly opening a door, only to encounter a suspect right behind it and summarily disposing of them in the middle of a gun fight, can be humorous. Suddenly rounding a corner into a hostage situation and watching an execution simply because I got too close? Not so much. Don’t even get me started on seemingly dead suspects suddenly rising and going on a killing spree because we didn’t restrain them. That it happens so rarely is little reprieve.
Again, there are ways to deal with all this, but for all the different ammo types, the perks, the peeking and quiet door opening, the gas, the flashbangs – the doors and hallways can never be underestimated. The fact that threats are randomly arranged in levels also doesn’t help. A dark attic could be just that – safe – and yet, it may not be, especially on your next go around. It will never cease to be unnerving.
If things go wrong and you’re left dealing with the fallout, the dread permeates. After all, your squadmates will die or drop out, but you’re left carrying the burden forward. Despite not remembering any of my squadmates’ names, their actions ultimately put them over with me. You could call it the XCOM effect, except I’m as much on the ground as they are. Perhaps it’s that camaraderie that makes ensuring their safety such a terrifying ordeal. To save others and ensure the mission is a success is just additional stress.
Of course, the obvious question would be: Why play when it’s so stressful, scary and downright depressing? Because, as I’ve noted several times before, there are very few games like it. You could find brutally realistic military shooters, but nothing quite like this, where prioritizing civilian safety is often more important than ensuring your squadmates’ survival, at least in terms of the final mission score.
The gameplay itself is enjoyable, as are the visuals and attention to detail. However, like any good horror game, it really does boil down to that feeling of powerlessness and trying to overcome it. Which, conveniently enough, ties into Ready or Not’s sense of mastery. You can’t change the events that have already happened – the crimes committed and the terrible trauma – but you can try to save any survivors and, as the game often says, “bring order to the chaos.”
When Judge finally reaches that point, be it in an Iron Man run or through clearing the hardest difficulty without anyone dying, maybe all the sacrifices will have been worth it. Perhaps, by that point, you aren’t desensitized to all the death that’s happened and look back on what it took to reach that point with some form of compassion. I can’t say that I’ve fully conquered my fears as commander, but it’s something to strive for in a world gone mad.
Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.
