Ready or Not Review: Immersive and Impressive

As a dedicated gamer, I’ve been eagerly anticipating the console release of Ready or Not, a hardcore shooter renowned for its emphasis on realism and tension. In this game, you become a SWAT agent, tasked with raiding houses, compounds, and apartments to apprehend drug dealers, sex traffickers, and other criminal elements. The objective isn’t just about charging into a room with guns blazing; it’s about being strategic. You have an array of tools at your disposal to execute your mission, whether it be lethally or non-lethally. It’s crucial to choose the right equipment for the job and assemble a formidable team, whether that’s human players or AI companions. The question is: are you ready for the challenge?

As a gamer, I can’t help but feel the adrenaline pumping as I navigate through “Ready or Not”. The main mission is always about securing the area from hostile forces, and every turn or door opened brings an unnerving sense of uncertainty. Peeking around corners or under doors with my high-tech gadgets doesn’t always guarantee safety; there could still be a hidden foe waiting to ambush me with a gun or a knife. What makes it even more challenging is that enemies can feign surrender, only to launch a surprise attack at the last possible moment. In this game, you never truly know when to lower your guard. I’ve learned the hard way – even after taking down all the enemies, a careless move could lead to stumbling upon a booby-trapped door, ending not just my life but also that of my gaming buddy.

In “Ready or Not,” the layout of the enemy positions varies each time you play, offering a fresh challenge every time. They might take hostages, hide in closets, dive into shadowy tunnels that need flashlights or night vision goggles, and more. If you meet your demise, you can’t resurrect until the mission concludes or is restarted. During one mission set in two dilapidated houses, my companions and I had cleared the first house and were navigating through the second one. I had strayed ahead to inspect a room when suddenly I heard quick footsteps behind me. By the time I turned around, I was already being attacked and was killed. From then on, we all decided it was safer to always have someone keeping watch over our backs to avoid sneak attacks. You’re consistently learning from your errors in this game.

In the intense action of Ready or Not, bullets tear through doors and explosives blast open rooms, immersing you in the raw power of conflict. You can eliminate opponents with just a couple precision shots, and the aftermath is chilling. The game’s violence is not only brutal but also intricately detailed – if you shoot someone in the head, their features will be almost unrecognizable. This realism serves to heighten the sense of danger, as you never feel safe for long. The threat level remains high throughout the game because even a single mistake can lead to your downfall, creating an electrifying tension that keeps you on edge.

In the high-octane game Ready or Not, the most exhilarating experience is undeniably during intense gunfights, with deafening gunshots echoing in your ears and the confusion caused by an unexpected ambush. However, to truly savor the game, its non-violent aspect offers a unique challenge. This is the key to earning an S-rank on a mission, which demands a flawless performance. It necessitates impeccable teamwork and communication since no one – not you, your enemies, nor civilians – can be harmed. Instead, everyone must use non-lethal weapons like pepperball guns, stun guns, or beanbag shotguns. Few games can replicate the level of coordination and synergy required in such a team effort. Everyone needs to stay in sync, or the operation could unravel swiftly.

One aspect that gave me pause before playing Ready or Not was wondering how effectively it would adapt to a gamepad, given its complex array of gadgets, commands, and intricacies in gameplay. While it’s simpler to assign all these functions to a full-sized keyboard, adapting them to a controller with limited buttons can be challenging. In practice, the controls function well for real-time gameplay, but I often found myself overlooking crucial controls and struggling to remember them without trial and error. Some commands in the game require simultaneous button presses or holding buttons instead of just pressing them, which adds an extra layer of complexity.

For example, I couldn’t remember how to set a light on the floor to show that a room was empty, and some controls felt awkward, such as the commands that needed me to rotate the analog stick multiple times to access different options. It wasn’t very user-friendly, but if you’re playing with people you know, this probably won’t be too big of a problem.

In other words, Ready or Not isn’t without its glitches. A significant aspect of the game’s scoring involves finding weapons scattered on the ground as proof. However, these weapons can vanish or become unreachable, impacting your total score negatively. The mission concludes once all evidence has been gathered. You can terminate it prematurely after completing primary objectives, but there were instances where my friends and I spent 15 minutes searching a map for the final gun we required, only to find that it seemed nonexistent.>

A persistent issue with the mentioned breaching charges is that instead of eliminating or incapacitating individuals on the other side of a door when used, their bodies have occasionally vanished only to reappear moments later and shoot me from behind. This can certainly be quite aggravating, so I hope it gets addressed soon.

In simpler terms, “Ready or Not” is an exceptionally intense and shocking shooting game I’ve encountered. It’s incredibly engaging, filled with suspense that makes your heart race, and meticulously crafted to provide an immersive experience. Although it has some imperfections, it’s a truly impressive game that I find myself returning to again and again. Whether you prefer raw, unfiltered combat or carefully planned raids, “Ready or Not” offers a diverse gaming experience that keeps me hooked.

Rating: 4 out of 5

An Xbox Series X|S code was provided by the publisher for this review.

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2025-07-24 22:55