Ready or Not (video game)

Ready or Not is an upcoming tactical first-person shooter developed and published by Ireland-based VOID Interactive and released for Microsoft Windows. Ready or Not follows the operations of a police SWAT team in the fictional city of Los Suenos, California, in the midst of a crime wave.

Ready or Not
Developer(s)VOID Interactive
Publisher(s)VOID Interactive
Composer(s)Dan Liston (formerly), Zack Bower
EngineUnreal Engine 4
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows
ReleaseDecember 17, 2021 (early access)
Genre(s)First-person shooter, tactical shooter
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Ready or Not was released through Steam early access on December 17, 2021. The game was well-received for its atmosphere and gameplay, and has been considered a spiritual successor to the similar SWAT series by Sierra Entertainment, but has also been criticized for its tone and the handling of its subject matter.

Gameplay
An in-game screenshot of a SWAT team preparing to breach a room in close-quarters combat.

In Ready or Not, the player takes the role of player character "Judge", the leader of a police tactical unit pitted against criminals. As a tactical shooter, realism is a central pillar of gameplay, with both players and enemies being killed in only a few shots; therefore, tactical strategies and careful planning are emphasized.

The player is given a wide selection of rifles, submachine guns, shotguns, and handguns to choose from, with extensive customization options for sights, rail attachments, suppressors, and other attachments. Equipment such as stun grenades, stinger grenades, fiberscopes, ballistic shields, and breaching devices are key items available for the player and their team to equip and use.[1] As the player is part of a police unit, apprehending suspects alive is greatly encouraged; therefore, a variety of less-lethal weapons such as tasers, riot guns, and pepper spray are available as alternatives to lethal force, and players are awarded more points for arresting suspects instead of killing them. However, unlike SWAT 3 and SWAT 4, less-lethal weapons such as beanbag shotguns and pepperball guns have the chance of either incapacitating or killing suspects and civilians alike.

A collage of screenshots depicting deceased, incapacitated, and restrained states for suspects and hostages in Ready or Not. The screenshots from the top right to the middle right are faked deaths.

Players are also encouraged to handcuff downed suspects as they can either be incapacitated or will fake their death in order to ambush the player. Ready Or Not recommends players to fire at the suspect's center of mass when using lethal force.[2]

Modes

Ready or Not's missions feature five game modes that vary in difficulty, with different rules of engagement (such as only killing a suspect if they are attempting to kill the player or others) that have penalties for violating them.

The five game modes are: "Barricaded Suspects", where suspects must be dealt with, hostages must be secured, and evidence must be collected, while following the RoE; "Raid", essentially Barricaded Suspects without RoE penalties; "Active Shooter", where one or more suspects actively targeting civilians must be stopped; "Bomb Threat", where bombs must be located and defused within a time limit; and "Hostage Rescue", where hostages must be saved from criminals who will attempt to execute them upon detecting police presence.[3]

Missions are available in singleplayer with AI teammates, or cooperatively with up to five other players through online multiplayer. A competitive player versus player mode is planned for sometime after 1.0 release on Steam.

Development

Development began in June 2016 and a reveal trailer was released on YouTube on May 3, 2017.[4] An alpha version of the game was made available on August 19, 2019[5] for owners of the Supporter Edition under a non-disclosure agreement. Supporters and select YouTubers were invited to a PvP test in April 2020 and were allowed to publish footage.[6][7] A partnership with Team17 to publish the game under their label was announced on March 22, 2021.[8] The game was released on Steam Early Access on December 17, 2021.[9] The game's full release is slated to include a mission dealing with swatting and illegal crypto mining.[10] The 1.0 release also addresses overhauls to the effectiveness of less-lethal equipment.[11]

Publishing issues

On December 20, 2021, VOID Interactive announced that their partnership with Team17 had ended and that they would no longer be publishing the game. Speculation suggested that this was due to the developers teasing a school shooting level on Reddit one day prior,[12] although this was denied by VOID.[13]

On June 16, 2022, Ready or Not was delisted from Steam after a takedown request was issued against the game for trademark infringement relating to a level set in a nightclub.[14][15] Though media reports suggested it was connected to the level's release date—June 12, the anniversary of the 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting[16] (VOID did not comment on why this date was chosen)—it was noted that the name of the in-game nightclub, "Pryzm", was also the name of a British nightclub chain owned by Rekom UK.[14][15][17] The game returned to Steam on June 18 with the infringing elements removed.[14][15][17]

Reception

Ready or Not was the best selling game on Steam in the week after its release and has been described as a spiritual successor to the SWAT series and early Rainbow Six games.[18][19]

Ross Vernon of GameTyrant praised the game, stating it was "on track to becoming something great upon final release".[1] Christian Schwarz of GameStar praised the gameplay and atmosphere, but noted it was "still a long way" from reaching the prestige of the SWAT series.[19] Andres Berumen of FPS Champion highlighted the game's immersion and extensive customization and loadout options for an early access game, but criticized the game's "glitchy and illogical" AI and lack of a tutorial.[3]

Rick Lane, writing for NME, praised the game's atmosphere and similarities to SWAT 4, but said he felt uncomfortable with the game's "propaganda"-like depiction of law enforcement, especially in the wake of the George Floyd protests, and opined VOID Interactive would be unable to effectively handle the game's touchy subject matter unless "it is willing to ask the questions that SWAT 4 never did".[20]

Ethan Gach, writing an early review for Kotaku, called Ready or Not a "tactical horror game" and "an unsettling SWAT fantasy", praising its atmosphere but also criticizing it as tasteless due to insensitivity towards police brutality and jarring tonal shifts between crude humor and dark drama. Gach also unfavorably highlighted apparent references to alt-right memes such as redpill and the use of "Jogger" as a racist euphemism (in reference to Ahmaud Arbery). VOID responded to Gach's review, denying any connection to extremism, claiming the alleged dog whistles were coincidental, and stating they would remove the references in question.[21]

References
  1. Vernon, Ross (December 4, 2022). "READY OR NOT First Impression: Unprecedented SWAT Tactics". GameTyrant. Archived from the original on March 29, 2023. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
  2. Ready or Not - Blood and Gore Improvements (Adam Update) (Archive)
  3. Berumen, Andres (May 26, 2022). "Detailed Ready or Not Review (Early Access)". FPS Champion. Archived from the original on January 10, 2023. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
  4. Burns, Ben (May 5, 2017). "Tactical FPS Ready Or Not announced via gritty teaser trailer". PCGamesN. Archived from the original on November 16, 2022. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
  5. VOID Interactive (August 19, 2019). "READY OR NOT SUPPORTER ALPHA AVAILABLE NOW TO PLAY. ALPHA IS LIVE UNTIL JUST BEFORE OUR BETA IN 2020". Twitter. Archived from the original on June 8, 2023. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
  6. Rogue-9 (April 29, 2020). "Ready or Not (Alpha) Loadout Options". Archived from the original on June 8, 2023. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
  7. All Guns and Equipment! - Ready Or Not Alpha (Archive)
  8. Nelva, Giuseppe (March 22, 2021). "Squad-Based Tactical Shooter Ready or Not Will Launch Under Team17's Label". Twinfinite. Archived from the original on November 16, 2022. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
  9. Chris J, Capel (December 18, 2021). "Rainbow Six and SWAT heir Ready or Not is out now in early access". PCGamesN. Archived from the original on March 31, 2023. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
  10. READY OR NOT: Streamer. VOID Interactive. June 29, 2023. Archived from the original on June 29, 2023. Retrieved June 29, 2023 – via YouTube. Introducing Streamer, our ambitious upcoming map that will be available with the arrival of the 1.0 release.
  11. "Vol.61 - Ready or Not Development Briefing: Police Trailer Units, Less Lethal QOL Overhauls, Blocking Volumes, Farm Level Overhaul, and VFX improvements". Steam. VOID Interactive. October 6, 2023. [Internal gameplay] found that pepper spray was sometimes too powerful for use against armed suspects in combat contexts. Now, instead of a full stun, suspects who are affected with pepper spray will cover their eyes, experience an accuracy reduction, and have a morale drop. In this blinded state they are still capable of shooting the player up close.
  12. Jeremy, Winslow (December 22, 2021). "Game Loses Publisher Days After Devs Remind Fans About Apparent School Shooting Level". Kotaku. Archived from the original on March 15, 2023. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
  13. Chalk, Andy (December 24, 2021). "Ready or Not studio says planned 'school shooting' level did not cause split with publisher". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on April 27, 2023. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
  14. Bankhurst, Adam (June 19, 2022). "Ready or Not Back on Steam Following a Takedown Request Concerning Trademark Infringement". IGN. Archived from the original on January 10, 2023. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
  15. Smith, Graham (June 18, 2022). "Ready Or Not is back on Steam after being removed for alleged trademark infringement, devs say". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Archived from the original on January 10, 2023. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
  16. "Ready or Not pulled from Steam after adding nightclub shooting level". GamesIndustry.biz. June 20, 2022. Archived from the original on January 10, 2023. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
  17. "'Ready Or Not' Was Not Pulled Due To Nightclub Shooting Map, Says Developers". GAMINGbible. June 18, 2022. Archived from the original on January 10, 2023. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
  18. Bailey, Dustin (December 27, 2021). "The best-selling game of the Steam Winter Sale isn't on sale". PCGamesN. Archived from the original on March 23, 2023. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
  19. Schwarz, Christian (January 21, 2022). "Ready or Not im Test: Der Taktik-Shooter ist SWAT (noch) nicht würdig" [Ready or Not in the test: The tactical shooter is not (yet) worthy of the big SWAT]. GameStar (in German). Archived from the original on March 17, 2023. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
  20. Lane, Rick (January 5, 2022). "'Ready Or Not' is a well-made tactical FPS that I feel uncomfortable playing". NME. Archived from the original on January 27, 2023. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
  21. Gach, Ethan (January 6, 2022). "Controversial Steam Best Seller Ready Or Not Is An Unsettling SWAT Fantasy". Kotaku. Archived from the original on April 27, 2023. Retrieved January 9, 2022.
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