The first major exclusive that Sony chose to highlight during their E3 press conference today was the Victorian-themed shooter The Order: 1886, which premiered this time last year with a gorgeous CG trailer. We’ve gotten a glimpse of gameplay in the year since then, but the latest E3 trailer offers the best of both worlds, demonstrating just how thin the line between cutscene and gameplay is for The Order.
Emphasizing the horror aspects of its gothic setting, the trailer sees player character Galahad, the leader of an ancient order of ageless knights, creeping his way through a dankly lit research centre. We’re soon given our first look at the main enemies in The Order known as half-breeds, flesh-eating ghouls that look to be half-zombie, half-werewolves. The were-zombie doesn’t take kindly to Galahad interrupting his supper, and a tense chase ensues.
Though mainly a showcase for the game’s impressive in-engine visuals, the most engaging element is how cutscenes bleed into gameplay, and vice-versa. The moments of player-controlled gunplay in the trailer are very limited, as they almost seamlessly transition out of one cutscene, and then back into another.
See all the 19th century action for yourself in the trailer below, as you’ll have to wait until 2015 to get your hands on The Order: 1886.