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Pros
Pro Superb graphics
Ryse: Son of Rome has fantastic, realistic looking graphics. It was ahead of the curve in 2013 and still is up there with the best today.
Pro Freeflow brawler combat
The combat system in Ryse: Son of Rome is very familiar to people who have played Arkham games, Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor or Mad Max. Usually, the player is outnumbered by enemies who take turns attacking. So the player has a basic attack, a parry/block move, a defense/shield breaking move and a combat roll that serves as a universal evade. Successful hits are counted in a hit chain, that after a certain number allows the player to reach an enraged buff state called "burning eagle". This freeflow brawler combat system, also often referred to as Arkham combat, makes it very suitable to play with a controller.
Cons
Con Repetitive
Make sure you love the combat system, because that's pretty much all you'll be doing throughout the game. It's a linear game with nice cinematic sequences, but in the end, you just move from place to place slashing up a bunch of copy paste mobs. The variety in this game consists of things like throwing pilums at archers, operating a ballista, advancing in formation with troops (including quick time button presses for blocking arrows and throwing pilums) or trying not to walk on traps etcetera.
Con PC port is not well optimized
Even people who have a powerful gaming PC to today's standards experience some stuttering in the framerate at some points.