Game Review: Ord. (Xbox Series X)

How do you review a game like Ord.? It takes the old-school text adventure game idea and strips it away to its bare minimum. A minimum of three words, in fact. Yes, Ord.’s big selling point is that it tells its stories in three-word pieces. You make decisions, advance the story, all with the minimal number of words, visuals, and sounds.

Text appears on the screen – three words that sum up your entire predicament, location, and what potential actions you can take. Make your choice and move on to the next screen. Each decision getting you closer to the end of the story, be it a successful experience or one that ends in death – often in hilarious style.

Yes, Ord. has a significant amount of tongue in cheek humour to it, especially as the stories on offer vary in style. The randomised nature of the three-words also means you never know just what the next screen will show.

It can be fun seeing how each decision plays out, especially as the three-word system makes gameplay peppy and easy to just have ‘one more go’.

Alongside the minimalistic gameplay comes minimalistic visuals and minimalistic sounds. Ord. really is a throwback in that regard. Yet, it’s the replay value that the varied stories, different paths, and clever twists and turns offer, that will bring you back time and time again.

Don’t expect too much and you won’t be disappointed. A nice way to waste an hour or so of a day.