At the launch of the XBOX One in 2013, Microsoft was struggling due to disastrous marketing and a higher price than the PS4. The American company had nevertheless managed to secure a few exclusives.

Developed by Crytek, Ryse: Son of Rome is a hack-and-slash action game that follows the epic journey of a Roman soldier. It was a visually stunning title for its time, but it didn’t achieve the success that was expected. This was due to overly simplistic gameplay—with its numerous QTEs—and an extremely short playtime.

These flaws can be attributed to intense crunch and the removal of two-thirds of the content in order to meet the deadlines that allowed Ryse: Son of Rome to launch alongside the XBOX One on November 22, 2013.

Furthermore, a recent article published by IGN reveals that Ryse was originally intended to become a franchise similar to Assassin’s Creed. In fact, several new games were planned, set in different settings such as Japan and the Viking era. Unfortunately, poor sales put an end to those plans, and Ryse eventually faded into obscurity.