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VOID Interactive’s Ready or Not shined as a PC-only, hardcore SWAT simulator, and it’s conversion to console has been met with a degree of controversy as the developers change a number of in-game elements to appease the will of console holders.
While some minor elements may be changed, the fact of the matter is that Ready or Not has lost little in its jump from PC to console. Sure, the additional dozen-plus buttons of a keyboard is somewhat better suited for the game’s myriad of options rather than its clunky context wheels but, for the most part, VOID’s conversion has resulted in the best SWAT simulator ever available on a console.
At its core, Ready or Not is a spiritual successor to the Sierra Interactive SWAT series of games, albeit one more suited to a modern era. You can play in solo where you command your crew of officers to take on advanced threats, or experience the entire game in online co-op multiplayer. You can play each mission individually, or play the game in simulator mode where your squad can die for good.
From the first mission, a crisis at a midnight gas station in the middle of a city, sets the tone of the game perfectly. As your squad enters the ransacked store, you’ll slowly and tactically sweep corners until you find a suspect, yell at them to surrender and “get the f**k down”, and hopefully zip-tie their hands without issue.
Of course, the real stress comes when a suspect is armed, brandishing their gun and wondering whether they should concede or pop one off at you. Do you fire a warning shot? Will that warning shot cause them to shoot back? That’s your call—every bullet is a devastating object that can kill, do you want to risk it? It’s even more stressful when they have a hostage.
Every mission is different, and the game evolves as you go, not just in level design and mechanics, but also in maturity. Some missions feel almost childish in their interpretation of events, such as the crypto bro server farm surrounded by big-breasted anime dolls and fursuits or the terrifying knife-wielding crackheads that run towards you and try to stab through your kevlar. But sometimes you’ll see something so disturbing it makes you stop for a moment, and that should be considered an achievement of its own.
As you play through the game, you’ll start coming up with your own tactics for taking care of specific threats. In missions where traps are laid, will you bring a mirrorgun to look under the doors? Or will you peek open just a bit and check for a wire yourself? Maybe you’ll bring a battering ram and just risk it. That’s not a sound tactic, and I would not recommend anyone else try it.
It helps a lot that Ready or Not’s missions change from run-to-run with some enemies changing places, some doors being trapped while others aren’t and the location of certain objects moving around. Just like a real SWAT encounter, intelligence can only get you so far, and you may accidentally find yourself getting ahead of yourself and turning a corner you thought was safe only to find a drug dealer with a 12-gauge ready for you.
But how exactly does it play on a console? Well, surprisingly well. Playing on a base PS5 in performance mode, Ready or Not mostly holds up when trading blows in even the largest of environments, although I personally had some minor issues with the game’s HDR in its brighter levels. Encounters run well and look great, and there’s an optional graphics mode for better visuals, but I wouldn’t recommend it.
Again, the game plays surprisingly well with a controller, so much so that I can’t imagine console players will feel at a detriment in cross-play, especially as there isn’t really a PvP option. (Technically, you and your friends can decide to PvP if you really want to as there is friendly-fire.) Outside of some finicky wheel menus, the game feels fantastic to play on controller, and the PS5’s adaptive triggers make every gun feel powerful in the hand.
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