This Is The Most Realistic, Tactical Swat 4 Spiritual Successor!

In 2005 Irratational Games released Swat 4, one of my favorite law enforcement tactical shooters of all time. No developer since has scratched that itch for me, until now. Strap into your 8″ combat boots and get ready for this hardcore tactical shooter developed by VOID Interactive. Over my 40-hour brutal playthrough, we’ve dispatched terrorists at a nightclub, rescued hostages from a hospital, and eliminated active shooters at a local gas station. But does this Early Access game live up to the over 75,000 very positive reviews on steam?

Initially released in early access in December 2021, Ready Or Not takes you through primarily US locations varying from hospitals, to night clubs, to gas stations, to a post office as a swat officer. You can either play with AI-controlled squadmates or you can bring your friends along and take on the mission together. As of writing this article, you cannot yet bring AI-controlled squadmates with you in addition to your online companions so you’ll need to have a few friends eager to join you unless you enjoy the punishment. The AI is still being worked on and tweaked but overall they seem very reactive to various situations. You can issue commands to the AI teammates as your team leader which will feel very familiar to the Swat 4 players. But outside of these commands, the AI will just stare into the wall waiting for you to communicate with them. You can customize outfits, customize over 35 weapons (Like the well-known AWRC and MP5) with various attachments, decide what material your armor plates are made out of, and even go less lethal if the situation calls for it. Fret NOT you players outside of the United States though, as of October this year they have implemented mod.io integration which opens up endless possibilities for level design and other game assets to be included by the community. We won’t dive into the various mods so far released, but I can say, it is extensive, and the community is thriving.

Make no mistake, this game is rated M for mature for a reason. You are a swat officer assigned with various duties like hostage rescue, terrorist elimination, bomb threats, and other scenarios all complementing themselves nicely together. The inclusion of an active shooter mission was a hot debate in the community upon release but I think they executed this controversial topic with tact and didn’t overstep any boundaries here with the current level design. They also added a new gory update released under the name “Adam Release” they’ve implemented bullet penetration and body damage modifications this game will definitely make you double-take and say ” Did I really just see that?”. If you’ve played Blood Trail at all in the VR, you’ll see a lot of similar features here in regards to the gore effects, arterial bleeds, and incapacitation but in my opinion, done much more tastefully and tactfully.

But is it all rainbows and sunshine? There are a few too many similarities for me between Ready Or Not and Swat 4 for me to give this game my utmost praise though. They do capture the same grim and dark atmosphere that Swat 4 had which in my opinion was the correct choice. The AI control wheel, a lot of the animations of the suspects and swat members, and an almost direct copy of the level design of FairFax Residence that was found in Swat 4 make me question the thought process of the development team a little. They also shy away from the political atmosphere surrounding law enforcement today and the challenges of the “Us Vs The Police” mentality. Because of this, Ready Or Not almost seems like a cops and robbers version rather than a true-to-life swat tactical experience.