The Order: 1886 – is this what people want from a new games console?

Sony's steampunk shooter has been criticised for its linear design and short playtime - but it looks beautiful. And it's selling

With its evocative representation of Victorian London, its interesting steampunk narrative and its cinematic sense of scale and pace, The Order: 1886, looks very much the benchmark new-generation console title. There's just one problem. It's not much of a game.

Developed by Ready at Dawn and Sony's own Santa Monica studio, and released last week, the title has drawn criticism from game review sites for its overtly linear design, and the fact that it can be finished in around six to eight hours. There's no multiplayer mode, so once the story of Arthurian knights protecting an alternate industrial-age London from hordes of beast people is over, that's your lot.