Ready or Not on Xbox Series X feels like a deliberate throwback to a more considered era of tactical gameplay. It tasks you to slow down, think, and act with precision — and while it doesn’t always hit the mark, it’s certainly aiming at a target most modern shooters have long since abandoned.
You play as the leader of a SWAT team, either in single-player “Commander” mode or as part of a multiplayer squad. Missions are varied, intense, and often unsettling, with themes that lean heavily into the darker corners of modern policing. Ready or Not is a game about procedure, control, and the constant tension of not knowing what’s behind the next door.
Whilst the overriding command is to “bring order to chaos” you’re rewarded less for kills and more for arrests. Securing civilians, collecting evidence, and following proper procedure all contribute to your mission score. It’s a refreshing change of pace, and one that feels appropriate given the subject matter. Ready or Not encourages restraint, and whilst lethal force is sometimes (and often) necessary, it’s never the default.
The control scheme reflects this. You can peek through doors, lean around corners, use camera wires to scout rooms, and deploy breaching tools like rams and flashbangs – not to mention that the A button is dedicated to shouting for suspects to stand down. You can split your team, issue complex commands and coordinate multi-angle entries to a single room or building. It’s a lot to take in, and on Xbox, it can feel a little clunky at times — but it’s also quite satisfying when it all comes together.
One of Ready or Not’s strengths is its mission variety. The base game offers a solid campaign, and the two bundled DLC campaigns build on it with new scenarios that follow on from the original storyline. Missions range from hostage rescues in suburban homes to raids on drug dens, cult compounds, and even nightclubs. Each location feels distinct, and the level design is consistently strong – and sometimes, surprising!
Thematically, Ready or Not doesn’t shy away from adult content. You’ll encounter disturbing scenes, morally grey situations, and environments that feel ripped from real-world headlines or movies like Sicario. It’s not gratuitous, but it can be intense — and it adds a layer of authenticity that’s rare in the genre. That said, much ado has been made because the Xbox version has been censored compared to the original PC release.
Based on what I’ve been able to read, certain missions and visual elements have been toned down or removed entirely to meet console content guidelines – with nudity and extreme dismemberment the main targets for removal. While the core experience remains intact, it’s worth noting that some of the game’s more controversial material has been softened should that be, erm, a problem for you.
Beyond the missions themselves, Ready or Not introduces a squad management system that adds a layer of strategic depth. Team members can suffer physical injuries and mental fatigue, and you’ll need to rotate them to keep your squad in top shape. Repeat deployments earn experience, unlocking perks and improving performance — but pushing your team too hard can lead to mistakes. It’s a system that reminded me of X-Com and other squad-based strategy games, and there’s a mild sense of investment in your team, where losing a veteran officer to burnout or injury can be genuinely frustrating. It’s not a deep system, but it adds just enough weight to make you think twice before sending the same squad into another high-risk mission.
Unfortunately, the police station hub — which acts as your base between missions — feels oddly lifeless. Despite having holding cells, an armoury, and various other rooms, there’s very little to interact with. You’re randomly dropped into different areas after each mission, and while the environment is well-designed, it serves little purpose beyond atmosphere. The doctor or chief even summon you occasionally, but when you visit them, they don’t seem to have anything to say and cannot be interacted with.
If Ready or Not has a major flaw, it’s probably the erratic difficulty curve. Some missions feel finely tuned, offering a balanced challenge that rewards careful planning. Others feel downright unfair. One mission, set in a trapped cabin, had me losing multiple team members to exploding doors with no apparent way to detect them. If there’s a tool for identifying traps, the game certainly didn’t tell me about it and so I blundered my way through with trial and error – leaving many dead recruits in my wake thanks to the “no restarts” approach that the game mandates.
This lack of clarity extends to other areas as well. The tutorial is minimal, and while the game does a decent job of introducing basic mechanics, it leaves a lot unexplained. For a game that demands precision and adherence to procedure, it’s surprising how often you’re left guessing about what the “correct” approach actually is. That said, when Ready or Not works — when you breach a room, secure a suspect, and clear a building without a single casualty — it’s incredibly satisfying. The tension, the pacing, the sense of accomplishment — it all comes together in a way that few shooters manage.
Visually, Ready or Not is impressive. The environments are detailed, the lighting is atmospheric, and the character models are solid. It’s not pushing the boundaries of graphical fidelity, but it nails the tone and aesthetic. The sound design is particularly strong, with realistic weapon audio, ambient noise, and voice lines that add to the immersion.
Performance on Xbox Series X is generally stable, though there are occasional frame drops and minor bugs. Load times are reasonable, and the game runs smoothly in most scenarios. The UI is functional, if a little utilitarian, and while the control scheme takes some getting used to, it’s manageable once you’ve spent a few hours with it.
In a market full of fast-paced, relatively shallow shooters, Ready or Not is slow, thoughtful, and grounded. It doesn’t quite reach the heights of the classic Rainbow Six titles that I think it seeks to replicate, but it’s far from the bottom of the barrel either. Ready or Not is a game with ambition and while it stumbles occasionally, it never loses sight of what it’s trying to be. I like its honest presentation, despite the occasional flaw.
If you’re looking for a tactical shooter that rewards patience, planning, and precision — and you’re willing to forgive a few rough edges — then Ready or Not is well worth your time. It’s not the most polished game on the Xbox, but it’s one of the most interesting of its kind and one that I certainly enjoyed for what it was.
Ready or Not is available now for PC, PlayStation and Xbox.
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