Ready or Not review – please stop shooting me in the head

I’m not sure SWAT guys scream “it’s me, it’s me” every time they turn a corner or open a door, but I do. I do because my squadmates keep shooting me in the head and blinding me with flashbangs, which is only slightly less inconvenient than being shot in the head. 

This is just how it is when you first start playing Ready or Not, the brutal tactical FPS from Void Interactive, which just landed on console for the first time. Enemies kill you so quickly that you develop a kind of reflex — if you see a head, you shoot the head, whether it be the enemy’s or one of your pals’. 

Ready or Not’s enemy AI turns you into a nervous wreck. They hide around corners, under beds, and in cupboards. They squeeze through gaps and flank. They shoot you before you’ve even seen them, and train their aim on doors they think you’re about to burst through. Sometimes they shoot you straight through the door if they happen to hear you on the other side. They take human shields. The whole friend head shooting thing is somewhat understandable because this often feels like a horror game. 

It places you in horrible situations. An active shooter on a college campus, a terrorist incident at a nightclub, a model agency preying on kids — it’s messed up, an even more deranged younger cousin to SWAT 4. Some of it feels like it’s played for shock value, but it does its job of anchoring you in the world with relatable stakes. These are situations you’ve seen on the news. With a few exceptions, there are clear bad guys here. 

While the developers had to tone down some of this for the console port, the changes are minor and don’t detract from the overall experience. 

Variety is one of the game’s biggest strengths. There are dozens of different situations (even more with the DLC) to tackle, and each has a completely different mood. Randomisation of enemy placement, traps, and hostages keeps them replayable. By the third or fourth time through, you might even stop shooting each other in the head. 

It’s tough to launch a cop game in 2025, but I actually think Ready or Not finds a good balance. Those exceptions I spoke about come in the form of a handful of missions where you can empathize with the enemy. A cult of vigilante women seeking revenge on abusers, or a streamer who’s been swatted, blur the lines a bit and make it clear that militarized cops probably aren’t the solution to everything. But by the time you’ve started to process that, you’ve probably realized the real game isn’t all about shooting heads anyway. It’s discouraged.

The highest rank for each mission can only be obtained if you arrest every single suspect and save every hostage. No killing, and no deaths on your squad. That forces you to think more tactically, coming in with gas and masks, riot shields, and pepper ball ammunition. It makes the game much harder because a lot of enemies don’t put their guns down freely, but it’s extremely satisfying when you pull it off. It takes proper coordination, speed, and meticulousness, clearing every room with shock and awe tactics and fanning out as a squad, watching each other’s backs. 

Of course, it’s not all perfect. I’ve had to restart missions because a piece of evidence didn’t appear, preventing me from getting an S Rank, or a hostage phased into the scenery. Sometimes the AI feels omnipotent, tracking you perfectly through solid walls. The lack of any real stealth options, especially since you can equip silencers, feels like a missed opportunity. It’s also weird that your elite SWAT guys can’t mantle a low obstacle or breach through windows. There’s no rappelling, which is a travesty. 

Still, there’s nothing quite like this — especially since Ubisoft turned Rainbow Six into an online hero shooter. No one makes proper hardcore military sims anymore; that door has been closed for a while. Well, Ready or Not kicked the door right in and proved there’s still a massive audience for them on PC. With a few patches, I’m sure it’ll do the same on console.