Ready or Not

Overview

2023 puts you in charge of a modern SWAT team in Ready or Not, a tactical first-person shooter built around tense entries, fast decisions, and ugly surprises. You lead officers through hostile situations in the fictional city of Los Sueños, where criminals, terrorists, and civilians can all be part of the same dangerous room. The job is simple to say and hard to survive: secure the scene, keep control, and bring order out of chaos.

The game leans hard into realism. You equip real-world weapons and gear, plan each move, and choose between lethal and less-lethal tools depending on what the mission throws at you. Suspects can fake surrender, hide, flee, or use hostages, so rushing in is a fine way to discover how quickly a bad call turns into a disaster. In single player, AI teammates can follow your orders, while online co-op lets you build a squad with other players.

Ready or Not also gives you room to shape how you approach the job. The Commander mode adds officer management between missions, Training explains the basics, and Ironman Mode raises the stakes by resetting progress if you die. It is a grim, methodical shooter with a very clear idea of tension: every corner matters, every weapon choice matters, and every room may be worse than the one before it.

Why play it

• Tense SWAT action built around careful breaches
• Real-world weapons, gear, and less-lethal options
• Single-player squad command with AI teammates
• Online co-op for missions with up to 5 players

Quick facts

Beginner walkthrough

Start with training

Use Training to learn the basics before jumping into live missions. It takes place in the firing range of the LSPD station and covers core tools and command basics, which is a very sensible place to begin when the job involves doors, suspects, and bullets.

Command your squad

In single player, you direct a squad of four SWAT members split into red and blue elements. You can order the whole team at once or control each element separately, which helps when one doorway looks harmless and the next one very much does not.

Choose your approach

Ready or Not gives you weapons, optics, grenades, shields, and breaching tools, plus less-lethal options such as tasers, riot guns, and pepper spray. Arresting suspects is encouraged, and the game rewards careful planning and situational awareness over loud heroics.

Key characters

• Los Sueños Police Department SWAT command

  This is the unit you lead as you push into dangerous calls across Los Sueños.

• SWAT officers teammates

  These highly trained officers follow your commands and help you clear rooms, cover angles, and survive the mission.

• Los Sueños fictional city

  The city is overwhelmed by crime and corruption, and every assignment tries to keep it from sliding further.

Our take

Ready or Not is all about controlled violence, nerve, and the constant risk of a room going bad in seconds. If you like tactical shooters that reward patience, team orders, and the restraint to arrest instead of blast, it has a sharp, punishing rhythm. The atmosphere is bleak, the missions are tense, and the badge feels heavy for a reason.

FAQ