Nearly three years ago, Remedy announced Quantum Break as a game that would “blur the line between television and gameplay integrating the two into one seamless, uniquely immersive experience.” The lofty premise from the makers of Max Payne and Alan Wake reaches for the stars, do Shawn Ashmore, Aidan Gillen, and Dominic Monaghan bring the world of Quantum Break to life?
Artistic Achievement
Remedy has always made incredibly dense games full of easter eggs and environments full of information that’s far beyond other studios, and Quantum Break could be their best-looking game to date. Unfortunately, Jack Joyce, the star of the game, is one of the least-developed protagonists in modern game history. He’s thrust into the action and told to “go” with dead bad guys piling up around him. Even the live-action episodes don’t do much to build him up as a character. Despite taking quite a bit of flack for its 720p resolution, the game looks gorgeous, especially when all hell breaks loose and you’re wielding your powers to stop time without a hiccup.
Innovation
The real innovation here seems to come from the game’s embracing of live action video, but to me, these episodes come off as cheap and pointless. Nearly every time I would get into a groove, I would be disrupted by a long (22 minutes plus) live action episode following Jack Joyce and the possibly evil (depending on your point of view) Monarch Industries. There are very Mass Effect-esque branching paths that affect the live-action sequences, but ultimately I wanted to skip each episode and get back to playing the game. When it came down to it, I’d watch a TV show if I wanted to watch a TV show and this is a video game. I understand that binging episodes on Netflix is the thing to do, but this simply doesn’t translate.
Gameplay-wise, there is little innovation. Joyce’s time-powers are a lot like Infamous‘ in the sense that you have a shield, you have a speed burst, you have the ability to interact with the environment and rewind certain areas into a previous form (but only those areas), and you find power upgrades to make your powers stronger. If it sounds familiar, it’s because it is. This is the exact type of upgrade system we’ve seen since the dawn of gaming. The platforming sequences are fine, but they are little more than jumping from platform to platform with floaty controls until the next cut-scene plays. The platforming is almost completely unneeded and feels tacked on.
Execution
One thing you can depend on Remedy for is satisfying gunplay. Quantum Break feels like Max Payne meets Infamous with a little less oomph when you pull the trigger. Maybe it’s because there are so many damn enemies constantly being thrown at you, disrupting the game’s solid plot and lessening the impact of the live-action sequences, but it’s fair to say that this is Remedy’s least-satisfying outing. That said, when the going gets rough, and your powers and shotgun are clicking on all cylinders, the game is definitely fun and rewarding, just not Alan Wake with a shotgun rewarding.
Staying Power
The staying power of Quantum Break depends on the player. Despite being a game rooted in the never-ending possibilities of time travel, it’s a very linear game, outside the few and far between branching path sequences. Players who really dig the live-action sequences and want to see every possibility of Jack Joyce’s past and future play out will want to play the game twice, but beyond that, there’s no reason to go back and visit.
Bullsh*t Factor
An utter lack of bullsh*t is the cherry on top of Quantum Break. For pre-ordering, you get either a free copy of Alan Wake and Alan Wake: American Nightmare or Xbox 360 launch title Kameo. Free games are good, and free Alan Wake is great. Granted, Quantum Break is both a little short and a little thin for the asking price, with six to eight hours of gameplay mixed in with the roughly two hours of live-action sequences. It’s no doubt a triple-A title, but $60 is a lot to spend on a game that you may not like, or connect with, these days. Still, free Alan Wake.
Final Thoughts
Quantum Break is trying to be too many things at once. It’s plot-heavy when it wants to be, it’s non-stop action when it wants to be, and it’s a TV show when it wants to be, but none of those pillars really stand on their own when separated from the monolithic structure that it wants to be. As a fan of time travel in narratives, I enjoyed the solid acting and interesting plot. The game looks great, but in the end, if you pick up Quantum Break, you need to be a certain type of gamer who doesn’t want to play online and wants a TV show to go along with its tried and true gameplay. You’ve been here before, for better or worse.