Quantum Break Review
Remedy nails it again with another successful title. Just like Alan Wake, Quantum Break is heavily focused on telling a luring and interesting narrative. For the most part, it does well however they’re a lot more setbacks that hurt the enjoyment of the it’s story. Other than story, the game has fantastic visuals and decent gameplay, showcasing how much Remedy can do with the new technology on Xbox One. If you love story driven games, Quantum Break is excellent for you.
While Remedy’s overall plot and story isn’t bad, it’s story is much more generic than previous Remedy titles. Jack Joyce, the hero, is an archeologist who got caught up in his brother’s big life-changing project, the time machine. He went to visit his buddy, Paul Serene, who had worked with his brother to view the time machine. During a demonstration, the time machine failed, causing time to be broken. Paul Serene disappears and reveals that he’s the antagonist of this story and has been the leader of an evil corporation called Monarch. Throughout the game, you play as Jack (and Paul at the end of each episode) to find out how to truly fix time and ultimately, how to save the universe.
Like in Alan Wake, Remedy has a lot of collectibles and other hidden items that enhance and drive the game’s narrative. There are a complex amount of “intel” items like TV Shows, Presentations, Radios, Emails, and Posters. All of these are heavily full of background story on main characters, as well as other characters and ideas that don’t appear in game. Remedy did a much better job with these compared to previous titles; I hope some day I go back and read some of that stuff. Since this is Remedy, there were a lot of Alan Wake Easter Eggs, suggesting that Quantum Break takes place in the same universe and that a true Alan Wake sequel is on the way. (Please be true!) Another interesting and new aspect of the story is the implementation of live action TV episodes that tell more about the Paul Serene’s backstory. Sadly, it’s not that great. It’s boring and poorly shot in certain scenes, (especially fighting scenes) and there are certain scenes I wish were in the actual game itself. Although I admire Remedy for trying something new in video games, it’s just something that doesn’t work; it ruins the enjoyment of the actual game. Some aspects of story aren't great, but the overall gameplay and flow of the story is enjoyable to play (without the live action episodes)
Quantum Break has a more complex style of gameplay compared to previous Remedy titles. After the incident of time breaking, Jack Joyce received time powers as he was exposed during the failure of the time machine. Throughout the entire game, you unlock new powers (one or two per act is about how many). These powers include Time Stop, Time Dodge, Time Shield, Time Blast, and more. You can upgrade these as well, allowing you to use them more often and efficiently. I really liked the way the paced the way you unlock these powers and the fact that all of the powers were fun and useful to use. They did a great job showing how much power your character has. Other than the time powers, they’re also a low variety of weapons (guns) that you can use to fight the corporate goons, which seems to be a standard now for Remedy games. Sadly, the character movement in this game does not feel that great. There is no sprint button and the jumping is pretty weak and frustrating, especially when attempting certain puzzles. The game also has a cover system, which isn’t as bad as one would think. The game allows an open cover system, allowing you to move around freely while still hiding in cover. Personally, this is the only thing they did correctly in terms of movement. Compared to other Remedy titles, it seems that they’re slowing figuring out how to create a good movement system.
Quantum Break’s visuals are significantly exponential when compared to Alan Wake. There is no doubt that this game is probably one of the best looking games on Xbox One. For starters, the game runs pretty well with very little framerate issues. Although the game is 720p, the engine and overall looks of the game amazing. One thing I particularly loved was the use of the actual voice actors in the game. It made the game feel more like the cinematic story feel that Remedy has been trying to evoke ever since Alan Wake. The voice acting was also very well done, again adding that cinematic feel. While the visuals look great throughout the entire story, they specifically shine in the cutscene. I was genuinely shocked at how well done the face movement was, nailing each emotional reaction precisely and perfectly. There is no doubt that this is Remedy best when it comes to visuals, and envisioning them improving in future titles. Another Alan Wake with these stunning visuals would look amazing.
Although there are setbacks in Remedy’s newest title, Quantum Break is still overall an amazing game. It has an interesting and provocative narrative while attempting to bring new and old things to the table to enhance that said narrative. The gameplay is decent, adding interesting new and familiar ways to combat your enemies. Visually, the game is groundbreaking and some of the best we’ve seen on Xbox One. Remedy proves once again that a well-done narrative and story in a video game is definitely possible.
