I’m a big fan of game developers being brave and trying something new. It isn’t something we tend to see very often in big budget games these days, whether that’s down to publishers dictating that a developer should make a game that is guaranteed to make money, or some other reason. But thankfully we still have developers like Remedy. And with Quantum Break they have shown again that they are a brave studio that are willing to risk trying something new, and I’m very thankful that they have.
Quantum Break has been a long time coming. There have been delays and massive changes along the way, and there were even times where internet murmurs suggested that it may not even come out at all. Finally we are here though, with a game filled with recognisable actors, who are able to use their acting skills in actual live action TV style episodes throughout the game. But onto that in a short while. Quantum Break, at its core is about the story. And despite all its nifty time bending tricks allowing new gameplay options to the tried and tested third person shooter formula, I was always more focussed on the story than anything else.
You are Jack Joyce, and you help your friend Paul Serene turn on a time machine. This doesn’t go totally as plan and it creates a ‘fracture in time’. Now, I’m not going to go too much into detail here, mostly because reading it in black and white on the page may be a bit confusing to both write and understand without exposure to the game itself. Let’s just say you need to use your new found powers (which you have thanks to turning on the machine) to try to fix the problem before time ends completely, which naturally, is not the ideal outcome. The gameplay parts of the game focus solely on Jack, the 4 live actions sequences (which clock in at around 20-30 minutes each) follow other characters of the game. It is a really refreshing way to tell a story, and be able to flesh out multiple characters in a way that hasn’t really been seen before.
The live action sections come just after a ‘Junction’, this is where you (controlling Paul Serene) get to make a choice that will impact what happens in the next episode, and have a knock on effect to the rest of the game. Choices do matter, and there are is a list of things that may or may not happen during the course of the story depending on the choices that you make at these points. Happily these live action sections of the game have had a good amount of money put behind them and the production values are high. I think the inclusion of these episodes makes the game a bit more ‘bingey’. What I mean by that is that it’s not one I wanted to pick up and play for 20 minutes. I wanted to have long sessions to get to the next Junction, or beyond that. And I found that the story benefits from paying it attention for longer runs at a time.
It could be quite easy to look at this game in different way depending on how you want to play. Yes you could play through as a third person shooter using the fancy time manipulation powers you have as Jack Joyce. Or you could treat it as a game that wants you to discover its story. Scattered throughout each levels there are plenty of emails, TV shows, radio shows, leaflets and more that really add the meat to the bones. I chose the latter, and while you can’t bypass the shooting sequences, I’m so glad that I focussed on expanding the story and discovering more about the world and the events that led to the day you’re playing through. It also adds a decent chunk of play time. If you rush through not bothering with reading a watching the addition stuff you’ll be looking at sub 10 hours. I discovered almost 95% of the different items and clocked in just over 15. And in a market full of 100+ hour games having a more conventional action story game is absolutely fine.
Don’t expect to be blown away by the shooting aspect of the game. It is a fairly standard affair in that regard, and even with the time powers – which are really cool, and add a new dimension to the genre – shoot outs do start to become a little repetitive. Some of the more difficult enemies have a certain way of being defeated which leads to the same tactics being used. Don’t get me wrong, what’s on offer here is perfectly adequate, but this game wouldn’t be scoring so highly if it relied solely on its mechanics. Thankfully there is a cracking story driving it.
Visually on the other hand it is very nice to look at, and despite some very minor niggles here and there it holds up very well next to the top graphics this generation. The use of the ‘time stutters’ allow for pauses in time leaving everything suspended where it stops. There are bullets and their trail lines scattered around with debris from the environment. The character models are also fantastic and with real life actors lending their likenesses the facial animations are also top notch.
Quantum Break is a success in my eyes. A unique story which is a joy to experience at both gaming and ‘sit back and watch’ levels. While there is scope for sequels I hope it stays as a standalone experience. Either way, long may Remedy continue to explore their imaginations and hopefully allowed the freedom to put it out to the gaming world for us to enjoy.
**Thank you to XCN for providing the review copy of this game**