Review: Quantum Break

It has certainly been a long wait for Quantum Break for Xbox One Gamers. It was first announced during the Xbox One reveal event back in 2013. Developed by Remedy Entertainment who brought us Max Payne and Alan Wake game series, Quantum Break has suffered from delays which moved its release from 2014 to 2015 and finally moved to April 2016. A game all about time, it had certainly kept us waiting long enough. But has that wait been worth it?

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=wQt8sH2Ag0M

The main character of the story is Jack Joyce, summoned home by his best friend Paul Serene to help him finish a science experiment that will both change the world and take Paul’s company Monarch, to new heights. Jacks brother William had been helping Paul but was against the decision to activate the experiment. That experiment was a fully working time machine. But something goes wrong and time is broken, but that event also gives both Jack and Paul time manipulation powers. Powers which the player will need to master in order to repair time and save the world.

The foundation to Quantum Break is essentially a third person action adventure shooter but for me what stands out most is the intricate storytelling that allows the player to choose the path their game will take in the story by their actions and decisions. As a sci-fan, having a story that focuses on time powers and time travel can be a dangerous mechanic which can unravel under the weight of its own story. But Remedy have been meticulous in grounding rules that allow the wonder of time powers and all the time whimey shenanigans to not run out of control.

I will start with the cool fun stuff first, the time powers Jack Joyce will start to develop, abilities that grow stronger as the game progresses. From the ability to sense where enemies are to trapping enemies in a time bubble or creating a time shield around Jack to prevent taking damage. The time abilities are implemented so well that as they grow stronger, they can be combined together to amazing effect. They also blend really well with the traditional third person shooting which allows the player to take on multiple enemies all at once.

What I found to be a compelling aspect to both the story and the gameplay is how the enemy can also adapt to counter the Time Fracture and Jacks time powers, which stops fights becoming too one sided in favour of the player. Stutters are moments when time is frozen and no one and nothing is able to move. However Jacks abilities allow him to move normally within a Stutter and soon Monarch forces will begin to carry technology that allows them to also move within the Stutters and as a result allow them to counter, cancel and even copy Jack’s time powers as the story advances leading to some amazing encounters that will test what the player has learned in the game.

All the action is great fun and there are some stunning big moment set pieces that some of the most impressive moments on the Xbox One yet. Visually Quantum Break is one of the best looking titles right now on the console. Character models are simply amazing in their detail on screen, some of the best mocappping work I have seen in recent years. It really brings each character to life on screen to drive the story immersion to great effect. Environments that you explore come alive even more because of time being broken and the effects are so striking on screen as the Stutters freeze everything mid moment at times that you can get a real good look at the world with time stopped. Quantum Break really is a game that showcases the power of the Xbox One console.

How Quantum Break tells its story and brings the player into its world for me is the games strongest feature and accomplishes this in a really multi layered fresh way. Through the gameplay narrative the story is being told by Jack himself as he is retelling the story from his viewpoint. As you explore each of the five story acts that make up the game, the player can start to piece together the bigger picture via the collectibles which broaden out the story such as learning more about the characters working in Monarch and their intentions leading up to the accident. They are worth finding because the information you gather will come to shape the choices that influence how the events unfold. The player will also come across Quantum Ripples, moments that can change events in the story in the most delicate of ways which only come to make sense as you move through the game. For example, early in the first act you notice all the lights in the area shutting down, later you discover that by triggering a Quantum Ripple later in the game that it was that actioned that caused lights to go out. Time is used so well that everything that happens in the story and to Jack is explained by the time you reach the end and in a way that is satisfying.

At the end of each Act the player will reach a Junction, and this is where Quantum Break really stands out. At the junction the player will switch from controlling Jack to controlling Paul Serene and will be given two choices which will steer the direction of the story and gameplay events going forward. Those familiar with player choice in TellTale games will have a good idea of how player choice can change the game experience but often you will not know the consequences of that choice until a later moment. Quantum Break will show you what path each choice can lead, which along with the information from the collectibles will guide the player to take a path they want the story to take naturally. It does mean you will need to play the game at least twice to experience ALL possible options and gameplay that follow the junction choices.

The cast of Quantum Break is very recognisable with actors from both film and TV in the main roles with Sean Ashmore, Dominic Monaghan, Aiden Gillen and Courtney Hope and this was a deliberate casting choice to have such an experienced cast due to Quantum Break using TV episodes to tell the other half of the games story. Once the player has made their choice at a Junction, the game will switch to play the TV episode that shows how that decision unfolds before the game takes over again and Jack faces the results of those events have influenced. It is such a seamless combination that really adds a real punch to the story telling that feels unique and refreshing by taking gaming and television and bringing them together that both mediums are enhanced by the blend.

I really enjoyed my time with Quantum Break on many levels from gameplay to the story being shaped by my choices which set the path I took through it. The story takes around ten hours to complete but gathering all the collectibles took it to the fifteen hour mark all in all, a solid amount of gaming time for the price. I loved the attention to detail that it has with superb little touches that reward the player for exploring the world in each act. The time powers are exhilarating to use and learning to use them effectively becomes a joy even if the final boss encounter felt cheaper in its approach based on choices I had made. Other games have used Time as gameplay and story mechanics but Remedy have painstakingly gotten everything right on the money to deliver a game experience worth the long wait for.

Quantum Break is the exclusive the Xbox One needed outside its traditional franchises and it really lived up to the hype surrounding it. A very different game to what was proposed back in 2013 but the end result is a game that bridges entertainment mediums in a way that is surprising but impactful. This is a game that deserves to be in your collection.