QUANTUM BREAK [2016] XSX REVIEW
🏆🏆 MASTERPIECE 🏆🏆
Quantum Break is the 3rd AAA installment from acclaimed developer Remedy. It was released in 2016 as Microsoft studios exclusive for Xbox One and PC to mixed critical reception. With a solid sci-fi, time travel theme properly executed, and a unique mixture of TV SHOW episodes intertwined with the game events, it had the elements for success. But several launch date problems ended up driving away many gamers who never got to experience this masterpiece.
LAUNCH DATE PROBLEMS
The PC version suffered several critical issues at launch, like the lack of fluidity and big resolution problems combined with crashes and bugs. Along with these technical problems, there was also a product-related issue on PC, as Microsoft tried to use UWP as a platform to sell the game instead of the major gaming platforms like steam. This not only lead to a reduced audience but those who used UWP to purchase and play the game would experience tons of problems. This ended up causing anyone interested in the game to stay away from the PC version. In my case, I got the XBOX ONE version on launch date and experienced a masterpiece. But the game runs at 720p / 30FPS ... Even the Enhanced version that came out later on for Xbox One X could boost the resolution up to 1440p but still 30FPS... So after completing the game I was set on Microsoft and Remedy to fix the PC version to properly experience this beast fully patched on Steam.
Nowadays, Quantum break is a really cheap game on steam, and it's available on other platforms as well. The PC version would end up being the ultimate version to play QB as you could play at 1080/60FPS or even 1440/4K with advanced graphical settings like HBAO+ that makes the game look awesome and very different from its console counterpart.
A QUANTUM MASTERPIECE
After Max Payne and Alan Wake, everyone was excited about the next big thing from Remedy. But this was huge! Quantum Break tells the story of Jack Joyce and his brother, the physics genius Will, who has discovered the workings of quantum theory and time travel. There's a great conspiracy setting involving the mysterious Monarch Corporation, that's after that technology. Jack, who has been away from Riverport City for more than 6 years, gets thrust into the middle of it all as he is summoned by his old friend Paul Serene to help him out of a tight spot.
We see right from the start at the university that Paul has been working with Jack's brother on a time machine prototype. He is desperate as investors are about to cut funding and he wants jack to help him test the machine before it's too late. Everything is shown to us with a stellar presentation that excels in building the world, the characters, and the urgency of the situation in a perfect way. The experiment goes bad leading to a series of mind-blowing events. As the characters state in the intro dialogue, Quantum Physics and Time travel are rabbit holes as most theories or models collapse under the simplest scrutiny. But the narrative here operates with a single premise: The past is set but the future isn't. By sticking to this concept Remedy pulls it off with grace.
Using complex storytelling mechanics and good science to back the stunning sci-fi display, QB delivers a solid 3rd person shooter with fun combat and a compelling narrative. There's great enjoyment in experimenting with your time-bending abilities, this hybrid of gunplay and powers creates great opportunities for combat encounters improvisation and adds replay value. There's also an incredible amount of physics-based real-time destruction on display -which is at the core of Remedy gameplay design- that looks great and also adds a dynamic feature that keeps you moving during combat searching for cover and adapting to enemy tactics. Combat is often explosive and chaotic in just the right way.
TV SHOW HYBRID
The way Quantum Break handles the story is, the most successful thing about it. Remedy integrated the game with an unprecedented fully live-action episodic component. Resident Evil 1996 is the 1st game that included a live-action film intro with real actors. You could argue that the acting, script, and special effects were not impressive, but that was unprecedented at the time. Several games incorporated live-action cutscenes over the years, some with more grace than others, but never up to this day has anyone attempted something similar to QB TV SHOW feature.
Between each of its five gameplay-based chapters, gamers are treated with 20 min. episodes, which are entirely optional but designed to offer insight into the story events, the villain's state of mind, and other characters as well. There is a brilliant implementation of a system called quantum ripples, small things you can do in the game that sometimes have a deep impact on the TV SHOW events. So by making these decisions between chapters, you can influence the story.
CONCLUSION
Quantum Break is one of my favorite games. 2016 saw great games like the Doom reboot and Uncharted 4 getting tons of award nominations. I always wondered if the rocky launch had been averted, and some of the shortcomings like its length, or overall consistency. Addressed in time, maybe the game could have been nominated to get at least some recognition. But making the game longer would impact the player's experience, as the combat loop already becomes repetitive at the end. Even so, I completed the game several times over the years, to experience the different scenarios that are created as you make choices that affect the world. Quantum Break is an exciting time travel experience with impressive graphics, fun gameplay mechanics, and engaging characters, that I find myself coming back to experience every now and then.
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