Quantum Break Review – Remedy bends time to its will

Quantum Break Review

For some time now I have had Quantum Break on my radar. After playing through Alan Wake I was looking forward to a sci-fi time travel shooter with a strong story. Remedy has not disappointed. Yet, Quantum Break is not a polished product either. The game has some flaws. To find out if it is worth the money read this review.

Setting

Quantum Break is set in the North Eastern United States. After a time travel experiment failed two of the story’s main characters, Jack Joyce and Paul Serene, were granted special powers. Serene can see into the future while protagonist Joyce can stop time. Remedy has strengthened the gameplay with a live-action series. Choices in the game will reflect how the four 22 minute episodes unfold. While, the addition of actors such as Shawn Ashmore and Aidan Gillen is solid the episodes do appear at a time when I just wanted to play the game.

Gameplay

When Max Payne came out in 2001 Remedy allowed players to harness the moves they saw in The Matrix. With Quantum Break Remedy allows players to control time, for the most part this means slowing it down, teleporting across rooms and suspend enemies in a bubble of time. Other than that, Quantum Break is a straight up shooter. I can’t decide for myself whether the time travel element add something unique or are just a gimmick. During act 2 of the game protagonist Jack Joyce gets few new powers, instead the gameplay feels repetitive. Though there are familiar tropes such as tank enemies and underutilized teleporting bad guys.

Graphics

Quantum Break is a gorgeous game. Initially I was skeptical of the screenshots and trailers but the game is truly good to look at. Yet, at times I cannot get over the feeling I was watching a rehash of Alan Wake. The setting is totally different yet the tone felt very familiar. Perhaps I had wanted a setting that felt more special. Yet, the attention to detail is considerable with the effects of time travel adding a feeling of both beauty and terror.

The system requirements for Quantum Break are high. There is no point in even trying to play this game on a mid-range PC. I am playing the game on a high-end desktop that is about a year old and sadly the slowdowns are still noticeable. I can’t remember a Remedy game that didn’t demand a heavy toll on resources. A few weeks ago I fired up Alan Wake and even that still had slow downs. If you want to be guaranteed to be able to play this game than get the console version, either on Xbox One or PlayStation 4.

Final Remarks

Quantum Break is a wonderful single player experience, but the repetitive gameplay in the latter stages of the game and the steep system requirements should be cause for concern. The live-action sequences are great, even if they cannot hide their low budget. This was my Quantum Break Review. I hope you enjoyed reading it.