Time is breaking down. A temporal fracture has erupted in the science labs of Riverport University that is ripping apart the fabric of reality. At the center of the anomaly are brothers Jack and William Joyce and their long-time friend and fellow scientist Paul Serene. The cataclysm marks the beginning of not only the end of time but also the end of the trio, as one falls and the other returns as a mortal enemy that is bent on surviving the catastrophe by any means.
Fans of Alan Wake will immediately notice that developer Remedy has considerably expanded their model of episodic storytelling. The focus on narrative is heightened to a greater degree by an even more extensive mixture of live-action and in-game elements. In fact, Quantum Break is almost as much of a television show as it is a game. As Jack Joyce, players will seek to stop Paul Serene and the soldiers of his megacorporation Monarch Solutions as they come to grips with their newly acquired and upgradeable time-bending powers across five acts. In-between those acts are live-action episodes that reveal the consequences of the player’s actions as well as what is going on behind the scenes at Monarch. It’s an ambitious and at times uneven combination that stands out as one of the most intensive and unique approaches in games storytelling.
Episodes aren’t mere clips but lengthy productions that separate and supplement the gameplay sequences. This approach will undoubtedly cause problems for some players, as not everyone will want to wait 20-plus minutes as characters, many of whom have no in-engine counterparts, battle Monarch or hunt Jack. The episodes can be skipped, but doing so will only cause the story to be even more disjointed, given how overly reliant it is on e-mails, memos, and other media on fleshing out events and character motivation. The gameplay sequences will hit the major points, but players will be missing out on much of the plot by ignoring the world.
Remedy certainly took precautions to see that players stick around to watch their handiwork as they hired on some fantastic talent. X-Men’s Shawn Ashmore plays Jack, Game of Thrones’ and The Wire’s Aidan Gillen is Paul, and another alumnus of The Wire (plus American Horror Story, Fringe, etc.), Lance Reddick, is Paul’s right-hand man. This trio is joined by a few other notables, including The Lord of the Ring’s Dominic Monaghan as William Joyce, and others who are less well-known but more than capable of holding their own, such as actress Courtney Hope as Beth Wilder. Others, however, aren’t quite up to snuff, with the result being that some storylines come dangerously close to ‘low-grade soap opera’ territory. The latter is also a byproduct of Remedy attempting to tell several stories within the main arc. The game is a very slow burn as a result, as the plot’s momentum is often checked by having to introduce, catch up with, and attempt to interweave so many different characters and storylines. The result is that the game doesn’t really pick up until the third act, with much of the previous groundwork lacking the same kind of energy and focus, and interest on the bizarrely horrifying implications of time travel.
That isn’t to say that the story isn’t good until act three; it’s just very traditional. Too traditional for my taste, given that I am going through a sci-fi-infused tale about betrayal, loss, and the end of time itself. These are some rich topics, and the earlier episodes felt a little too by-the-numbers. The same can be said for many of the gameplay sequences: solid but unexceptional. Again, things pick up considerably towards the end of act three, after players have found enough chronon to upgrade their various powers—Time Dodge, Time Rush (can be combined with melee takedowns), Time Shield, and Time Stop (a bubble of frozen time that charges bullets trapped inside) —to the point where they feel as if they are actually harnessing the awesome power of manipulating time and space. The set pieces increase in scale, the navigation puzzles get less ridiculous, and the fight with Monarch as a whole gets more interesting. Eyebrows will still be raised here and there, and while few of the navigational puzzles top what’s found in Singularity and other time-manipulation offerings, there are far less such contrived moments as when Jack has to walk across a bunch of boards conveniently placed across elevated shelves. A few cover issues linger throughout, however, with Jack periodically standing up after kneeling for a while or not leaning behind objects. Surprisingly, given how standard the gunplay is and how much of an everyman Jack is built up to be, the game lacks blindfiring—he’s gung-ho or nothing at all. But Jack’s really at his best once he’s leveled his powers up and tossing out multiple Time Stop bubbles, dashing around enemies, and rattling off rounds from assault rifles and shotguns.
Where the story one-ups the combat is in its Junction Points. Sandwiched between the acts and episodes are segments where players take control of Paul and decide how to lead Monarch. Each decision can be previewed to give an indication of the likely outcome, but it’s up to the players as to how he will proceed in the current predicament. Subsequent gameplay sections take those decisions into account, altering the challenges that stand in Jack’s way. Less influential are objects that can cause time ripples if they’re found and interacted with during gameplay. Ostensibly, this is a cool idea, with small objects affecting the episodes. The effort it must’ve taken to film or re-film segments to add such minor changes is impressive, but their impact is fairly minimal to the player. They are on the level—and frequently consist of nothing more than—a character noticing something and asking, “What’s that?” An interesting idea to be sure but offering little more than what it says on the tin. Junction Points, on the other hand, are more involved and offer the kind of engagement and interactivity that belongs in such a narratively enterprising title.
Overall: 7/10
Quantum Break is an action-packed, time-shifting adventure whose traditional gameplay is outpaced by its ambitious storytelling. It starts off slow with muted, perfunctory opening acts that don’t revel in the what-ifs of time travel so much as struggle to wrestle numerous storylines and characters into a well-fitting narrative. Some odd, borderline goofy platforming sections and questionable motivations, which are even more mysterious if the player hasn’t bothered to hunt down all the detail-rich memos and emails, give way to a more exciting final third that delivers what the initial hours couldn’t quite manage. The cover mechanics are a little fussier than similar shooters, but a solid arsenal and a handful of powers keep combat fast and largely enjoyable. Quantum Break isn’t the action-narrative breakthrough that was promised or that I wanted, but it is a novel experiment that manages to occasionally thrill.
(This review is based on a copy provided by the publisher.)