a powerful game reinforced by fantastic audio/visual concept -- were that there was more of it.
Quantum Break feels like a game made by a studio that didn't want to make a game, and not in usual fashion of auteurship we're used to. the story's dimensions are directly linked to live action television sections that intersect its five acts to usually present a B-plot with characters who pretend to be as relevant as an already unimpressionable cast.
the gameplay all of this is built upon is serviceable, playing more with the concept of irregular time freezing rather than active travel, both in its combat and platforming segments. Quantum Break is easily at its best when it uses this to create destructive spectacle, but rarely in a way that it's an active threat to the player. much like the live action show, its meant to be more seen than felt.
the fantastic sound design and art style would normally make this forgivable, but the gunplay is missing too many pieces otherwise: i.e. not being able to switch weapons while reloading, a pool of 11 gun types only having one that's viable at long range, and an underwhelming amount of enemy types. meanwhile, the player gains all possible "time powers" pretty early on in the game, making the rest of it feel repetitive.
these issues and others are all things that could have been avoided with a bit more polish and a lot more ambition, but such holes are instead filled by an absurd amount of readable emails filled with eleven paragraphs with company chaff and one guy's horrible screenplay that ironically would have been a more interesting watch than the actual inter-episode productions.
there's just not enough gameplay in Quantum Break to begin with, and certainly not enough to justify replaying it while making different choices along the way.
Quantum Break feels like a game made by a studio that didn't want to make a game, and not in usual fashion of auteurship we're used to. the story's dimensions are directly linked to live action television sections that intersect its five acts to usually present a B-plot with characters who pretend to be as relevant as an already unimpressionable cast.
the gameplay all of this is built upon is serviceable, playing more with the concept of irregular time freezing rather than active travel, both in its combat and platforming segments. Quantum Break is easily at its best when it uses this to create destructive spectacle, but rarely in a way that it's an active threat to the player. much like the live action show, its meant to be more seen than felt.
the fantastic sound design and art style would normally make this forgivable, but the gunplay is missing too many pieces otherwise: i.e. not being able to switch weapons while reloading, a pool of 11 gun types only having one that's viable at long range, and an underwhelming amount of enemy types. meanwhile, the player gains all possible "time powers" pretty early on in the game, making the rest of it feel repetitive.
these issues and others are all things that could have been avoided with a bit more polish and a lot more ambition, but such holes are instead filled by an absurd amount of readable emails filled with eleven paragraphs with company chaff and one guy's horrible screenplay that ironically would have been a more interesting watch than the actual inter-episode productions.
there's just not enough gameplay in Quantum Break to begin with, and certainly not enough to justify replaying it while making different choices along the way.