My Playtime: 17.7h (100% achievement, finished the game)
Grindy Achievement(s): No.
Optional Achievement(s): Yes (~24 achievements, most are missables).
Difficult Achievement(s): No.
Intro
Quantum Break is a third-person shooter with time manipulation mechanics. It has a lot of cutscenes, both live-action and in-game, which were told from different points of view.
Pros:
- Different choices that slightly affect the story
- Ammos is basically unlimited
- Collectibles that give more depth to the story
Cons:
- Live-action movies are streamed
- Some checkpoints and cutscenes can take too long if you retry a battle
- Poorly designed boss fights
Specs
Intel Core i5-9300H 2.40GHz, 8GB RAM, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650
The game was mostly played on ultra, although one boss fight was done in low due to the game crashing. I'm not sure if it's related to the graphics or not.
Should you buy this game?
Yes.
If you like story-rich games and don't mind the annoying boss fights, buy this game. Make sure that you have a good internet connection to stream the live-action scenes though.
In-Depth Review
Visuals
Characters look similar to their live-action counterpart, minus the hair that looks shinier than usual. Most posters will be blurred if you play the game in the lowest setting though. There was one cutscene that shows a portrait that was barely noticeable.
The buildings and characters look real and the game makes a clear distinction whether you are in a time-still state or not. I liked the fracturing effect the most. Particles will be flowing around a certain object, shifting your focus on it.
Story
The story is focused on time travel. To be honest, I didn't know why the live-action movie was starring an unknown individual at the start. It turns out that all stories, both in the live-action and the game, will converge at some point. I like how the live-action touches the side that wasn't experienced by the main character. I became empathetic with the other characters, especially with how they ended up to be.
Despite having multiple story branching, it will only affect a slight part of the story. I'm still impressed with the number of details though. The slight change won't happen in only one cutscene - it will be retained as you progress, with characters noting the detail from time to time. Although you can't change the ending, it still makes sense due to the concept that was told at the beginning of the game.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2798669423
The game does well to explain its mysteries. I liked how the time travel concept was introduced, along with how the main character is obtaining his powers. The main character didn't get his power just because he can - it will all be related to the story, which in turn will be used to progress the plot and the game. The mysteries that the ending gives will also encourage you to interpret what will happen yourself, especially since everything has been laid out if you are attentive enough.
The Game
Gameplay
The game is a third-person shooter at its core. You'll also have time manipulation powers which will help in taking out the enemies at your disposal. Despite being a shooter game, there won't be a lot of battles. The game is story-oriented at its core, forcing you to watch a lot of cutscenes and live-action movies. There might be some time when you have to move between areas, but areas will be mostly empty.
As a game that is focused on exploration, collectibles are also one of the main focuses of the game. They might help you to discover more about the main plot or upgrade your time powers. However, the game loves to provide points of no returns between checkpoints, forcing you to restart the level from the beginning if you miss the collectibles.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2798666365
Combat
As someone who can't shoot moving targets, the combat is alright. Some fights might give challenges due to the number of enemies, especially the bulkier ones. However, you need to restart from the last checkpoint whenever you die, and some checkpoints might be too far from the area where you die.
Ammos are basically unlimited. There might be some weapons that can't be refilled, but you don't have to worry about using ammo in most weapons. A bag that allows you to stock up on ammo will be available in each fight, allowing you to use your weapon without worry. Different weapons also have different advantages and disadvantages - although you can finish most fights with a pistol at the beginning, you'll have to switch to different weapons for the bulkier enemies later on.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2798667059
Snipers can be annoying to beat though. These kinds of enemies can kill you in 2 shots, without any red marking to indicate that you are almost dead. Moreover, they tend to be placed in a high place, making it hard to kill them.
Bosses are terribly designed. The game only has ~2 boss fights in the game, and both are just plain annoying. You need to figure out their weakness and attack patterns before attacking, and you need to rewatch the intro cutscene whenever you die. The final boss is made worse with the one-hit KO attack that was spammed almost everywhere. It can take a bit of luck to defeat them, especially if you play the game in the hard mode.
Length and Difficulty
I finished the game in 17.7 on the hardest difficulty. Although most fights are pretty easy to beat, some can be challenging to beat, especially near the end of the game. I had to restart some fights a few times and change my approach because of that.
Although the game has multiple story branching, I don't think it's worth it to replay the game just to see how the other branch goes. The game allows you to start the game from a certain act of the game, and since most changes will only be displayed in the live-action movies, you just need to either load the act with the branching paths or watch the video online to see what happens.
Problems
The final boss is problematic since the boss' attack can still be executed while you are on the killing animation, even if you didn't see the attack beforehand. Moreover, the boss' attack indicator tends to not show when you cast a skill.
There is also no subtitle for the collectible audio and video files, and the subtitles for the main story can be off sometimes. Lastly, since the live-action scenes are streamed, there is a chance that the video will be buffering if you have a slow internet connection. I didn't enjoy the first live-action movie because of that, and I usually can watch YouTube videos without buffering.
Conclusion
I didn't expect Quantum Break to be a first-person shooter. I thought it was just an easy game that has a heavy emphasis on the story. Well, I nailed the story-rich part right, and I enjoyed it a lot. I was hooked on the movie most of the time, becoming more curious about what will happen. I liked how everyone has their motives - you can see what drives them to make their choice in the end. This makes the characters more relatable and human.
Although the shooter part can be annoying at times, I still had fun doing it. Moreover, there aren't that many shooting scenes, which also helps me to focus on the story. If you like to play a story-rich game with a lot of exploration and shooting in between, feel free to buy this game.
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