Before you leave Quantum Break seemed to be the next evolutionary step in the company’s creativity Remedy. Manipulation mechanics looked like an evolution of ideas over time Bullet-Time from Max Payne, and the plot of the project hinted at working on mistakes Alan Wake, adjusted for fantasy setting. The icing on the cake, with all this, was the announcement that the new game will go along with the series of the same name, and promises to blur the line between interactive entertainment and cinema. It’s difficult to say for sure whether the famous Finnish team succeeded or not, but let’s talk about everything in order.
Influence of H.G. Wells
This time Remedy turned their attention to fantastic stories about time travel and the paradoxes that arise as a result of them. You can immediately feel that the authors were inspired by films in the spirit "Time Loop", or novels in the style "The End of Eternity" by Isaac Asimov And "The Time Machine" by H.G. Wells.
The story begins quite harmlessly: the hero of the game is Jack Joyce (Shaun Ashmore), returns to his hometown Riverport. The first thing he does is go to meet his old friend – Paul Cyrin (Aidan Gillen), who is the scientific director of the company’s most important project Monarch. The project turns out to be a time machine developed by the brother of the main character – Will Joyce (Dominic Monaghan). Paul, not really thinking about the consequences, decides to start the car in order to demonstrate the technology of the future to his old friend. And, as in the classics, everything goes wrong.
The plot, as you can see, is not striking in its originality, in fact, neither is the plot itself. It is simple and predictable to the point of banality, stuffed with various clichés, and its ending is mixed and ambiguous, almost like the same Alan Wake.
In contrast to the plot, an important component of the game is the presentation of the gameplay. Believe me, the game has something to show! In addition to high-quality dialogue and cinematic scenes, as well as the series, which we will talk about a little later, the game has an amazing environment. Each object, each part of the location carries not only a piece of the atmosphere, but also the history of the game. And the developers are not shy about focusing on this, using one of the most effective narrative elements inherent in many works about time paradoxes, namely: periodically time in the game freezes, and the player is given the opportunity to wander around what is happening, look at the world from the outside, and appreciate the chaos happening all around. At such moments, what is shown on the screen is truly mesmerizing. This is an amazing, incomparable, frightening and at the same time fascinating action, making you think for a moment about the significance of time in our lives. Today, it’s hard for me to remember at least one other game that could show such a level of production and artistic design.
Also, the game has a nongamstopcasinosites.co.uk damn cool storytelling style: it’s all divided into several chapters, each of which begins and ends like a full-fledged series. We could already see something similar in Alan Wake. But here the authors went further and at the end of each act they give us the opportunity to make a moral choice. It doesn’t particularly affect the course of the story, but it can significantly embellish or, conversely, darken the ending. So, for example, it is the player’s choice that determines which characters will reach the finale, and this will also directly affect some elements of the series.
Smart borrowing
And yet, from games Remedy we expect not only a well-developed story, but also equally high-quality gameplay, which the game demonstrates. Firstly, the corporate style of the famous Finns is immediately recognizable; the project feels like the studio’s past games. At the same time, the developers are not afraid to borrow ideas from their colleagues: movements, animation and tactile components seem to have been taken from Naughty Dog, and the main character’s abilities refer us to such projects as: Time Shift, F.E.A.R or Singularity.
Speaking of abilities: as we remember from the beginning of the story, the first launch of the time machine was unsuccessful, which affected our hero. Now he has several talents that allow him to influence time: slow it down, precisely manipulate it, put up a shield, place opponents in a temporary cocoon, use special vision or create an explosion. And, as I already noted, we have seen similar things in one form or another in other projects, but here, again, presentation is important. Remedy surprise again – they manage not to put all abilities at the forefront of the mechanics, thereby giving us, first of all, a classic purebred third-person action game, and thanks to the abilities of the main character, gradually increasing the complexity and variety of game situations.
With every skill mastered, the rules of the game change. If at the beginning Jack only has the ability to slow down time, and his opponents are ordinary operatives Monarch, then by the end of the game, when the character masters the entire set of skills, the dynamics and complexity grow exponentially. Situations quickly begin to replace one another, opponents of various types and uniforms enter the arena, time either slows down or stops, forcing us to adapt to the situation and correctly juggle our arsenal of skills. The AI of the opponents adds a special edge; they act very competently: they surround the player, use cover and do not shy away from using grenades, which prevents you from simply sitting in cover and forces you to be in constant motion. From this, the project, in terms of dynamics and the number of possible micro-situations, begins to resemble a slasher film in the manner of some Devil May Cry. The author of this text experienced something similar when he discovered a wonderful and, well, crazy project Vanquish.
To prevent the player from getting tired of constant shootings, the developers give a break by asking us to solve a simple puzzle using Jack’s abilities. A small research element has also been added – tons of notes, posters, videos, as well as various interactive elements are scattered here and there throughout the levels. For example, at the very beginning of the game, we can immediately follow Paul to the time machine, or we can rustle through his entire office, listen to several lectures, read a couple of notes – thereby immersing ourselves even more in the story being told. At such moments, the game shows even greater depth of plot development. After all, the scriptwriters worked on all these notes no less than on the main story. It’s like you’re being sucked into a pool, surrounded by more and more details. The information fits together like a jigsaw puzzle, creating a greater connection to this fictional world and its characters.
Revolutionary Combination
Only the lazy have not heard of one of the main features of the project, namely, the film component. Both the developers themselves and the entire advertising company as a whole talked about it constantly. It is worth noting that the series itself, as well as its value for the plot of the game, turned out to be really worthwhile. Firstly, it shows the story from the antagonists’ side and allows you to look at what is happening from a slightly different angle. Secondly, the series demonstrates the consequences of our choices in the game, both significant and not so significant. This creates another nice hook for immersion. Thirdly, the series breaks up the time well and creates a pause of 20-30 minutes between the passages of acts, which not only gives a break from the constant action, but also immerses us even more in the history of the project.
Of course, speaking about the role of the series, one cannot fail to note the work of the people responsible for it. As an addition to the game, the series boasts very good direction and cinematography. This is where the full scope of the budget is felt Microsoft. The fact is that the authors of the film part made not just an addition to the game, but, in fact, a separate work, doing everything at such a decent level that the series can be safely watched in isolation from the game. Although, most likely, you risk not understanding anything. The screenwriters should also be applauded for their ability to tell such a complete and exciting story by combining two different media. No words, only one admiration!
They didn’t tighten it up a bit
But here’s what’s interesting: if you watch the series in contrast with the game, a slight embarrassment arises. It shows us pure Hollywood: powerful special effects, great action, huge crowd, epic story. But when the moment of switching to cinematic inserts occurs, the story takes on the appearance of intimacy, the pathos and scope immediately disappear somewhere, leaving us with the feeling of a mediocre television series. On the one hand, this is good, because there is an opportunity to take a break from Hollywood and focus on the script and the acting, on the other hand, such jumps greatly disrupt the pace of the story, which, at least a little, is nevertheless confusing and leaves an unpleasant aftertaste.
A similar contrast also works in the opposite direction. The fact is that the main character is practically not revealed in any way during the series. Most of his time is spent in the game, where he crushes operatives without regret Monarch in batches, without really talking about yourself or your life. Yes, from the plot we learn that he had a difficult life, that he lost his parents early and that his brother raised him. But how did this influence the fact that he masterfully manages to wield weapons and hand-to-hand combat, and also, without hesitation, kill tons of people?? – we can only think about it. Of course, one could attribute these elements to gaming conventions, but it doesn’t work. Indeed, as part of the series, we are shown that Joyce’s opponents are not soulless fools, but people with their own aspirations, desires, emotions and ideology. They are afraid of the main character, see him as a threat and perceive him as a murderer and a psychopath who has gone crazy due to a failed experiment. And it is at this moment that all the script work begins to crumble, because the player begins to catch himself thinking that the actions of the antagonists are more justified than the behavior of our ward.
For the rest: oh Quantum Break I just want to give positive feedback. This is a great game with a great story, even if it has a few bloopers and no clear ending. It’s impossible to call it revolutionary, but at the same time, you can’t call it “ordinary” either. Still, this is a real and correct AAA project for a single playthrough, of which there are fewer and fewer on the market.
A good game from great developers, which, with the right approach, could start selling consoles from Microsoft. As for themselves Remedy, then they once again managed to outdo themselves and give us another high-quality project. However, in the future, companies should flirt less with cinema and delve deeper into the development of the plot, learn to put the right end to it, otherwise they risk going down in history as the authors of excellent projects, but unfinished works.