I don't remember the last time a video game gave me goosebumps. In fact, there's a chance that a video game has NEVER given me goosebumps. All that changed a couple of hours into Microsoft's new Xbox One and PC offering, Quantum Break.
Credit: Microsoft
Blending the worlds of gaming and television together like never before, Quantum Break offers you its game up in 'Acts', which you have to complete before making a big choice and being shown a 20-minute or so real-life actual episode of a TV show.
So for example and to break this down further, throughout the first Act you play as Jack Joyce, a man called to Riverport University in the Northeastern United States by his friend Paul Serene. In the act you learn that Serene has been working on a time machine and that you have been brought to the University to trial it in a less-than-legal experiment. Your brother Will was at first scheduled to help out Serene, but he'd backed out of taking part with some major concerns about the ramifications of such a world-changing device.
Things of course soon go awry and Jack, as our main protagonist becomes imbued with powers allowing him to manipulate time and space around him. This creates some interesting and unique gameplay dynamics, with combat hugely different to anything I've played in the past. At first it's a little tricky to pick up and you may find yourself hitting the wrong button at the wrong time - here of course timing is everything - but when you find that sweet spot and you battle your way through legions of enemies as just one man with a pistol or SMG, you feel incredibly accomplished as a player.
Jack is in instant peril of being caught by corrupt company Monarch Solutions but for what means, he'll have to work out himself. Once his friend, Serene is a different man now and has bigger plans than he could have ever imagined. But as you learn more and progress through the game, this is where things get really interesting.
Switching your player to Serene at the end of the first Act, you're tasked with coming up with the way in which to progress forward. Monarch Solutions cannot be held responsible for the protest at the university against them which went south, and those who saw what the company were up to have to be dealt with. Whether that's by killing all of those that know some of the truth behind Monarch, or by delivering a stellar PR campaign is up to you. Whichever choice you make ensures an entirely different style of play going forward, of which you're only given a glimpse before having to make the decision.
Personally I chose to go down the PR route, and the first episode of the linear television series I saw ensured that my choice had a hell of a lot of impact. Jack's name was on every television screen across the State as a fake confession was coerced from one of the protesters at the university and the stakes were higher than ever. Things may have been a little easier for him going ahead if I had chosen to go down the other path, but I wasn't willing to put an innocent's life in danger to make my game easier. It was at this point the goosebumps came.
This was a game that bars no holds in allowing you to feel as if you're a part of the action. Aside from virtual reality there is no other way the title could have positioned you right in the middle of the story. There have been episodic games in the past where choice feels as if it had mattered a whole lot, but this is the first where I believe if I played through the game again, choosing different responses and paths for Jack Joyce, it'd be like playing a different game entirely.
There are ripple effects that can take place within each episode, but to trigger them you have to find certain spots on the map to engage with. Through the first Act they're relatively easy to find but as the game progresses, you may kick yourself if you miss some of the narrative clues, ripple items and such throughout.
As you progress you'll also come across chronon sources, allowing you to bring more power to your abilities. This is essential as the enemies you'll face will become steadily more powerful, so it's pretty much a case of 'keeping up with the Joneses'.
Quantum Break does what all great games do in making you care about the characters involved. Through the accompanying TV series you discover that they're much more than your regular 2-dimensional heroes and villains, instead bringing a multitude of layers to their performances.
Performance is at a high level. Reviewing on Xbox One, there were a couple of stuttering frames but nothing earth shattering. For the most part, the biggest surprises came in the gravity some items didn't seem to have. For example, walking into the University I brushed against a bike and it flew across the screen as if I'd blasted it out of a cannon. As I said, a big surprise, but also very funny.
As a whole, this feels like the future of gaming and certainly surpassed all expectations. It's been one heck of a wait, but it's worth it.
Quantum Break is available on both Xbox One and PC.