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While Remedy might be better known for Alan Wake and Control, its April 2016 release was an altogether different experiment in pushing the boundaries of video game storytelling. Players take on the role of Jack Joyce, a man with time-manipulation powers who is trying to stop the coming of the End of Time. But the catch is that his ex-best friend Paul Serene is standing in his way — with superpowers of his own and an entire private military at his beck and call.
Quantum Break mixes bog-standard third-person cover shooter gameplay with time-manipulation abilities, allowing the player to close the distance against enemies, stop bullets and more. Outside of combat, these powers are utilized to solve puzzles and find extra scraps of story, remaining a key system to engage with for anyone looking to hunt down all of the extra lore.
But the thing that sets Quantum Break apart from any other video game is the television tie-in: At the end of every act, an interactive TV episode would play before you got back to running and gunning in Joyce’s shoes, and it changed depending on which choices you made in-game. A completely novel concept (even predating Black Mirror’s Bandersnatch), the Quantum Break show featured electric performances from the likes of Shawn Ashmore, Aidan Gillen and the late, great Lance Reddick.
The mix of mediums was released to mixed critical results, but there’s no other game that has tried to do what this one has in the years following its release.
Release Date: April 5, 2016
Platforms: Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PC
Genre: Superpowered third-person shooter
Developer: Remedy Entertainment
