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Quantum Break Review Thread

Auctopus

Member
Weird that the VentureBeat review is a 9/10 then says it's repetitive and some people might just wanna watch it online instead. Wtf.
 

Karak

Member
I think Bloodborne is the only new exclusive and non Remaster that truly is tbh. For me personally, Driveclub and Ori and the Blind Forest are also up there as far as exclusives go, even though critically the former was wrecked. I suspect many might feel the same about other games too, like Forza Horizon 2 for example, despite it also not scoring in that upper echelon on meta.

They aren't industry iconic titles though. Though most you just mentioned I loved they aren't really pushing this gen. In a weird way it feels like they are elevating for momentary bumps.
Its odd. But again not saying they lack in excellence but there is that X factor that none have yet.
 
I think Bloodborne is the only new exclusive and non Remaster that truly is tbh. For me personally, Driveclub and Ori and the Blind Forest are also up there as far as exclusives go, even though critically the former was wrecked. I suspect many might feel the same about other games too, like Forza Horizon 2 for example, despite it also not scoring in that upper echelon on meta.

I feel like there was some kind of cosmic shift a few years back where reviewers grew some balls and stopped giving almost every major game an 8 or higher. A lot of high scoring but unremarkable PS360 era games would have been rated much lower if this had happened sooner, imo.
 

Surface of Me

I'm not an NPC. And neither are we.
They aren't industry iconic titles that. Though most you just mentioned I loved.

Not Nib, but you said masterclass, not industry iconic.


Anyways, the reviews seem pretty mixed. Still seems like a solid title I will no doubt enjoy whenever I pick it up.
 

Karak

Member
It doesn't seem like having "industry iconic" games are too hugely important to companies that aren't named Nintendo these days.

Actually we have now seen at least our 9th attempt. And coming up on our 10th and 11th in the next coming months.
Not Nib, but you said masterclass, not industry iconic.


Anyways, the reviews seem pretty mixed. Still seems like a solid title I will no doubt enjoy whenever I pick it up.

Ya sorry to me masterclass become iconic. Excellent, even amazing dont. But its a quibble. They aren't.
 

SRTtoZ

Member
Remedy has been doing live action stuff in their games for a long ass time.

Anyone who played Alan Wake could guess that this would be the direction they'd go in even if MS didn't press them to.

I know they use some small bits of live action but I recall an interview with Sam Lake where he said he pitched AW2 and they said no, give us a new IP, then then he mentioned MS was pushing for TV stuff. I also believe MS even created that live action scene that we all saw when the game was revealed with the little girl? All I'm saying is this seems like a game (that I'm buying BTW), that was created to cater to MS so they could make another game, while AW2 seems to be their real 'baby'.
 
Weird that the VentureBeat review is a 9/10 then says it's repetitive and some people might just wanna watch it online instead. Wtf.
Doesn't sound like a 9/10 game if they're suggesting that it might be better to watch online. I just finished watching the digital foundry breakdown and I'm impressed with the visuals. I look forward to the pc release.
 
We just covered this on a podcast recently. This many years in and I don't feel like either system has a truly masterclass title. That one that sort of signals the move into the high level times

IMHO MGS V was a master class in gameplay design. Incredibly impressive on many levels, but especially in how so many systems work in such a cohesive and deeply replayable way, if you want to make use of them. Christ, they even wove a tech tree in there in a way that wasn't mere window dressing as with most action/shooter games.

Unfortunately all this brilliant design was also married to an extremely controversial and -- to some -- series-breaking narrative that will likely not be followed up on this century due to the Konami-Kojima split.

Still, to me MGS V was *the* first "next-gen" action/shooter game this generation. (Amusingly, it also ran on last-gen consoles, which shows that at this point console hardware is about graphics and not much else.)
 

Peterpan

Member
Bloodborne as a masterpiece as it is, didn't do anything groundbreaking, at least not enough for me to consider it as an iconic title for PS4. I think Uncharted 4 has the potential to become that, like how we think of God of War 3, Uncharted 2 or TLOU when we think about PS3, or Halo 3 with Xbox 360.
I don't think Uncharted 4 will be a masterpiece. Though whatever Naughty Dog make next might be. We on the 4th game and unless it does something majorly different it will be recieved the same as most numbered entries, better than most numbered games, but still get the same ol' same ol'. Iconic maybe. Masterpiece no. The only groundbreaking game I see now is Crackdown 3 and that could go either way at this point.
 

Karak

Member
IMHO MGS V was a master class in gameplay design. Incredibly impressive on many levels, but especially in how so many systems work in such a cohesive and deeply replayable way, if you want to make use of them. Christ, they even wove a tech tree in there in a way that wasn't mere window dressing as with most action/shooter games.

Unfortunately all this brilliant design was also married to an extremely controversial and -- to some -- series-breaking narrative that will likely not be followed up on this century due to the Konami-Kojima split.

Still, to me MGS V was *the* first "next-gen" action/shooter game this generation. (Amusingly, it also ran on last-gen consoles, which shows that at this point console hardware is about graphics and not much else.)
Ya another one that people mention for sure.

Sorry guys I didn't mean to get us off topic. Lets return to QB. Apologies.
 
For me, "iconic titles for a system" are those which utilized its capability in a way no else console (mostly old-gen) can't do, on top of great design in its own way. I suspect Uncharted 4 could be that one for PS4. Quantum Break does fit in that criteria, but its very clear flaws, though admittly very Remedy-esque, soured me a little bit. I loved the hours I spent with it, but I hope they can be something more.
 

Fat4all

Banned
Actually we have now seen at least our 9th attempt. And coming up on our 10th and 11th in the next coming months.

But do they drive console sales? Halo kinda did, I'm sure Uncharted will, but I doubt R&C and similar old icons do.

It's goes back to the argument that exclusives don't seem to be the major driving force behind console sales these days.
 
I feel like there was some kind of cosmic shift a few years back where reviewers grew some balls and stopped giving almost every major game an 8 or higher. A lot of high scoring but unremarkable PS360 era games would have been rated much lower if this had happened sooner, imo.

I don't think it's a shift. A lot of great new innovated games were made last generation and this generation is just trying to recapture that same success again but it's now been there done that.
 

ethomaz

Banned
I feel like there was some kind of cosmic shift a few years back where reviewers grew some balls and stopped giving almost every major game an 8 or higher. A lot of high scoring but unremarkable PS360 era games would have been rated much lower if this had happened sooner, imo.
But when I look the highest MC games I see usual...

GTA getting the same
MGS getting the same
Mario getting the same

I don't know sometimes looks like they more harsh but others times it looks they are like before.
 
But when I look the highest MC games I see usual...

GTA getting the same
MGS getting the same
Mario getting the same

I don't know sometimes looks like they more harsh but others times it looks they are like before.

Well, aside from maybe MGS, I think those games deserve the scores they received. GTA and Mario, for the most part, are still the pinnacle of this industry, in terms of quality (I'd add Naughty Dog as well).
 

Peterpan

Member
I know they use some small bits of live action but I recall an interview with Sam Lake where he said he pitched AW2 and they said no, give us a new IP, then then he mentioned MS was pushing for TV stuff. I also believe MS even created that live action scene that we all saw when the game was revealed with the little girl? All I'm saying is this seems like a game (that I'm buying BTW), that was created to cater to MS so they could make another game, while AW2 seems to be their real 'baby'.
The problem is with this idea is that the gameplay aspects don't seem up to par. Which severely disappointing. Sure MS pushed their agenda, but the gameplay Remedy created is not exactly getting glowing marks. I'm going to play the heck out of this game regardless. I hope Remedy get to make Alan Wake though.
 

Surface of Me

I'm not an NPC. And neither are we.
But when I look the highest MC games I see usual...

GTA getting the same
MGS getting the same
Mario getting the same

I don't know sometimes looks like they more harsh but others times it looks they are like before.

That's unfair to say, GTA always plays different from title to title to push ahead, MGSV is a huge departure from the typical MGS experience, and you cannot compare Super Mario Maker to another mainline Mario.
 

vcc

Member
I don't think it's a shift. A lot of great new innovated games were made last generation and this generation is just trying to recapture that same success again but it's now been there done that.

I think it's more we forgot about all the hyped mediocre games last gen and we're comparing a small window of hyped games to 8 years of last gen. Sure we remember TloU/ Halo 3, ME2, Oblivion etc.. but we aren't thinking of Haze when we think last gen. or Brink. Or Dead Space 3. or FF 13, or Fable, or Medal of Honor, or Homefront.
 

ethomaz

Banned
Well, aside from maybe MGS, I think those games deserve the scores they received. GTA and Mario, for the most part, are still the pinnacle of this industry, in terms of quality (I'd add Naughty Dog as well).
I agree with the scores... I'm just saying the reviews are giving the same scores than last gen for theses franchises for eg.

Maybe say the reviewers are being more harsh this gen is something wrong... maybe the games released really have some big flaws.
 
I agree with the scores... I'm just saying the reviews are giving the same scores than last gen for theses franchises for eg.

Maybe say the reviewers are being more harsh this gen is something wrong... maybe the games released really have some big flaws.

I think it's a combination of both, honestly.

I don't think games this generation are worse, but most aren't necessarily better either...and I think many critics aren't letting that slide this cycle.
 

Osahi

Member
I've read a few of the reviews, and my emotional reaction to them is that:

The reviewers feel that while the game tries something interesting and new with the gameplay-affects-TV-show narrative trick, the game is ultimately let down by mediocre mechanics and level design in its basic gameplay. This led to reviewers giving the game some mediocre scores.

The Kotaku review maybe states this the clearest.

What worries me about that is that it will stop AAA devs from risking a high budget on a game that focuses on narrative, such as this one. On the other hand, taking a narratively OK-ish game like Halo or inFamous and then, for the sequel, just sprucing up the graphics and adding more and more "content" -- while ensuring top-notch mechanics -- will at least get you into the reasonably high-scoring 80+ range.

I basically worry that the Quantum Break saga will lead to games like QB not even being attempted anymore.

Disclaimer 1: Still on painkillers.

Disclaimer 2: Very possible the game just isn't all that fun to play, in which case I can't really blame reviewers from scoring it that way.

EDIT: P.S. However, indie games get a pass on the gameplay-mechanics-suck-but-narrative-rules setup. E.g., Walking Dead; Gone Home.

So you say mediocre gameplay is ok, as long as the story is good and the way it is brought is 'experimental' (spoiler: QBs tv show does not differ a lot from stuff like the walking dead, except being it live action accentuates for me how mediocre the screenplay, direction and acting is), and a great game gameplaywise should be panned because it doesn't try anything new narratively?


Can't you see the flaw in your reasoning?

If Qb had great gameplay and a great story and if they had succeeded in mixing tv and game in a meaningful way, it would have been critically acclaimed. Now you get a game with good action, mediocre platforming and a mediocre story with a mediocre tv show attached. So it should get high scores despite all that?

Games like twd and gone home at least succeed in some way to use the game medium to tell the story in an unique way and succeed in making you care for the characters. Games like uncharted and especially TLOU get acclaimed because they succeed in combining great gameplay with good to great stories, that also try to use the medium to tell those stories (think about how the bond between ellie and joel grows during small interactive moments in the record,store for instance, or the optional little conversation. QB fleshes its characters and world out in overlong mails you skip reading after a while because they aren't actually riveting, so they become just useless 'collectibles' after a short time). Thing is, QB despite all it's experiments just felt really, really old fashioned in it's storytelling.... The 'new' is just smoke and mirrors covering up concepts we've seen in games for a very long time now. Concepts that other games allready did better or expanded upon.

QB set out to do something new, but didn't succeed, so some reviewers take note and give lower scores. It is not that they are against narrative driven games in any way (see gone home, see tlou, see life is strange), it is just that those games are actually very good, while QB (imo) is not.
 
I don't think it's a shift. A lot of great new innovated games were made last generation and this generation is just trying to recapture that same success again but it's now been there done that.

I don't think it's a shift either. I think it's classic familiarity-breeds-contempt.

Halo 1: Wow... this is innovative, amazing.

Halo 2: Wow, OK, that campaign was a little off, but WHOA, this multiplayer component online is on another level!

Halo 3: A polished campaign, an extra-polished online multiplayer, a level editor, sharing... WOW!!! This is the most complete shooter ever! Nothing too new going on, but you'd have to be a dick to claim this is just Halo 2 with better graphics.

Halo: Reach: A sweet refinement. Nice new coop mode; well done. If you like Halo, you'll like this.

Halo 4: Solid stuff... same old gameplay you're used to. If you like Halo, you'll like this.

Halo 5: Solid stuff... same old gameplay you're used to. If you like Halo, you'll like this.

Halo 6: <guessing> Solid stuff... same old gameplay you're used to. If you like Halo, you'll like this.

I mean, eventually, you just get used to it, and unless devs find a way to add new -- and successful! -- ideas, the same stuff won't impress you like it used to. Scores just reflect that IMO.

I pray that Uncharted, for example, finds a way out of this pattern. Fortunately, they're only 2 games removed from their masterpiece in that series. I refuse to believe that they cannot do better than U2. Uncharted 3 was obviously just an Uncharted 2.5 type of effort in terms of game design.

Indies still innovate, but honestly AAAs seem to either have run out of ideas or just don't want to risk it anymore. Nowadays it seems like "let's put our linear series into an open world" is as far as they're willing to go most of the time.
 

Raylan

Banned
As much as I and GAF loves Bloodborne. We do have to accept that it isn't for everyone. It's the same reason it didn't win GOTY everywhere and Witcher did. (Witcher was my personal GOTY. I love both).
Bloodborne won GOTY awards. From big sites actually. So The Witcher did not win GOTY awards "everywhere". But yes, it received more GOTY awards.
 

Wagram

Member
Bloodborne won GOTY awards. From big sites actually. So The Witcher did not win GOTY awards "everywhere". But yes, it received more GOTY awards.

Everywhere didn't literally mean everywhere. Don't take words that seriously, especially on a forum :p
 
Is it me or does the time effect look way better in game than in the live action scenes.
The TV show probably didn't get a huge budget so that means cheap CGI effects.
I think it's more we forgot about all the hyped mediocre games last gen and we're comparing a small window of hyped games to 8 years of last gen. Sure we remember TloU/ Halo 3, ME2, Oblivion etc.. but we aren't thinking of Haze when we think last gen. or Brink. Or Dead Space 3. or FF 13, or Fable, or Medal of Honor, or Homefront.

But those mediocre games you listed almost all got trashed by reviewers especially Homefront.
 
The thing I don't like about Remedy's works is their attempt to be more than a game. It's not just them though.

I find that when a game embraces the fact that it's a game, it truly grips you in a way that no other entertainment medium can.

No matter how good a live action scene is, it removes the unique feeling of playing something only a game can offer.

I'm just sick of games trying to be hollywood. Not knocking QB specifically, but this is probably a major factor in why this game is already proving to be devisive.
 

LostDonkey

Member
Wow, don't think I've seen such a wild variation in scores before. From 9/10's down to 6/10's and some 2/5's thrown in for good measure.

Still can't wait to try it out.
 

Green Yoshi

Member
- No retail version for PC
- Only works with Windows 10
- No download option for the live-action series.

Seriously Microsoft, I don't get it.
 

Ishan

Junior Member
I don't think Uncharted 4 will be a masterpiece. Though whatever Naughty Dog make next might be. We on the 4th game and unless it does something majorly different it will be recieved the same as most numbered entries, better than most numbered games, but still get the same ol' same ol'. Iconic maybe. Masterpiece no. The only groundbreaking game I see now is Crackdown 3 and that could go either way at this point.


This post is wrong in legitimately 6 ways right off the bat .
 
Off topic, but its probably the best place to ask.

I cant seem to find the right place to preorder quantum break on pc. Can anyone help me out?
 
We just covered this on a podcast recently. This many years in and I don't feel like either system has a truly masterclass title. That one that sort of signals the move into the high level times

Bloodborne is a masterclass title if we are using aggregate reviews as the measuring stick. A 92 is top shelf.

As much as I and GAF loves Bloodborne. We do have to accept that it isn't for everyone. It's the same reason it didn't win GOTY everywhere and Witcher did. (Witcher was my personal GOTY. I love both).

How does The Witcher 3 beating out Bloodborne mean it is not an amazing game? They both masterclass titles imo. I don't like that word btw. Please don't make it a thing on here.
 
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