E-Pals: Quantum Break

Buddy Acker: Hi Matt! Quantum Break released on April 5. It is now, as we are beginning this, April 14. E-Pals — as timely as ever. I finished the game twice, once on normal while hunting down collectibles and once on hard to mop up the rest of the achievements. I believe you did the same or took a similar approach anyhow.

Matthew Kline: Proper E-Pals format, super late to the game. And yes I did. We had the same exact approach. I actually think we might have done all the same choices in order too, or at least close to.

BA: I did what I considered to be the “good” choices first and then the “bad” during my second playthrough. I think I might have mixed up the Hardline and PR decisions between playthroughs, though. I pretty much just made the decisions I wanted to begin with and then picked the total opposite to get the achievements for them.

MK (Mortal Kombat): Again, same exact process I took. What I found interesting is that a lot of the decisions could be considered both good and bad. Maybe not at first, but with their outcomes. For example, the last decision where it seems like it’s “bad” for Paul Serene not to take the last treatment ended up with a lot better of a live action bit and a scene I really liked. Such as Emily getting to be there and avenge Liam’s death, and Charlie being the one to help Jack.

It made me like Charlie a lot more and made him a lot better of a character in my opinion, while in the other option he just gets killed.

BA: Charlie is a slimy little snake to begin with, but once his intentions are known, he isn’t so bad. I chose to not give Serene the treatment on my first playthrough. I thought it would keep him clear-headed, but of course everything just went to shit. It was strange to see Charlie die and Liam live after I gave him the treatment. I didn’t expect that big of a change.

MK: Oh, he was slimy for sure. I loved the turnaround for him, though. His acting was great when he grabbed the suit and said, “I have to help Jack.” Also, Liam dies in both choices. After that fight with Liam there’s an interview dialogue where Jack mentions that Liam was “one of the many pointless casualties.”

BA: Oh yeah, that’s right. I don’t THINK I watched all the live action stuff the second time. I found Charlie’s nametag after he died and my assumption is based on that, I believe. I made a boo boo.

MK: Haha, it’s fine. It can get confusing following all of it, especially with back to back playthroughs. While the gameplay wasn’t super revolutionary I really enjoyed the combat and the time powers. The story really stands out as my favorite thing, though. It was so smart about time travel and manipulation.

BA: I enjoyed tinkering around with the time powers and whatnot, but what really struck me as impressive is how well the game balances story and setpieces. It got less interesting to me as it neared the end and turned into a constant barrage of enemies. I did not like the final battle with Serene, which was basically just a weak opponent who goes down easily, but has minions. The earlier stuff with the long stretches of simple interaction with the environment and characters is great. It’s never boring as it sounds like it could be.

MK: I agree. It was amazing how they implemented everything, especially with all the live action bits. The final boss fight was very weak, but I'm also glad it wasn't one of those "sink 50 clips of a machine gun in him to kill him." I'm surprised they didn't have you face off against a Shifter, or rather the one Shifter we do know, Martin Hatch.

BA: A lot of the plot will probably fall apart upon closer inspection (as is the way with most time travel stories), but it was all intelligent and cool in the moment. I expected a Shifter fight too. The game seemed to be alluding to it. Perhaps it was setting up sequel stuff. I hope so and I hope a sequel happens. It will most likely depend upon how much Quantum Break sells, which has me worried. I’m fairly certain Alan Wake 2 is dependent upon it as well.

MK: I really want a sequel as well, because I want to see time end and I want to explore the Shifters as well. Personally, I want Alan Wake 2 over a Quantum Break sequel, but I wouldn’t be upset if the sequel was up next. A lot is riding on Quantum Break though like you said, especially with how much work went into it.

BA: I want Alan Wake 2 first also. With how groundbreaking Quantum Break is (it is a revelation), word of mouth should do it. Maybe if it doesn’t, Microsoft will excuse it. They would share partial blame in the event of its failure, after all.

MK: True, true. I think they will see the positive response over the money issue. Remedy is fantastic at what they do and I want to see them explore this form of storytelling more. They just need to be careful of making it so combat-heavy in the final act.

BA: Do you think what Quantum Break attempts could be a potential new direction for games? I think the blending of mediums worked really well. It was just such a cool fucking idea to begin with. Remedy has dabbled in it before with Alan Wake, but the concentrated mixture in their latest effort really clicked for me. I did not expect to like the concept as much as I did.

MK: It was a great idea that can be terribly executed. I was worried about how well it would work, but after seeing it I was very impressed. I wasn't big on the concept either, as it could have taken away from the game, but I think they used it in the best possible way. It was nice to take a break from playing the game and just relax a little and see the ramifications of your actions. Did you think the pacing was good? It's another problem they could have ran into, but it was excellent to me.

BA: I thought the pacing was perfect until the ending, as I said. It is an incredibly well-balanced game and it’s a shame Remedy decided not to keep that going all the way. Because of that and the admittedly subpar gunplay, it turned out as a flawed game that is sure to have a much better sequel. I still love it, though. It’s the best game I’ve played this year which doesn’t feature bosses that kill you with one hit (you know the one I mean).

MK: It has been one of my favorite games this year; I’m with you on that one. I think a sequel could do it wonders to improve on everything they were going for. They have a solid plot and good ideas that just need to be expanded upon a little bit to get it to be even better. I’m really curious to see what direction they go with a sequel, and how long it would take to make.

BA: Well, I guess we are done here. Thanks for joining me despite your busy schedule, Matt. Maybe you’ll be able to join Karl or me or both of us for another of these someday. Maybe we can do one for Dark Souls III eventually since we’re both playing it. Maybe we’ll become mortal enemies and E-Pals will die like my future. Who knows?

MK: Always a pleasure. I like all of those possibilities. Let’s see where the road takes us.