(There will most likely be spoilers at some point in this thread I'm sure, for those that want to talk spoilers, but I have nothing spolier-ish in the post here.)

I did it in one long sitting. The game was alright. It had some interesting story bits, and some likable characters, but overall, it wasn't nearly as good as Alan Wake to me. I guess if I take into consideration what I should expect out of Remedy game, and how long the wait to play another game from them has been, it can be considered disappointing to some degree, but I didn't have the expectations for it to be overly disappointing for me. I liked the game well enough, it was a good game overall, but not great in every respect. I'm pretty tired now, too tired to think about going into details of story and what have you. So, what did everyone else think, or what do you think of it so far? I'll probably come back on at some point to discuss more of it in detail.

It's surprising to me how much positively around Alan Wake there is recently. My impression from all the responses when it came out was that it was also a disappointment.

It was and for good reason. The people speaking up now are the vocal minority but that game was not very good. It had some good elements, but overall it was a very repetitive, bland shooter set in an even less interesting environment. The 100th time a bunch of enemies spawned with the same canned animation and you disposed of them in the same way with the same limited arsenal.. man it just wasn't all that. It had heart and a few really good set piece moments, but that didn't translate to interesting gameplay for the duration of your stay.

@liquiddragon: Having played Quantim Break and Alan Wake back to back. I think Quantum Break is a much better game than Alan Wake.

I feel like Remedy games are outliers in that they seem to be respected more and more as time goes on. I also remember a lot of middling comments on Alan Wake back in 2010 or so but it's a game that's just held up super well from a gameplay perspective compared to other 3rd person shooters of the era (in my opinion) that it gets more and more fondly remembered as time goes on. I actually went back to Alan Wake a few weeks before Quantum Break came out and ended up enjoying it more than I remembered enjoying it (and I already really enjoyed Alan Wake in the first place).

I finished Quantum Break last night as well, and truth be told I really loved it. I thought all the guns handled really well, the time powers were fun and easy to use, and I think it has some of the best performances in a game yet, particularly from Lance Reddick, Shawn Ashmore, and Marshall Allman.

All in all I think Quantum Break is maybe the most Remedy Remedy game yet, with all the strengths and weaknesses that carries. On one had incredible world with tons of incidental detail about it slipped in every corner and lots of depth in combat, but on the other hand not reinventing any wheels which makes it a little difficult to stand out compared to other games of the era.

Really? I remember it being fairly mixed, and when the PC version came out generally positive. It's definitely one of my all-time favourites. Smooth and tense combat, great atmosphere and environments, a narrative that's personally very intriguing. It's great!

Hm, looking at the Steam reviews it's actually got a "very positive" reception though. 12,382 positive, 1,072 negative. Metacritic has user and critic scores both around 80%, counting 100 critics and 1425 users for the 360 version, and 30 critics and 1096 users for the PC version. Maybe I was mistaken about it being mixed.

@theht: I didn't mean to put down one of your favorite game. Yea, I do remember the game doing fine numbers wise. I'm more talking about in terms of tone. The way people talked about it was very much the way people often talk about a disappointing work by a respected developer. It seemed like people didn't want to or at least hesitant to harshly criticize a game by a team who's past work were highly revered and loved. It seemed to me, they knew Remedy was capable of amazing things so the games shortcomings puzzled them. They wanted to love the game and tried hard to see greatness in it but just couldn't. You can hear it in people's voices 'cause it's like they are coming to terms w/ something. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about.

I do want to judge it for myself and it's gonna be the next game I play.

@liquiddragon: lol don't worry, it doesn't bother me any. I also really love Remember Me and Hotline Miami 2, so I'm fairly comfortable at this point with separating my likes from others' dislikes.

I remember Alan Wake was in development for a good long while, and early demos I think pitched it as something that was more of an open world game (something that as I understand it survived somewhat with the driving sequences that made it to release). I vaguely remember some talk of what it could have been, and how it ultimately stacked up against those original ideas.

I definitely know what you mean though. And yeah, maybe coming from the widely loved Max Payne series it was a disappointment for some, despite still generally being considered a great game in its own right. I just don't recall seeing much of that disappointment myself. I do remember seeing people way not into the combat though, and also fairly often since.

How many hours is the playthrough? Probably going to wait until I can get it for around $50 Aus.

With the 'TV' episodes included it's probably about 10 hours or so. It's not short, I'll tell you that much.

@stackboy: It took me 24 hours the first time.

@stackboy: Honestly, I'm not quite sure, but it wasn't short, especially for a one sitting playthrough. I would say about 12 hours.

@liquiddragon: I loved Alan Wake; always did. I am not really aware of all the positive talk it is finally getting. That said, I know there were a lot of people excited about it, with its open world look of it prior to release with early footage. That didn't affect me. Quantum Break is worse to me in just about every respect. Alan Wake had a great, interesting story; an exceptional atmospheric setting, and I'm surprised to hear people disliked that side of it. The soundtrack was also exceptional. Setting and music are the major reasons why I like Alan Wake more. I also think this game did a lot of what Alan Wake did, but it kind of fell flat, like listening to radios as you go through. I also enjoyed the gunplay a lot more, and found Alan Wake more challenging and intense.

Something I don't like about Alan Wake is his sprint; it's very unrealistic, and can make the game more intense when it's not really justified. You haven't played Alan Wake before? Honestly, I'm a bit surprised to hear the kind of negative talk here about it. The game was superb. Some things in its design are repetitive I suppose, but it was never a word I'd use for the game. Quantum Break's setting isn't as interesting, and the sound design, while it does something interesting, the music is super repetitive, and just not as good as what's in Alan Wake. The voice work/acting is largely great though. The gunplay is fine, though it's too easy, and the powers you get and upgrade, while useful, aren't all necessary. I feel like there'll be more emotional payoff come a sequel than there was in the actual game as well.

I plan on starting Quantum Break again soon, and play it on hard. Weirdly, as I went through the game, I kept thinking 'well, the combat isn't even its best bit', but in the end, I thought there wasn't enough of it. Also, I don't quite see the criticism towards Alan Wake in terms of same guns, because Quantum Break is pretty much the same thing. It's how they're used, and good the shooting feels. Again, Quantum Break was fine, but I found Alan Wake more engaging. I think when the shots go into the guys, it's perhaps more realistic an animation than what's in Alan Wake (because you can shoot a guys face in Alan Wake, and the legs will fly over a guys head, though not necessarily in a goofy manner), but it's not as satisfying. You have to use a flashlight, or another light source to take enemies down in Alan Wake, while in Quantum Break, you just pump them full of ammo and they die, and the ones that differ have you go around their backs to shoot them there, which isn't interesting either.

I sound like I'm crapping on Quantum Break, but like I said in my original post, I really did like it, it's just not as good as Alan Wake to me. I think I also liked Max Payne 2 more (I like Max Payne 2 more than the first). Max Payne 2 is a great game. Quantum Break had some funny bits in it as well, just as Remedy games do, like reading a guys script for a time travel movie. I'm not sure how many of those are in the game, like Alan Wake's Night Springs, but I searched just about every area I could, and there didn't seem to be a lot. I'll do more searching on my next go. Another thing about not being disappointed as I originally mentioned. Time flies by so fast now (no pun intended), that I feel like the wait for another Remedy game didn't take that long, even though it was six years. You'd think waiting for a game from a developer you think makes great games, for that long, and not absolutely loving it, it'd make the game super disappointing, but I didn't see it that way.

Alright, now I'm perhaps just rambling.

@jmic75: To me, the story wasn't actually that interesting until act four. I agree that it was a bit depressing. The part that was most effective to me though, is when it made me think about what it would be like for one person to go back in time, only to be there for years, while another comes in to that same time as if it were only a few minutes. You know the part I'm talking about, but that was effective to me. Also, you're thinking about the Shifters. Furthermore, did you watch the cutscene after the credits? It pretty much indicated that, while it may not be true, the character does believe things can be changed (it was even the question he was asked), so I assume in a sequel, we'll see that attempt. I think the chemistry between Jack and Beth was my favorite part, and if they go into that more in the sequel, I'd enjoy that.

I think they didn't go far enough with making me emotionally invested in the characters as they could have gone, though I did like them enough. As for the whole beginning of the Monarch being made, that's one of those things that time travel stories aren't good at explaining, nor do I know if it can be, though it's of course an interesting question. It's kind of like The Terminator, and the question of when was the first time John Connor sent a Terminator/Kyle Reese back in time to save himself and Sarah. Oh, and I agree, I really enjoy the slow sections mixed with the action, though in the end I thought there was a bit too much slow sections, while I also didn't think the combat was the strongest part.

@thefakepsychic: I don't really agree that it is the most Remedy, Remedy game. I would say it's the least. It from what I've seen has the least quirky stuff in any of their games, which I think Remedy is known for. However, did you notice how Jack Joyce reloads his pistol almost exactly like Max Payne? That was interesting. I also think Max Payne has standout shooting, while Alan Wake does something interesting with it. Quantum Break by comparison is pretty generic in my opinion. I also think Quantum Break wasn't special in the setting department; it was okay. Many of the things I think about when it comes to a Remedy game, this game was bit lacking.

@ntm: I don't know, between Time Knife, the Quantum Ripples (and the comments made by Monarch scientists about the Quantum Ripples), Charlie's emails, One specific computer in Monarch's headquarters (You'll know it when you see it), and the incredibly random Night Springs thing, I'd say there's plenty of quirk. You just have to look for it.

I will agree with your earlier post on thinking the music was lacking though. Outside of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds' Higgs-Boson Blues (and the very very brief appearance of Toto's Africa) I don't think any of the licensed music fits nearly as well as the songs from Alan Wake (Particularly In Dreams, Haunted, and War from there). The lack of a Poets of the Fall song kind of bummed me out. I did like the kind of weird synth Petri Alanko score (as someone who REALLY loved the soundtrack to Remember Me, which is maybe the closest thing I can think of in terms of style), but that's 100% a personal taste thing.

While sure, you can boil it down to "You have to shoot guys until they die," the fact that the areas they give you are shockingly wide and the bevy of time powers you have at your disposal makes the combat really exciting to me. I always tend to prefer the more mobile side of third person shooters so the fact that you just automatically slip in and out of cover, combined with the two amazing time mobility abilities (say that five times fast) and everything feels incredibly fluid.

I think I like Remedy games too much to really think of a coherent ranking scale for them. Max Payne 2 and Alan Wake are two games that I think would rank fairly highly on my list of "games of their respective generations list," and Max Payne 1 and American Nightmare are no slouches either. I totally get where you're coming from, and think that you raise some valid points about where this game falls short of Alan Wake for you. I'm also totally thinking about replaying the game on hard and picking up the scattered collectibles I missed, because truthfully up until the final encounter, I only died around 5 times (and two of them were on that platforming section where the boat crashes through the bridge, because I kept screwing up the jump.)

Also I did think about it, but I'm going to chalk it up to a coincidence, since it was probably mocapped off Shawn Ashmore.

I'm really surprised with at least one of Jeff's choices in Quantum break. Specifically junction 3. Now I haven't beaten the game yet, but every piece of in world intel made it REALLY obvious who you should trust, and Jeff chose the opposite one. I wonder why? Either he just wanted to see how it played out, or he didn't read many of the in game emails.

@liquidprince: I thought the exact same thing. If you read all of the Intel it makes it obvious which choice you should pick and for that reason I thought it was a strange choice to give you.

@thefakepsychic: I've seen the majority of the collectible-like stuff on my first go since I was searching every nook and cranny (it's really only the upgrade orb things I didn't fully collect; there's 60 or so, I collected about 45), I still don't think it's the most Remedy, Remedy game. There is one thing that I didn't see on my first go, which is a chalk board in the college area just before you go outside to kill guys around Will's car. It has a bunch of stuff about Alan Wake, and theories. I guess I'll reply to you with this, because I was coming on here to say that I'm currently going through on hard, and the gunplay is more engaging, but it's not that difficult still. It's definitely funner though, as is the case with some games that are too easy on lower difficulties. Another thing is, I am choosing different choices in the Junction areas, and so originally, I chose the PR move in the first sequence, and Amy is the one that's alive as you save her when she's sitting in the chair. Now, in the other option where Monarch chooses to kill the witnesses, it's Nick, the taxi driver. He's the same actor that played Jack in the original Quantum Break footage on the harbor. Some of the choices that change, and dialogue that changes is pretty neat. This just tells me they won't be character in a sequel though, because I doubt Remedy is going to be doing a Mass Effect type of carry over.

There are more things to search depending on choice as well (like in the room you save either one in, Amy is now on the ground and you can look at her body with Jack saying something). Weirdly, I died three times in the game, and one of those times was actually the ship section. There was a jump you have to make, and I thought I could make it by simply dropping down instead of a jump, but the sequence didn't allow me to do it, so I got crushed. It went from gameplay to canned sequence (which I think it's called). It is actually one of those moments in a game I think was badly implemented, because there's no way of knowing that you were supposed to jump, unless you die. I died another time because I sat behind a car near the end, and a guy shot it up which blew up on me. I don't remember the other time; I'm thinking it was because I jumped off of something and killed myself. It is a bummer Poets of the Fall isn't in this, it would have been more Remedy for sure. About the radio stuff, yeah, I was thinking about how the music isn't quite as good to me, but I also don't think the characters are as good. In Alan Wake, Pat Maine was interesting. In Quantum Break, they're hardly memorable; just some guy, and a girl. As much as I like that idea, I felt they didn't need to use that trick again though. About American Nightmare, I played it late, but I really enjoyed it. I like the first Max Payne, but the last time I played it, it was the Xbox version, though backwards compatible on Xbox 360, and that just isn't good.

I'm enjoying Quantum Break more right now, though I probably won't end up liking it quite as much as Alan Wake still. I am definitely interested in a sequel myself already; I liked it well enough for that. Petri Alanko's Alan Wake soundtrack was superb, but here while it is fine, I found it to be extremely repetitive. I think it's cool that the music changes though when you kill a guy, or it's effected by time in a way.

@jmic75: Oh, that's right. Yeah, him not dying is weird. At first, I was thinking it's because they did that prior to his death, but that's not the case. Yeah, I think it was due to him being a shifter. That's the vibe I got anyways. Plus, wasn't there something you can read late in the game that supports this? Oh, and I know there are people that haven't finished it yet, so I personally have been trying to not go into extreme detail, but this is also a topic that you're free to talk spoilers as I've mentioned, since it's for those that have finished it. People that haven't finished can also contribute, but obviously it's not recommended that they read this stuff. Point is, you don't really have to add spoiler tags do you? I think it's okay. As for Beth's diary, yeah, that was intriguing, and yes I've seen Interstellar. The idea that was effective isn't original, but it was still done well here I think.

@jmic75: That's what I was thinking, why they couldn't just go back in time repeatedly as they try to progress further, though some of that may also have to do with the tech they build if need be. Not sure. And yeah, that's the email I'm talking about, just before you walk into Paul's room.

Honestly I feel like the only good Remedy game was Max Payne 2. Everything else has been mediocre to me.

This game is boring me to tears. The average episode of Eastenders has more action in it.

Haha yeah!