When game developer Remedy announced its next title two years ago, it was met with a healthy dose of skepticism.
Remedy is best remembered as the studio that gave the world Max Payne, a moody shooter soaked in noir storytelling. It featured episodic storytelling married to addictive game mechanics. Next, Remedy tackled Alan Wake, another linear story, this one literally modeled after a season of television, with each chapter of the game structured like an episode.
So Quantum Break's framework shouldn't really come as a surprise; it's the next logical step for Remedy's unique style of story-gaming. Quantum Break's plan called for a full-featured, next-gen game about a protagonist capable of controlling time, along with a live-action TV series that would further the story from another perspective. Ambitious? Absolutely. Something Remedy could pull off? Opinions were reserved until more of the game could be seen.
Alan Wake was only a modest cult hit for the studio after the paradigm-shifting slam dunk that was Max Payne. Would Remedy's next title be the next big thing, a revolution in gaming, or another niche title that had a small contingent of hardcore fans?
Today at GamesCom in Germany, Remedy finally returned to show off more of Quantum Break and reveal its release date. The developers have kept very quiet about the game's development over the last two years, leading some to wonder if it was being retooled altogether. While that doesn't quite appear to be the case, Quantum Break's time out of the spotlight has certainly been good for it.
The biggest revelation was that the game now has a trio of headlining stars, with both the game's protagonist and villain modeled after the actors portraying them. Quantum Break centers on Jack Joyce, played by Shawn Ashmore of X-Men and The Following. His opposite number is Paul Serene, a calculating baddie played by an actor very familiar with such a role: Aiden Gillen. Gillen is best known as Petyr "Littlefinger" Baelish on Game of Thrones. Lastly, Joyce's brother Will in the game is played by Dominic Monaghan.
The GamesCom footage showed off how the time-stopping mechanic works in the game, and it looks exciting. The third-person action depicted Ashmore's Jack Joyce manipulating time to give him the upper hand in gun fights. It was dynamic and visually, looked right on par with other new-generation titles.
As for the live action TV series, which like the game will be exclusive to Xbox One, a brief trailer was shown that largely featured Gillen. Remedy explained that the live-action part of the story will let viewers see the plot unfold from the villain's point of view, while the game unfolds from the hero's perspective. In addition to Gillen, actor Lance Reddick also featured prominently in the live-action footage.
Quantum Break is coming April 5, 2016 exclusively to Xbox One.
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