So just yesterday, I beat the game Quantum Break. It’s a Remedy Entertainment video game that does great justice to the company. Playing through the game, I realized how important writing can be for a video game. I mean, I’ve always know that for a fact (especially as a writer myself), but Remedy does storytelling so well that it really opened my eyes.

I’ve always been a sucker for lore and story in video games. I’m the kind of gamer that will read the quest dialogue in World of Warcraft, and even read the physical books based on the game. WoW is one of my favorite video games to have lore in it. I am completely enTHRALLed with the backstory of the races and the characters. It’s one of the reasons I would love to be an intern writer at Blizzard Entertainment (the company that made WoW). Fingers crossed that may actually happen one day.

Anyways, back to Quantum Break. This game has a great story. Remedy has always been great at making story-driven games that also are fun to play, like Alan Wake or Max Payne. Story-driven games are games that are usually highly dependent on the story they tell. Well, I wouldn’t say highly dependent exactly. More like the game is more centered around the story. Games like these are always catching my interest. As a writer and author, I want a compelling story. I want to be inspired. I want to feel what the characters feel.

Speaking of characters, Quantum Break nails them. There were characters that were (for the sake of giving spoilers) seemingly bad at the beginning, but then actually had redeeming qualities. There were characters I was rooting for, aside from the main character Jack Joyce, that faced just as many challenges.

One great thing about Quantum Break is that it entwines the video game aspect with TV show-like episodes at the end of each act. These episodes can change based on your decisions in the game. I wholeheartedly believe that these episodes really helped the gamer/watcher see the “behind the scenes.” From episode one, I was rooting for a character I thought was bad. At the end of episode four, I was nearly crying because of the connection the game gave me to the characters. Character development and connection are great aspects in a game.

I might be just a simple novelist and gamer, but I can always tell when the story in video games is done really well. If I feel the same thing characters feel emotionally, if I am at the edge of my seat wondering what will happen next, and if I still have a residual feeling after the game, the story and game were brilliant.

That residual feeling is something that makes me want to tell everyone to play the game for themselves. It’s something that needs to be experienced. Games like Quantum Break, or another favorite of mine, Life is Strange, should be played. So I highly recommend Quantum Break. Brilliant story, awesome characters, and the feels.