I still kick myself for waiting so long to play Quantum Break. As a huge fan of the Alan Wake series (may it rest in peace) and the early Max Payne games, I knew I was destined to love this one as well.

If you’re familiar with Remedy’s work, it won’t come as a surprise that this game is an experiment in storytelling, blurring the line between film and gameplay. Part miniseries, part shooter, Quantum Break is perfectly balanced to provide large doses of action while unfolding itself to reveal a complex story full of emotional twists and turns where the decisions you make have real weight to them.

It would be doing you injustice to comment on the specifics of the story, so instead I’ll simply say: “It’s really good.” You’d be making a mistake if you tried to rush through this game without exploring the (beautiful) world for extra narrative clues or taking the time to watch the breathtaking cutscenes. In addition to the in-game videos, Quantum Break showcases a full, live-action television series, featuring major actors (who also voice their in-game counterparts) such as Shawn Ashmore, Aidan Gillen, Dominic Monaghan, and Lance Reddick. The show reacts to the decisions made within the game providing supporting information for what you just played and foundational plot for the following chapters. Honestly, I found the show riveting, and was totally invested in the characters. It’s especially interesting because the perspective changes between the show and the game, showing multiple sides of the struggle, which goes to show that all your actions are significant and part of a bigger picture.

Beyond having a good story to tell and telling it well, the gameplay itself is solid. If you’ve played Alan Wake before, you’ll be instantly familiar with how your character navigates around the world. Sections of story-driven exploration are punctuated by intense battles to keep you on your toes. There isn’t anything particularly special about the gunplay itself (which makes sense when you consider that the main character isn’t a highly trained super soldier with tons of equipment at his disposal) but it’s still fun. You grab weapons from fallen enemies then point and shoot. The real fun during a skirmish comes from your ability to control the arena and outmaneuver enemies by manipulating the flow of time. There are tons of great visual effects that really highlight the crazy nature of messing with the natural order of things. There are only a few enemy types, but it’s enough to test your understanding of your abilities and keep combat engaging throughout the game.

Quantum Break proves that games are so much more than cookie-cutter shooters and are worthy of careful development and high-quality production. Fortunately, Remedy strives (and succeeds, in my opinion) to provide that kind of quality. If you’re looking for a thrilling single-player story experience, you owe it to yourself to give Quantum Break a try.