Quantum Error: A Game That Fails to Deliver
Quantum Error is a game that attempts to do a lot but falls short in almost every aspect. However, one area where it excels is in its stylish and creepy science-fiction horror atmosphere. The game will immerse you in its moody and eerie world at every opportunity.
Unfortunately, the gameplay itself is lackluster. The gunplay is shoddy, the stealth mechanics barely work, and the various tasks you have to complete throughout the game are more of a hindrance than an enjoyable challenge. It becomes clear that the survival-horror genre is not Quantum Error’s strong suit.
An Unimpressive Protagonist
The protagonist of this twisted tale is Jacob, a former soldier-turned-fire-safety-professional. Despite his background, Jacob is not a memorable character. He possesses all the stereotypical traits of a lead from the 2010s era, and his unwavering need to save everyone is offputting and uncompromising.
The firefighting segments in the game show some promise. There’s a satisfying feeling in successfully venting rooms with active fires and extinguishing them without getting caught in a backdraft. However, the game fails to capitalize on these ideas. Other life-saving activities, like performing CPR or escorting people to safety, end up being more annoying than interesting. Overall, the main campaign lacks substance and fails to provide meaningful challenges.
Traversing the halls of the Monad facility is a complicated task. The facility is infested with ravenous zombies and grotesque monsters. Surprisingly, the living human enemies, specifically the mercenaries from the group Medusa, prove to be more mindless than the reanimated corpses. They lack strategic thinking and often offer little resistance. On the other hand, the monsters may vary in appearance, but their behavior is straightforward—they simply charge at you and soak up bullets. The lack of enemy variety becomes repetitive and diminishes the game’s overall challenge.
A Lack of True Horror
Quantum Error fails to deliver genuine scares. While it’s undeniably weird and unsettling to explore the halls and witness unsettling events from a distance, the most frightening moments come from tricky gameplay sections and unfair checkpoint placements. Losing progress due to unexpected and cheap surprises, like invisible enemies, can turn a short gameplay session into a frustrating hour-long ordeal.
Each time you respawn, everything else also respawns, including previously defeated enemies. This mechanic, combined with confusing level design and unhelpful maps, makes navigation and backtracking a laborious task. The game is also prone to bugs and glitches that further hinder the overall experience.
While stealth is advertised as an option, it’s largely ineffective in Quantum Error. Enemies seem to have a supernatural awareness of your presence, often detecting you from multiple rooms away. The sound design, intended to enhance the tension, becomes inconsistent and chaotic. The game fails to provide clear audio cues, making it difficult to discern important information from background noise.
Given the limitations of the stealth mechanics, players may find it more satisfying to engage in full-blown combat using a variety of firearms and firefighting tools as weapons. However, the gunplay itself is clunky and unresponsive, adding further frustration to the overall gameplay experience.
In conclusion, Quantum Error falls short of its potential as a science-fiction horror game. Despite its stylish atmosphere, the game fails to deliver in terms of gameplay mechanics, enemy variety, and genuine scares. Its lackluster protagonist and flawed stealth mechanics further contribute to its overall disappointment. Quantum Error is a game that attempts to do too much and ultimately fails to succeed.