Forget about FBC: Firebreak and go back and play Quantum Break instead — it's on Xbox Game Pass, too!

After some hopeful anticipation for FBC: Firebreak, Remedy's latest release set in the Control universe, its reception has been somewhat muted.

I haven't played it yet, so I don't have any opinions myself. But I'm seeing the user reviews, in particular, and it seems for many it's a rare let-down by Remedy. If there's one studio you usually bank on delivering bangers, it's Remedy.

But this is a perfect time to jump into some nostalgia. To remember a Remedy game that, to this day, I feel never quite received the praise it deserved.

Quantum Break.

If you never played it, you absolutely should.

A wild sci-fi story told across game and live action TV

We reviewed Quantum Break highly. And with good reason. It combines what Remedy does best in its games, through incredible narrative and innovative gameplay, and weaves its magic using an integrated live action TV show in a way we simply hadn't seen before on this scale.

My colleague, Jez Corden, who wrote the review, summed it up perfectly:

"Quantum Break is an unrivalled experience, and quite possibly the Xbox One's first true killer app."

He was right on the money. The visuals, even now, hold up, but back then, they were incredible. The third-person combat was innovative and satisfying. The mix of more traditional run and gun aspects with mind-bending powers so much fun.

Sensational. That's literally all I can say about Quantum Break. Sensational to look at, sensational to play, sensational to experience.

Part of the experience is how the story is woven seamlessly between both the game and the live action TV show segments. The stellar cast includes Shawn Ashmore, the late, great, Lance Reddick, Aidan Gillen, and Dominic Monaghan (you know, from Lord of the Rings and Lost, to name but a couple.)

I'd never played anything like this before, and haven't really since. I remember thinking how much I wish there was a full live-action Quantum Break show, or a spinoff, definitely hoping for a sequel.

I don't want to talk about the story, because if you haven't played it before, I want you to experience it for yourself. The very brief, top line, is that it's a story that involves time travel and special abilities.

It’s out there, it's absurd, but it's utterly brilliant.

Critical praise, but we never got a sequel

Quantum Break was generally reviewed positively, if not universally acclaimed, but it ended up being a one and done. Microsoft owns the IP, and clearly didn't see a reason to commission a follow-up.

It had its issues at launch, particularly on PC, though that was partly down to UWP. It got fixed up, though, and released through Steam, also.

Metacritic's numbers put Quantum Break at a 77 for critic score and a 7.3 user score. I feel it's worthy of higher than that, though.

We also never saw a PlayStation release of Quantum Break. This is a game from the olden times where console (and Windows) exclusives were far more of a thing than they are in the modern Xbox. It's unlikely it'll ever happen, too, unless Microsoft fancies giving it the remaster treatment.

Hey, Microsoft, remaster Quantum Break would ya?

Nevertheless, if you like what Remedy does, and you never checked Quantum Break out the first time around, you should rectify that immediately.

Quantum Break is available through Xbox Game Pass, but not with Xbox Play Anywhere. But you can play on console and PC. It's also listed on Steam, and plays nicely on the Steam Deck and other handhelds such as the ROG Ally.

Even in 2025, I can't really find a comparable experience to what Quantum Break is.

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate (1-month): was $19.99 now $16.29 at CDKeys

Game Pass Ultimate is home to a massive library of high-quality games for both Xbox console and PC, including the superb Quantum Break.