This article aims to talk about the new Early Access first-person shooter game on Steam named Quantum League developed and published by Nimble Giant Entertainment. The game’s premise is a revolutionary time-paradox shooter that has players team up with multiple copies of their avatars in a series of matches performed through different time loops.
The article will lay down how the game may appear to be ahead of its time, in an age where innovative first shooter games are out in the video game industry. We will be diving into a gameplay review where we’ll tackle the game’s selling points, and what makes it unique against other first person shooter games online.
We will also make a fair critic of the Early Access game with the hopes of seeing it make improvements without forcing the game to steer away from its initial premise. The article will review its graphical aspects, its core gameplay, as well as a hypothesis on how this game will fare in the current online market as a first person shooter.
Introduction
Quantum League, as its description on Steam is a revolutionary time-paradox shooter, a competitive online first person shooter game with the unique premise of teaming up with multiple copies of yourself that manifest through time travel. Think of it as a shooting deathmatch with your past, present, and future self are out there fighting simultaneously with an opponent who does the same thing.
Developed by Nimble Giant Entertainment, the same people who brought us Hellbound, which is a homage to the 90s first person shooter game, made with modern graphics and gameplay elements. It’s still on its demo phase in Steam, if anyone is interested to try it out.
Going back to Quantum League, the game’s current popular modes are Capture Point, and De-synch All Clones mode. Capture Point is the mode where you and your opponent race to capture each other’s respective point through a series of three time loops. Each succeeding time loop will project a copy of the player from the previous loop mimicking its past movements, and actions.
De-synch All Clones mode acts as the game’s deathmatch mode where the player strives to de-synch all the clones of its opponents. The shooter with the most clones at the end of the third time loop will win the match.
The game offers a maximum of two-players per team in every match. So it’s a series one-versus-one, and two-versus-two matches. Quantum League’s premise does offer a completely unique take on the market of first-person shooter games out there. Especially since we’re at an age where shooter games are being integrated with other gimmicks like Fortnight which is a shooter game with a simulator game to practice building, all rolled into one. So where does Quantum League fit in all of this? Can Quantum League place itself as one of the first-person shooter games that can make waves in the industry, or is it way ahead of its time? Let’s find out!
Quantum League Breakdown
Quantum League’s gameplay mechanics of teaming up with copies of yourself is both a hot take, and quite weird in my opinion. One of the many selling points of first person shooter games online is the ability to team up with as many friends as you can, or even fight your friends as well if you have a circle large enough to play both sides. Quantum League limits itself to a maximum of two-versus-two, because the entirety of your team is made up of copies of you, and your partner. It both opens up new possibilities of playing a shooter game, but also limits the multiplayer function. If a four-versus-four were possible, it would have a chaotic, yet fun online competitive shooting experience the size of Quake arena, so it kind of feels like a missed opportunity.
Graphic-wise, Quantum League bears a resemblance to Overwatch and Apex Legends, two of the more popular first-person shooter games online. It’s beautifully crafted with its 3D western cartoon design, and appears to be completely rendered for an Early Access game. The level designs are magnificent with its futuristic battle arena theme; one still can’t help but wonder if they truly took inspiration from Overwatch. Overall the graphics are up to par with the more popular first person shooter games out there, and will entice a lot of shooter game fans.
Quantum League’s gameplay is where things get 50-50. On one hand, the game has all the makings of a proper competitive first-person shooter online. It follows with the traditional one primary, and one secondary weapon system, whereas a player can choose a primary weapon out of the five selections the game shows you, and for the secondary, you get the standard pistol weapon. Combat is fast-paced, with each time-loop on a Capture Point game lasting for only 15 seconds, before you move on to the next time loop. So, one match is estimated to only last 45 in-game seconds. Its limited team composition can make the match more personal for the opposing forces, and a true test of each other’s skill as there is no way to gank your way through the match. So it’s always an in-your-face, frontline deathmatch. It will certainly attract players who always prefer a straight duel than a tactical team battle.
On the other hand, Quantum League’s complicated premise, and time-travelling concept makes this a complicated game to understand. Time travel is not an easy concept to comprehend not only in games, but in films as well, and Quantum League’s mechanics is an example of that. Let’s say for example you die on the first two time loops of a Capture Point match. Then your task for the final loop, in order to win is to make sure that your projected copies from the previous timelines don’t die. And in order to do that, you’ll have to kill the opposing force’s projected copies from those same timelines, while dealing with the present one. As if explaining it through words isn’t complicated enough, the fact that these copies mimic your past actions is a bit creepy on its own, and might turn off some players. This is especially true to fans of Call of Duty, who are more into military first person shooter games. Some people just want to grab a weapon, and shoot enemies with it minus the additional gimmicks. Oftentimes, you’ll see them favoring games like Bullet Force over Fortnight. The main reason being the prior has all the guns, and shooting without the added building mechanics.
The Verdict
As an overall game however, Quantum League has every element of what makes a fast-paced first person online shooter game great. It has fun, and challenging arena designs, magnificent 3D graphics that can compete with one of the best online shooter games in the market, and a wide selection of guns, and characters players can feel comfortable playing with. It’s certainly a game that stands out over all the other first person shooter games in the market, with its time-travelling premise.
But like any game with a new concept, not many people may ease into it at first, especially with such a complicated game mechanic. Some people might get turned off by the idea of not being able to play with most of their friends in a team battle, but some might enjoy it after spending some time learning the process. In any case, it’s still too early to tell as it’s still in Early Access on Steam. Players who want a completely new first-person shooter experience with a fair amount of active players might want to check this out. And if you want to give the game a shot, you can just hop on to your Steam client, and search “Quantum League”, see if the game is to your fancy. There are already players having some fun with it, so it wouldn’t hurt to give it a try.
Online shooter games like Fortnight, Titan fall 2, the Destiny series, and the Call of Duty franchise have proven that shooter games have the great possibility of becoming more than just a shooter game. It’s a testament that gaming genres need not to contain itself in an isolated box, but it can also explore, combine different aspects to create something truly, remarkably unique. Whether it’s a story-driven gameplay based off of the world’s history, or just bringing giant mechanical robots to the mix to make the battles more explosive, the possibilities are always limitless.
As the gaming industry continues to reach new heights, we can be sure that more gimmicks, and additional features will be added to upcoming shooter games, and someone, or something will bring a concept that will make waves, and become the gold standard for a genre. But for now, with all the games in the market, Quantum League, and it’s time-travelling premise, may be a first person shooter ahead of its time.
About Author:-
Jonathan J Kingston is a video game enthusiast, gamer, and a veteran video game news writer for Games.lol. He spends his free time hunting for free game sites and testing their reliability.