When comparing Quantum Break vs Dark Souls III, the Slant community recommends Dark Souls III for most people. In the question“What are the best action games on PC?” Dark Souls III is ranked 5th while Quantum Break is ranked 15th. The most important reason people chose Dark Souls III is:
There's tons of lore everywhere for you to discover, but it isn't necessarily told through a conventional story. Weapons, armor, spells, and items you acquire have descriptions on them that tell you where in the game world they came from, any prominent characters they're associated with, and a bunch of other relevant and interesting information. So when you find examples of the lore scattered around the game, like bosses wearing a style of armor you read about, or an obscure NPC mentioned in a sword's description, you know the history behind the design and their purpose without that boss or character needing to explain anything to you. Even though the actual story in Dark Souls III is very thin, there's a lot to find under the surface if you're willing to look for it.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Real actors are used in an interesting way
During gameplay the character models in the game are made to resemble their real world counterparts, using their voices and mocapped animations. What is even more interesting is that the game will have live action plot TV episodes staring these actors in between gameplay segments of the game. these TV episodes will differ in play depending on what the player is choosing to do in the game. While not the first time to base characters off of real actors, the TV episodes will definitely flesh out the game into even more of an interactive story than previous games out there. Which makes for an original experience.
Pro Real time destruction
Each stage in the game allows for real time destruction, either done by you or your enemies. This makes for shifting elements in each stage due to enemies being able to destroy your hiding spots. This way the player can't just camp in one spot in order to kill everyone to then advance forward, it forces the player to stay on their toes, which is welcome for those interested in constantly adjusting how they play.
Pro Interesting time manipulation mechanic
An iteration on bullet time (something this developer is familiar with as they also created Max Payne) the game allows for time manipulation in that the user can slow down or stop time in order to solve puzzles as well as get the upper hand in battles. It is a pivotal mechanic in the game and as such looks to be very well done.
Pro High production to TV segments
The TV segments of the game are really high in production value as they rival any top show on the big networks or streaming services. On top of this the story contained within them offer some great incites as to the motives of the bad guys and heroes alike. All this adds up to a level of polish not seen in many games.
Pro Replayability through branching paths
For those that would like to see all outcomes of the game and all live action story elements, the game will have to be played through again, making different choices than the first playthrough. This adds replayability to the game for those that would like to see everything the game has to offer.
Pro Choices affect gameplay
Depending on what choices a player makes in the game the story will adjust to reflect them. This is often done in many games (such as one made by Telltale Games) but for Quantum Break there are TV episodes that will also play depending on what choices are made, making for a very interactive and deep story through professional acting.
Pro Extensive lore that's presented in unconventional ways
There's tons of lore everywhere for you to discover, but it isn't necessarily told through a conventional story.
Weapons, armor, spells, and items you acquire have descriptions on them that tell you where in the game world they came from, any prominent characters they're associated with, and a bunch of other relevant and interesting information. So when you find examples of the lore scattered around the game, like bosses wearing a style of armor you read about, or an obscure NPC mentioned in a sword's description, you know the history behind the design and their purpose without that boss or character needing to explain anything to you.
Even though the actual story in Dark Souls III is very thin, there's a lot to find under the surface if you're willing to look for it.
Pro Stunning environments
The world of Dark Souls 3 looks amazing, so you may often feel the need to stop and take in the beautiful sights. This can be the sheer size of structures, mountains, or caves. It can also be the decorations, inscriptions, or details in a room. There's always so much to look at, allowing you to truly immerse yourself in its world.
Pro Can give a great feeling of accomplishment
The Dark Souls series is known for its difficulty and Dark Souls 3 is no exception. It's filled with difficult enemies and tough boss battles, able to cause you grief on more than one occasion. However, every time you progress to the next safe spot or defeat a boss you'll often be filled with a mix of joy and relief. Beating this game will almost certainly feel like an achievement.
Pro Unpredictable boss battles
The boss battles in Dark Souls 3 consist of several phases, changing up how the bosses fight over the course of the battle. They will gain new abilities, become more aggressive, or reveal various nasty surprises. This creates an enjoyable experience that is different from most modern games where bosses are just glorified pincushions.
Pro A great variety of equipment for almost any playstyle
You'll be finding new pieces of equipment quite often, giving you many options to choose from. Each one has its strengths and weaknesses, allowing you to pick the equipment that best suits your playstyle.
For example, heavy armor will make you move slower, but you'll be better protected. Greatswords have a wide reach, but you swing them really slow. Conversely a dagger is very fast but it has a horrible reach.
Pro Solid controls
This game feels and plays really well. Your character responds to button inputs immediately and it almost never feels like you're losing control over it. The control scheme can also be customized, giving you the option of a more personalized experience.
Pro Great combat system
Dark Souls 3 is a very fast-paced game but it's not just about having quick reflexes. A lot of the combat comes down to exploiting your enemies. To do that, you have to learn their patterns and attack the moment they pause or perform a telegraphed attack. This creates a combat system, which rewards awareness and patience, and is satisfying to master, even if you don't have extraordinary reflexes.
Cons
Con Awful performance
The game has serious issues running smoothly on PC. The framerate is capped at 50fps no matter what equipment is used. Being that monitors are normally 60hz or more, this means the framerate can not even reach the refresh rate of any monitor available for PC. Though there is a 30fps cap available in the settings (which ideally should allow the game to run smooth, though at a low frame rate), it does not work properly and results in a jerky framerate.
Con Exclusive to Windows 10 store on PC
Games on the Windows 10 have several minor issues. Can't add to Steam games list, no third party overlays, can't disable V-sync, no unofficial mods, etc. Might not matter to most people, but can be an issue to some.
Con Gameplay progression is not balanced
The first half of the game sees the player unlock all of the main characters special powers, meaning the second half of the game gives little to work towards other than finishing the game and defeating the bad people. It would have been nice to see elements of gameplay still being unlocked in the second half of the game, as there is no little incentive to finish other than a bit of closure.
Con Poorly implemented action sequences
There are sections of the game that require a bit of platforming, sadly these sections are pretty linear, which break the immersion of the game tanks to areas where you just walk against walls instead o being able to climb. It seems like these segments could have been designed better, to at least give the impression that they are less linear than they actually are.
Con Shooting and cover mechanics could be better
The cover mechanic in the game is dynamic in that you walk up to somewhere were you can cover, and you auto cover. While this itself is not that bad, the shooting mechanics once you are under cover are poor in that you can't shoot at all while under cover (there isn't even any blind fire with guns). You will have to stand up in order to shoot, which leaves yourself vulnerable. Other games have done this system better and it would have been nice to see as much polish put into the gun-play as it was into the story of the game.
Con TV episodes are streamed online
The TV segments of the game are no on ones hard drive or disk, they are streamed from the game developers server, meaning those with a poor connection may see stutter and dropped frames in the video. This makes for a poor experience for some and it would have been nice to see them as local file, but of course the storage requirements for the game would have been a lot higher due to the size of the HD video.
Con Really short
The game is at max 10 hours, and that is including the 4 live action TV segments of the game. While the mashup of these elements can be appreciated, to see the game beaten in such a short time for a $60 game is disappointing.
Con Main story is a bit cliché
The basic premise of the story in the game sees the main character in a catastrophic accident, which gives him special powers. There is definitely nothing new about this story element and it would have been nice to see something new or fresh as to why the games story develops as it does.
Con TV episodes may interrupt flow of gameplay
Being that the game has not been played yet it is still unknown, but 20 minute TV episodes that take place in between gameplay may interrupt the flow of the gameplay. It is still unknown if they can be skipped, and even if they can are they necessary to enjoying the game.
Con Poor support for mouse+keyboard control
The default DS3 key/button bindings actually prevent full use of certain weapons by requiring the shift key to be pressed and not-pressed simultaneously. Rebinding is possible, but limited by issues like the left mouse button overriding all others and certain bindings not actually working in game (e.g. Shift+MiddleClick).
Con It's hard
You should try avoiding the trap of great review scores since most of them fail to mention the difficulty. It's simply put - hard. A lot of the combat requires quick reflexes, good mechanics, and the mental fortitude to carry on after failing for hours. If you're new to the Souls-like genre or simply want to enjoy a relaxing evening playing a video game, you most likely won't enjoy Dark Souls III.
Con Poorly tuned dynamic visiblity
You may notice some texture pop in while sharply turning the camera. It can be somewhat distracting if you notice it, but most of the time you won't because it happens in the distance.
Con Occasional performance issues
There are portions of the game that will have noticeable framerate drops, which can negatively affect the gameplay. Most of the fault lies with the game engine, so getting better hardware won't help that much.