Quantum Replica PlayStation 4 Review

Quantum Replica is an open-world stealth game from developer ON3D Studios and published by PQube. The game builds off of staple genre mechanics like a field of vision and audibility of actions and adds in quantum physics elements. In the far-off future, the world has been seized by the shadowy Syndicate, a corporate superpower that enforces its will via an oppressive military. Standing against them is the underground resistance led by Alphus. Players take control of the field agent and vigilantly codenamed Alpha, who suffers from amnesia and only has Alphus to guide him through the harshness of the dystopian city.

Alpha has a few different abilities in his arsenal to help skulk around. First, players will need to decide on either stepping slowly and silently or sprinting loudly. Both are necessary for different situations to bypass or even deceive guards. Once Alpha is up close, there is the option of incapacitating or outright killing an enemy. Knocking a foe out is faster and easier, but they will awake after some time; death is much more long-lasting but requires energy to attempt. Any downed enemy can also be dragged to help hide them from their allies. Occasionally, there will also be tranquilizers, ammo, or throwing weapons to allow attacks from afar, but never enough to be a reliable main offense. Other times players can hack into computers to monitor security cameras or operate other machinery.

Players would be mistaken to assume death is permanent in Quantum Replica. Quantum physics energy throughout the game ensures that no matter is fully stable - broken objects will self-repair and the dead will be resurrected, or more accurately replicated anew. This means Alpha is not in any danger of ever truly dying, just of being inconvenienced via respawning. However, the same holds of “dead” enemies that can be replicated by any other adversary that finds their corpses. The terrain itself may also be in perpetual flux, crumbling only to reshape seconds later. Alpha can employ an extra quick dash to bypass such hazards. However, overuse of this ability will cause a short cooldown period. Much later on Alpha will learn to enter super speed (but instead depicted as a slow-motion of everyone else), allowing players to maintain level-headed awareness during otherwise chaotic sections.

These skills will be highly needed, as Alpha lacks durability and will perish after as little as four hits or even instantly against severe dangers. This is what will make stealth so important, as the number of foes and traps will typically be too overwhelming or powerful when triggered. In most cases, Alpha has the option of running away or hiding inside closets. But during story-related missions passageways will lock up, leaving Alpha to be gunned down. Despite Alpha being technically immortal, many of the respawn checkpoints can be unusually distant or punishing. Even more annoying is that despite being replicated, cutscenes will still re-play when approaching a key area.

While all of these tools are interesting on their own, they wind up being extremely clunky when mixed. A situation may call for players to make a mad dash but also simultaneously slowly drag objects. In other instances knocking out the wrong guard may make it impossible to quietly deal with the intended target. The worst offenders are optional supply caches that wind up expending more resources to traverse or unlock than what is rewarded. These issues become exacerbated by Quantum Replica’s rigid un-zoomable camera angle which can easily obscure dangers or make environments difficult to parse. This will often lead to players manually replicating in desperation or fully reloading through no fault of their own.

The story and setting aren’t overly remarkable. The game tries to add mystery to Alpha’s amnesia, but it just comes off as strange due to his utter obedience to Alphus’ orders and quick determination against the Syndicate. Both by design and naming there are obvious clues that Alpha is likely a replica of Alphus himself. While players are meant to be exploring a vast open city, most of the landscape just contains long corridors that feel like masked loading screens. While there is the option to talk to various residents, almost all of them have generic and unengaging dialogue. Going off the beaten path is mostly to collect extra items, though most containers may be empty if it is not a specifically marked resistance crate.

Quantum Replica had originally come out for PC in 2018, and the PlayStation 4 version comes off as a quick port. Most notably, a controller feels off: Alpha’s movements are extremely floaty, imprecise, and at times there is a delayed input for lethal takedowns. The console version has some minor texture pop-in and lighting effects that contrast harshly rather than blending in naturally with the environment. The animations are also repetitive, as there appears to be only a single canned takedown maneuver for non-lethal and lethal, respectively.

Quantum Replica has a lot of great ideas to spice up the stealth game genre, but none of them are overly well executed. At times the level design feels as if it were approved without regard to the camera or Alpha’s move set. This can result in some frustrating trial and error or drained supplies. Only the most hardcore stealth espionage fans should consider Quantum Replica. More casual and mid-core players should seek a more polished experience.                            

Kurtis Seid, NoobFeed
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