Quantum Error was first announced back in 2020, and with is promise of a cinematic cosmic horror experience, it’s certainly turned a few heads. Developer TeamKill Media’s debut project will soon be launching for PS5, and plenty has been revealed about the game in the lead-up to its launch. Here, we’ll be going through all of those details, and highlighting some key points that you should know as you head into Quantum Error’s horror offerings.
STORY
Quantum Error is set in the relatively distant future, in the year 2109. By this time, artificial intelligence has advanced to the point where it has become an embedded part of everyday life, and is operated primarily by the tech known as the Advanced Retinal Global Unity System (or ARGUS), which was developed by Monad, the most powerful tech company in the world. As Quantum Error kicks off, the Monad Quantum Research Facility, a few miles off the coast of California, comes under a mysterious attacks, following which the facility, now engulfed in flames, enters lockdown, before sending out a distress signal to the authorities. Which is where the protagonist comes in.
PROTAGONIST
In Quantum Error, players will step into the boots of firefighter Jacob Thomas. After the Monad facility is attacked and engulfed in flames, its distress signal is received by the Garboa Fire Dept in San Francisco. Responding to the distress signal, Fire Captain Jacob Thomas, his partner Shane Costa, and a crew of firefighters are flown to the facility in a helicopter- following which, as you might imagine, things quickly go wrong.
INSPIRATIONS
As a horror game releasing in 2023, Quantum Error obviously has no shortage of genre greats to draw inspiration from, and developer TeamKill Media has explicitly mentioned quite a few such titles. In a recent interview with GamingBolt, TeamKill Media co-founder Micah Jones said that where things such as health and ammo scavenging and conservation are concerned, Quantum Error takes cues from the likes of Resident Evil and Dead Space.
MONAD FACILITY
A significant portion of Quantum Error will be set in the Monad facility, but given how important the setting can be in a horror game, what’s to be expected here? In our aforementioned interview with Jones, the facility was described as a large, multi-storied complex. “The Monad facility is very large with multiple floors, as if you were at Google or Apple headquarters,” Jones told us. “We built a large cargo elevator that you ride to move between areas of the facility. It gives you the feeling of descending. The elevator is not some trick of loading into levels it is a physical thing built that you actually ride.”
Meanwhile, the game will even see players travelling off-world to distant planets through portals found throughout the facility.
LEVEL DESIGN AND EXPLORATION
Where the Monad facility’s structure and approach to exploration are concerned, Quantum Error once again seems to be taking cues from the likes of Dead Space and Resident Evil. Other than three areas, players will be able to revisit the entire facility, with things such as optional objectives, hidden unlocks, story requirements, and more either encouraging or requiring you to go back to areas that you’ve previous explored.
SEAMLESS LOADING
One of the aspects of Quantum Error that TeamKill Media has emphasized quite frequently is the seamlessness of the experience. According to the developer, the PS5’s SSD has been instrumental in the game’s design, allowing players to seamlessly move through the facility. “The speed of the PS5 and seamless loading really give you an immersive real life feeling that you enter the facility and just make your way through it until the end,” Jones told GamingBolt.
FIRST- AND THIRD-PERSON PERSPECTIVES
When it was first announced, Quantum Error was supposed to be a first-person game, though later on, TeamKill Media would go on to confirm that it will also feature a third-person option. That’s right, the entire game can be played in both first- and third-person (though when played in third-person, some particular mechanics will temporarily switch you to a first-person perspective).
CINEMATICS
How exactly will Quantum Error handle cinematics based on whether you’re playing with a first- or third-person camera? In a nutshell, they’ll remain the same regardless. According to the developer, all cutscenes in Quantum Error will be widescreen cinematics, and will seamlessly transition from cutscene to gameplay (and vice versa), rather than employing cuts.
WEAPONS AND TOOLS
Players will start out with a fairly limited toolset in Quantum Error, though that will expand as you get deeper into the game. At the outset, you’ll be armed with some basic firefighter tools (including an axe), though going forward, you’ll gain access to new firefighter tools, powerful guns and high-tech weaponry, a spacesuit with a jetpack, and more. As you might expect, weapons will also be upgradeable, while the game will also feature vehicle sections.
LENGTH
The length of a game can make or break an experience, and horror games especially have unique requirements on this front, thanks to their demands of maintaining tension and unpredictability. While it remains to be seen how Quantum Error will fare in those particular area, where its length is concerned, it’s set to be a meaty experience. TeamKill Media has confirmed that the game will be 14-20 hours long, depending on how much you explore and engage with the optional content.
NEW GAME PLUS, NO MICROTRANSACTIONS
Even exclusively single player games aren’t safe from in-game monetization in the current gaming market, though thankfully, TeamKill Media has confirmed that Quantum Error will have no microtransactions. Meanwhile, the developer has also confirmed that the game will feature a New Game Plus option at launch, though precise details on what that’ll entail are unknown.
UNREAL ENGINE 5 FEATURES
TeamKill Media has frequently touted Unreal Engine 5 and how Quantum Error is using it in the lead-up to the game’s launch. That includes increased geometric detail thanks to Nanite, more realistic and immersive audio design thanks to Soundscape, and the implementation of Global Illumination for better lighting, shadows, and reflections.
DUALSENSE FEATURES
Launching as a PS5 exclusive, Quantum Error will, as you might expect, also be making use of the DualSense controller’s unique features in various ways. For instance, with the controller’s haptic feedback, you’ll be able to feel everything from the roaring fires around you to the motion of a saw while you’re using it, while the adaptive triggers will also be used for all of your tools and weapons. On top of that, during sections where Jacob will be administering CPR to those in need, you’ll have to deliver breaths using the DualSense’s microphone.
PC AND XBOX VERSIONS
Though Quantum Error will only be available on PS5 when it releases on November 3, TeamKill Media has said that it also has PC and Xbox Series X/S versions in the works. When exactly those versions will release is anyone’s best guess at this point. The developer has previously said that the Xbox Series X/S’ SSD being slower compared to the PS5 is partly why the game isn’t launching simultaneously on both consoles, and speaking to GamingBolt, also said that on Xbox Series S, it was currently in an “unacceptable” state.
FIRST GAME IN A PLANNED TRILOGY
Quantum Error is going to be TeamKill Media’s debut project, but it looks like the developer already has big plans for the IP, having previously confirmed on Twitter that Quantum Error will be the first game in a planned trilogy, with an additional four games being planned on top of that. Speaking to GamingBolt, Micah Jones elaborated on the same, saying, “It is most definitely the first part of a 3-part story, and we even have prequels written. One of the prequels we even toy with doing as a CGI Unreal Engine movie.”