On the surface, Quantum Break looks like a lot of other action games: there's a lot of shooting, taking cover and huge explosions, so, how different could it possibly be? In reality, Remedy Entertainment has taken its own unique approach to crafting its latest third-person shooter — and while it's a lot of fun to play around with Quantum Break's various weapons and powers, it's not necessarily the easiest game to jump into.

As such, players will probably want to tweak how they approach the game: it's not so drastic that you'll have to completely relearn how to play, but with a few simple changes, the initial awkwardness of Quantum Break's unique control scheme, weaponry and powers will feel second-nature in no time flat.

The best part is that you can make these changes before you even boot up the game. So, for everyone who's just started their first playthrough of Quantum Break, here are our tips and tricks for the best way to play through Remedy's newest shooter:

Play on Hard Mode

It may sound daunting, especially for anyone who's making their first pass at the game, but trust us — playing on Hard Mode is the way to go.

Obviously, Remedy Entertainment wanted players to make it through the game and experience the story without too much hassle. As a result, Jack is a bullet sponge on the Normal difficulty mode, and putting down enemies doesn't take much effort at all.

If you're looking for a challenge, start the game on Hard. Don't worry about the game becoming unbeatable: Quantum Break is no Dark Souls. Unless this is your first action game ever, Quantum Break on Hard Mode is the way to go.

Tweak the Controls

Quantum Break's aiming and shooting mechanics definitely take some time to get used to. Anyone who's played a shooter over the past few months/years will likely need some time to adjust — that being said, there are a few tweaks that should help new players get used to Quantum Break's control scheme.

Aiming sensitivity and vibration strength will vary, based on your personal taste, but one change you'll definitely want to make is to the Aim Assist. The game defaults to "Heavy," which basically turns it into a clunkier version of Grand Theft Auto — instead, try the next setting down. The game feels noticeably better, and won't require nearly as much playstyle adjusting.

Find Your Rhythm

It sounds strange, but Quantum Break definitely falls into its own rhythm. The game's various Acts all follow the same pattern: you'll watch a cutscene, play through the level, watch another cutscene, activate one of the "Junction" choices and then watch an episode of the TV show.

Finding out the best place to take a break can make a big difference in how you play. If you want to boot up the game and jump right into the action, it's probably best that you watch an episode of the TV show before you call it quits — on the other hand, if you don't mind a bit of story before the shooting starts, feel free to power your console down once the gameplay stops.

Use Your Powers Often

In other games, powers are used as a last resort, something that's only used when the player has nothing left up their sleeve — in Quantum Break, however, Jack's powers can be used like an entirely separate arsenal of weapons.

As the game goes on and more powers open up, you'll realize just how quickly they recharge. Whereas a game like Destiny requires a few minutes in between super moves, Quantum Break's different abilities can be used every few seconds. When you start factoring in the various upgrades that you'll unlock over the course of the game, Jack's powers become even more useful — all that's left to do is put them to good use.

Upgrade Your Powers Often

On top of using your powers as much as you can, you're also going to want to upgrade them whenever you can afford it. The first few upgrades for each power don't cost much, but they do change how each power works: for instance, your Time Dodge goes from a simple teleport to an easy way to find hidden enemies.

Plus, if you're looking for collectibles often (more on that later), you won't have any shortage of upgrade points available. Even a casual search will unlock most of the game's upgrade points before the credits roll — why not spend them while you can?

Cherish the Carbine Rifle

Quantum Break features a number of high-powered weapons, all of which can take down Monarch soldiers with ease — but there's nothing quite as powerful as the Carbine Rifle.

You won't find the Carbine until roughly halfway through the game, but as soon as you find one, do everything in your power to keep it. The rifle is highly accurate, extremely powerful and absolutely destroys anything in its path — regardless of what difficulty level you're playing on. There are flashier guns available, but if you're struggling with the later sections of the game, the Carbine will be your best friend.

Grab Any Collectibles You Can

Most players are familiar with the idea of collecting random knick-knacks in different games, but Quantum Break is one of those rare cases where the dozens of collectibles actually feel warranted.

Aside from providing Jack with valuable upgrade points, each of the game's various collectibles help flesh out the story. Reading these emails and text messages add quite a bit to the overarching plot — and if you're lucky, you'll find hidden "Ripples" that change certain moments throughout the TV show. There are even a few genuinely funny secrets hidden away in the game — if it looks like a movie script, it's worth reading.

Never Start a New Game – Always Replay Missions

Once you've beaten the game, you may be tempted to go back and start all over again — don't do that!

If you were hoping to go back and collect all of the game's different hidden items and Junction choices, just go back and replay the individual missions. You'll still have access to the Timeline feature, and your progress will carry over — but if you choose to start a new game, you can kiss all of that goodbye.

Choosing "New Game" from the main menu will wipe everything: mission progress, collectibles and Junctions will all be reset. If you don't mind losing your progress, feel free to start over — but most people will probably want to avoid the "New Game" button.

Quantum Break is a great game, but it's different from just about every other title on the market these days — yet, it doesn't really hold your hand all that much. With these few tweaks, you shouldn't have any trouble getting the most out of your journey back and forth through time!

For more on Quantum Break, make sure to check out our review.

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