Announced over a year ago and recently featured during the Future Games Show, Quantum Error is an upcoming cosmic-horror shooter that places players inside a dangerous facility on Jupiter. Surrounded by all manner of otherworldly enemies, players must fight to survive while being attacked from every direction.
Quantum Error looks to be an effective blend of science fiction and horror that features an everyman protagonist barely holding his own in an alien world fraught with terror around every corner. Developer TeamKill Media looks to be creating an interesting new sci-fi/horror game that features several similarities to the classic Dead Space series.
TeamKill has kept story details regarding Quantum Error rather vague so far, but the premise blends sci-fi with a grounded setting to produce an interesting fish-out-of-water-style horror narrative. Much like Dead Space, which centered on everyman protagonist engineer Isaac Clarke, Quantum Error players control Jacob Thomas, a California firefighter. Quantum Error begins with Jacob responding to an emergency distress signal coming from a mysterious research facility located on an island off the coast.
After a series of increasingly unfortunate events unfold, Jacob finds himself on another mysterious facility located on the planet Jupiter. TeamKill has mentioned that this horror-themed story will explore humanity's "fear of the unknown." From the trailers, this indicates Jacob will have to square off against all manner of horrific monsters plaguing the facility and find a way for him not only to survive, but to somehow make it back to Earth.
Visually, Quantum Error is a gorgeous experience, with the clean and utilitarian interior of the facility showing off atmospheric lighting and copious amounts of realistic gore. The mechanical aesthetic gives way to the barren planet landscapes of the outdoor areas, which are equally bleak and inhospitable. Quantum Error's enemy design is effective as well, with a variety of horrific cosmic monsters to attack the player. Humanoid demon-like creatures with blades for arms give way to giant arachnid-like insects and giant lumbering figures sporting unsettling exoskeletons. This combination of atmosphere and monster design evoke other great sci-fi/horror games, like 2006's Prey and the original Dead Space's massive ship environments.
To battle the foes that now populate the facility, Jacob will need to arm himself with an arsenal of both conventional and sci-fi weaponry. Jacob can wield ballistic pistols and shotguns, many of which sport an in-world HUD that states the amount of ammunition remaining, giving them a near-future aesthetic. Players will also get to wield more imaginative weaponry. Trailers have shown off a DOOM-style ion rifle and an ultra-powerful rail gun that reduces enemies to a pile of gore as it blasts them apart.
Along with the more fantastical weaponry, Jacob's firefighting gear also made the trip to Jupiter with him. He can utilize his fire axe to cut down monsters in brutal fashion, each swing landing with a satisfying cleave into flesh and bone. Jacob also has access to the hydraulic "Jaws of Life" tool, which proves to be useful alongside the axe, ripping apart enemies left and right in its powerful scissor-like blades. Players utilizing Jacob's firefighter skills and tools is an interesting aspect of Quantum Error's gameplay, and it's similar to Dead Space's futuristic tool weaponry and protagonist Isaac Clarke using his engineering skills to help him survive.
Although billed as a first-person shooter, Quantum Error can actually be played in either first or third-person, another interesting concept that most shooters don't offer these days. Although much of the gameplay footage released so far shows Jacob stalking the dimly lit halls of the facility, methodically taking on monsters in first-person, some footage has shown off the third-person combat. Jacob can acquire a spacesuit that looks like a mixture of something out of classic DOOM and Mass Effect, which allows him to strafe and dodge enemies with a quick dash ability.
Ultimately, Quantum Error looks to be a promising sci-fi/horror game that shares quite a few similarities with the classic Dead Space series. TeamKill's game combines an intriguing premise with plenty of action that looks to create a gorgeous experience that's equally tense and thrilling. Fans of action-horror games will have to check out just what Quantum Error has in store when it releases for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S sometime later this year.