Whether a gamer hates them or loves them, quick time events are part of gaming now. Quick time events are viewed by many to be the Buzz Killington of gaming. Getting in the groove has been achieved, the boss in on the ropes, and then suddenly everything comes to a halt as buttons begin flashing on the screen. This not only halts the action, but it can often diminish the sense of accomplishment for beating a difficult foe or mission.
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Not all quick time events are bad though. Sometimes, developers figure out how to insert them into the game in a way that actually heightens the action and sense of urgency. As such, quite a lot of games, over the years, weremade better with quick time events. Some entries will cover an entire game franchise that’s known for quick time events, but will focus on a title in the series that handled quick time events well.
10Shenmue Series
It’s required by law to mention theShenmuegames in an article about quick time events. This game handles nearly every challenge with a quick time event. What’s surprising is how Sega managed to keep a game full of quick time events from getting repetitive.
The games in this trilogy areoverloaded with quick time events. This gets the player used to being ready to hit a random button when it begins flashing onscreen. This can get tricky, as there are some quick time events the player must fail (ignore) to progress.
9Asura’s Wrath
Thisgame is rather unique, and is more of an interactive comic book or anime series than a game. None of this meansAsura’s Wrathis a bad game…sometimes weird is good. There are long cut-scenes, followed by intense action sequences.
What earned this game a spot on this list is how wellthe quick time events pull the player into the action, rather than invoking than the opposite reaction. There are standard beat ‘em up sequences that play like those in many third-person action games, but wherethis game shinesis during the quick time events.
8Batman Arkham Series
TheBatman Arkhamseries is knownfor a lot of things, but its quick time events isn’t one of them. Many of the quick time events in the series seemed forced; like beating the shark (literally) inArkham City. However, the Joker fight inArkham Originsis a great scene with some very satisfying quick time events.
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This seriesmakes this list due to one quick time eventin particular - the parry system. When foes are surrounding Batman, one of them will inevitably move in to attack. When this happens, a series of wavy lines will appear around their head. This is an indicator for the player to quickly press the parry button to counter the attack.
7Resident Evil 4
How well are the quick time events inResident Evil 4implemented? So well that this is stillconsidered the bestin the series despite being full of them. A few of them, like the boulder sequences, are a bit tedious and maybe should have been omitted (or at least shortened).
Many quick time events inResident Evil 4are a combination of jump scare and quick time event. Even when the player knows, or guesses, what’s about to happen it’s stillnormal to get a small adrenaline rushfrom some events. There is one quick time event that earned this game a spot on this list. That’s the epic knife fight with Krauser.
6Vanquish
There are many gamers that consider the quick time events inVanquishto be the best in gaming. Whether this is true is up to the individual gamer, but they are certainly memorable. Vanquish is perhaps the most overlooked game in the seventh generation of consoles. It was known for fast-paced action, and humongous bosses that take a while to take down.
When the massive bosses are close to defeat, the player will have the opportunity to preform a finishing maneuver that plays out as a quick time event. The showdown with Bogey Alpha and Bravo ends withone of the most satisfying quick time eventsin gaming.
5South Park: Stick Of Truth
There are two types of quick time events in theSouth Park: The Stick of Truth. The most common are the battle system quick time events thatallow the player-character to perform special attacksin combat. The best example of this type is the fart magic; the picture above this entryshows Randyteaching this technique to the player.
The other kind if the standard quick time event where the action stops to force the player to hit a button on the controller. These aren’t as bad in this game due to the comedy of the nature surrounding many of these events - a few of which are quite raunchy (and hilarious).
4Wolf Among Us
Pretty much anyTelltalegame could have been listed here instead ofWolf Among Us. They all contain their fair share of quick time events, and with a few exceptions, they are all implemented into the games well. Much likeAsura’s Wrath, the games from Telltale are as much interactive movie as they are games.
Many of the conflicts inWolf Among Usare completed via successful quick time events; though, the player needs not get every perform every event perfectly. This game sets itself apart from other Telltale games by havingextended quick time eventsthat can last several minutes.
3Yakuza Series
A lot of times when a quick time event starts in a game the common reaction is, “Really…a quick time event?”. This is hardly ever a player’s reaction when playing a game in theYakuzaseries; which are all full of such events. Many of these arefast-paced action sequencesthat actually present something novel, challenging for quick time events.
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Yakuza 0is the game in the series that probably receives the most praise for its quick time events. Most of them are prolongedcinematic action sequencesthat have the feel of a Tarantino film.
2Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance
TheMetal Gearfranchise is another that is well known for its quick time event sequences. There is one game in the franchise that took the use of quick time events to the next level though,Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance. The driving soundtrack certainly helps make these events more exciting and memorable.
Few games are asgood at blending standard combat encounters with quick time eventsas this one. A few notable quick time events are those while fighting the MG RAY, Jetstream Sam, and Senator Armstrong. All three of these fights are so epic they will have players wanting to immediately replay them.
1God Of War Series
Many gamers first introduction to quick time events were from the games in theGod of Warseries. The player fights bosses using normal gameplay, then gets the opportunity to punish the bosses using quick time events. Unlike many such events in games, in theGod of Wargames these areextremely rewardingto watch.
One particular quick time event in this series is hailed by gamers as one of the best quick time event ever - the end of the Poseidon fight inGod of War 3. This sequence is especially brutal, for Poseidon anyway.
