The Quiet Man (video game)

Did You Know?

• Most of the game consists of full motion videos and extended cutscenes, with players participating most intensely during combat scenarios.
• Wordless on-screen symbols explain how combat can proceed, and there is a 'focus' mode where players can beat down their opponent with a flurry of blows.

Plot

A deaf boy named Dane, living in New York City, steps into a fight between his friend Taye and a bully named Isaac. During the struggle over a gun, Dane's mother Lorraine is shot. Isaac claims responsibility for the killing and is arrested, while Taye flees. Dane's father Robert, a policeman, blames his son for Lorraine's death and becomes abusive. Traumatized, Dane begins drawing a character he calls "The Quiet Man," who looks like a plague doctor. Years later, Dane works as an enforcer for Taye, now a nightclub owner and mob leader. Taye worries about his girlfriend Lala, a singer who looks exactly like Lorraine, because she has been receiving stalker letters. After Dane brings Lala to the club, her show is interrupted by an attack from SOL 33, a rival gang run by Isaac. The stalker, dressed as the Quiet Man, kidnaps Lala. Dane follows her trail to Isaac's penthouse, throws Isaac out a window, and rescues her. Taye, believing Dane is the stalker, orders both killed, but Robert intervenes. While chasing Taye, Robert is shot. He urges Dane to put on the Quiet Man mask. As the Quiet Man, Dane takes a bullet meant for Lala, then gains supernatural strength and kills Taye. Robert reveals he was the stalker, having helped Lala fake her kidnapping to push Dane into killing Isaac and Taye for revenge. Dane and Robert fight and collapse from their wounds. After prison, Dane is released and reconciles with his father.

Development and release

The Quiet Man debuted at Square Enix’s E3 2018 press conference. Producer Kensei Fujinaga shared a series of letters on the game’s Twitter account, starting July 2, 2018, which explored the theme of “words.” On August 9, 2018, Fujinaga hosted a livestream that showed gameplay, story, and cinematic elements. Comic book writers from Man of Action Studios contributed to the narrative. A key design challenge was creating an action-oriented experience without typical menus or health bars, preserving a cinematic feel. The game launched for PlayStation 4 and Windows on November 1, 2018. A patch called Answered arrived on November 8, 2018, enabling a second playthrough that restores sound, dialogue, and music.

Reception

The teaser trailer received mixed critical response, with outlets like Shack News, Press-Start, and ComicsBeat finding it interesting, while Polygon, SegmentNext, and Screen Rant labeled it conceptually intriguing. Destructoid called it bizarre, and The Ball State Daily News criticized the transition between video game footage and live-action. The Quiet Man received "generally unfavorable reviews" on Metacritic and was named Metacritic's Official Worst Game of 2018. PC Gamer described it as a "spectacular disaster," noting that for a game announced at E3 by a major publisher and studio, being this catastrophic was notable. Destructoid gave it a 4 out of 10, stating it failed to deliver on its advertisement of high-production live action, realistic CG, and pulse-pounding action gameplay, with high points giving way to glaring faults. IGN gave it a 5.5 out of 10, praising the live action cutscenes as comparable to a well-made TV episode but criticizing the gameplay as a lackluster button-masher.