Quake Remastered (PC) Review

For those wretched heretics who don't know what Quake is, it's basically one more occasion where id Software created an industry revolution. In many ways a Doom minus the architectural limitations of it, Quake offered the same first-person shooting frenzy, in a new setting that had a different look, and which would occasionally prove to be more treacherous than what the developer has crafted before. It was ultra-fast-paced, controlled like a dream, made Deathmatch even more popular than before, had a kickass OST courtesy of Trent Reznor, an awesome, dark, and almost Lovecraftian aura… and it was far from perfect. Yours truly gave this game the bronze medal in a previous review, in one of those painful occasions where objective criticism won over his passion and nostalgia for a video game. The good news is that a gem is a gem, even if it has a crack or two on its surface…

Probably the fastest in id Software's history up until the one-man Armageddon of DOOM Eternal, the speed offered here sort of comes at odds with how bullet-spongy the enemies are - probably a way to increase the challenge, without raising the hardware requirements, something that in essence kind of slows down the pace. Not to say that combat is mediocre - far from it. It's great, actually, it's just that it can feel a bit repetitive after prolonged play, especially since there isn't that big of a variety in terms of bad guys, with some, like the iconic Ogre, appearing so often that it can get tiring, no matter how exciting the battle scenarios are - and fortunately they usually are, due to a level design that's not exactly as non-linear as other retro shooters, but is definitely focused on being fun.

Now, since this critic has the new version of this seminal shooter on his greasy hands, he wants to be objective once more. Luckily, this remastered has exceeded all expectations, even by the sky-high standards set by the master of remasters, Nightdive Studios. In one sentence, Quake Remastered is a heavily updated edition of the original, which now can be played up to 4K resolutions and with complete widescreen, includes enhanced models and animations, dynamic and coloured lighting, anti-aliasing, and depth of field. In more sentences, apart from beautifying the original experience, yet keeping it 100% authentic, this bundles Quake's main campaign, with all previously released expansion packs, adding one more that has just been crafted for the sake of this neat, fraggingly good package.

Before continuing, some words about the expansions themselves. The Scourge of Armagon adds a few new weapons, as well as a couple of new enemies, plus a boss (and a new symphonic-meets-ambient-meets-metal OST), but as a whole it feels the same, with the main difference being that it lacks the much better pace of the original mission, as you can find yourself wondering where to go more often than you should. Pretty much the same can be said about Dissolution of Eternity, although it's juuust a little bit better than the first expansion. Dimension of the Past by MachineGames is where the fun factor (and challenge) begins to increase, despite it not including any of the new weapons, enemies, and so on. As for the remaster, it introduces The Dimension of the Machine; a brand new adventure from the same studio, and which is, without any exaggeration, a visual treat.

Long story short, if you wanted more Quake, you'll enjoy what it's in store here, even if it doesn't really "expand" on the basic formula. The real value of this remaster, however, lies not on how good of a game Quake is (and it is very good), but how flawless this is as a product. Apart from the visual enhancements mentioned earlier, this features dedicated server support for online matchmaking and p2p matches, can be played online or via local split-screen (pvp and co-op), and it even includes Crossplay between all systems, including Nintendo Switch. Want more? Great! It's possible (and encouraged) to experience free, fan-made and official mods such as Quake 64, with more content arriving very soon, like with the recent Switch ports of DOOM and DOOM II.

More importantly, and unlike the epic mistake that Blizzard made with Warcraft III: Reforged, this doesn't destroy the original, letting players choose between enjoying whichever version they feel like. See Blizzard? You can actually respect *gasp* customers! Although a minor thing after this list of goodies, this supports a few languages, with Russian probably being available for the first time, if this id Soft fan remembers correctly. Oh, and by the way. Have you already purchased the original Quake? Worry not, because the guys and gals at Bethesda won't force you to spend more money to play the enhanced version - which is already cheap to begin with. In conclusion, a fantastic remaster of a great game, with tons of replay value to be found within.