80%Xbox Series X/S

Quake was the first truly 3d shooter back in 1996 by the creators of Doom and Doom 2 a couple years prior. It used revolutionary 3D technology that forever changed the industry by pushing it forward in a big way, and most 3d games built since have some Quake DNA in them. Modern gaming owes a lot to Quake and the minds behind it.

This review is gonna bit a little on the short side. I won't go into what original visions for quake were vs what came out, the development cycle, or anything of that nature. Suffice it to say that Quake's original plans were much more expansive and involved than what they actually ended up making, and then they scaled back a lot to make a shooter structured much like Doom. Quake consists of 4 episodes each with around 8 levels or so. The levels are smaller than Doom to accommodate for the taxing nature of rendering 3d environments of any kind, no matter how simple, back in 1996. The bite sized levels each take only a few minutes to complete, no more than 10 unless you're stuck searching for secrets. Quake's smaller levels also have fewer enemies than in Doom in order for quake to be playable on most PCs of the day, so enemies are buffed up over what they were in Doom.

Quake is a movement shooter. You have healthpacks, ammo, and the occasional power up scattered about the levels. Enemies are varied and act like chess pieces on a board. They each fulfill a different role on the battlefield whether that be to crowd you so you can't use explosives, to shoot grenades at you that sit on the ground for a moment before exploding so as to deny you from walking on certain parts of the ground, or maybe just to force you to think on your feet while fighting. Different enemies also have semi-optimal strategies for taking each down because of their different behavior. Quake is a game that forces you to adapt on the fly as you play and it's really good at it especially for the literal first 3d shooter of its kind. I know the project was spearheaded by John Carmack, literally one of the top smartest people on earth, but it's still shocking how well they did with quake being their first 3D Game. I played Doom Eternal for the second time just last year, and the gameplay loop for that game is much more Quake like than it is Doom or Doom 2 like.

Quake doesn't really have a story in the same way that Doom didn't really have a story. The game has some flavor text at the end of each episode to give a bit of context to what you're doing, but it isn't at all deep, or even well written. The game is all about the gameplay. I have heard many things about quake's multiplayer scene, but I'm not looking at that aspect of it for this review.

The level design in quake as noted before is a lot smaller than Doom was due to hardware constraints. Battles with enemies feel more claustrophobic, but at the same time, the design is nice and tightly made with the small levels. It certainly felt like the design was more focused than Doom. The fact tha there was no map wasn't much of a problem. I was able to find a handful of secrets, about 50% or maybe more, without a map in quake. The telegraphing of them isn't all that bad. The levels however were all very similar in their color pallet. Most of the game is various shades of brown. I would have liked to see more color variety, but it really isn't that bad.

Without a doubt Quake's best strength is its movement and feel. Running and gunning in Quake doesn't feel old and clanky at all, it's fluid and smooth. The guns each have their own unique feel and sound design, which work very well. It's an impeccably designed game and I'm once again surprised by how well ID Software did whilst pioneering new technologies. The things that hold the score back for me are the samey feel of the levels, and super minimalistic story. It's a shame that their ambitions couldn't be realized, but the Quake we got is a well made, super polished game. I just got tired of it before the end due to the variety falling off. Still pretty good though. Will revisit. 81/100.

65%PC

This game is fast. Shows my age.

100%PlayStation 4

Nothing original to say here: "Quake" is excellent. It's fast, it's fluid, it's gory, it's gothic - it's original and yet wholly familiar. Nightdive's Playstation port is the bees-knees, even with dialing-down the next-gen filters for the hot water bottle I call my PS4 Slim. Mod support is generous, analog control is definitive. Playing Quake in the 21st century is like watching a 4K restoration of a movie from the 1930s: it could have been made yesterday. Timeless.

100%PC

This is a remaster of the original Quake, and I think Nightdive have (yet again) done an excellent job here. Quake was the successor to the DOOM series, but the game had a different, darker vibe. It was one of the first games to have support for 3D graphics accelerator cards, and I remember putting one in my rig in 1996 just to get the most out of this game. I playied long into the night when I should have been getting some sleep. It was that good!

This release includes the original campaign along with the “The Scourge of Armagon” and “Dissolution of Eternity” expansions, as well as two expansions developed by MachineGames: “Dimension of the Past,” and “Dimension of the Machine”. Very good value for money and definitely recommended!

90%PC

How can such an old game be so entertaining?
Bu kadar eski bir oyun nasıl bu kadar eğlendirmeyi başarabiliyor?

85%PC

An incredibly dull arsenal and a few baffling enemy designs only somewhat sour how incredibly fun this is as a no-nonsense shooter.

85%PC

First proper, or at least mainstream and actually good, 3D FPS ever, with an amazing soundtrack and atmosphere and fast paced combat, it stands the test of time and has a lot of replayability, the remaster adds new amazing levels. I have lost count of how many times i have replayed it.

100%PC

Classic

75%Nintendo Switch

Classic boomer shooter

70%Mac

Amazing for what it accomplished but just not for me. If you enjoy looking for keys in similar-looking halfways, this might do it for you. Regardless of that gameplay element, every gun feels great.

100%PC

It's hard to judge Quake nowadays. Hard and funny, in a way, now that its making is well documented. We didn't know at the time but yep, apart from being the very first 3D FPS, Quake is also a strange patchwork of levels, maybe sometimes a collection of b-sides levels from Doom. But it works like... well, hell. I can't really explain but Quake is quite unique. The music, the game feel, nothing really looks like Quake nowadays, and certainly not modern FPS.

50%PC

Quake was one of the first retro FPS' to introduce *true* 3D environments and character models. In my mind, it's more impressive as a time capsule for it's tech and multiplayer than it's singleplayer campaign. It's an *okay* game. The aesthetics and environments design are a bit dull, with every level playing out in some grey/beige castle or dungeon. It feels good to play, but the levels and encounters are just fine.

Compared to other classic shooters: there's fewer but beefier enemies. You move fast and so do they. The movement systems of quake can get quite intricate from what I hear, but there's no need to do anything beyond strafing behind obstacles and enemies. There's a decent variety to the enemies for such a short game.

The loadout is fine but nothing stands out to me. It's strange how there's multiple weapons that have a objectively better version. Double shotgun > shotgun, super nail gun > nail gun.

Not a lot to say, It's probably the shortest retro FPS I've played. If it dragged on I probably would be more negative towards it. It's pretty standard as far as retro FPS' go in terms of design, this iteration just isn't that exciting or novel to me. I played a few rounds of multiplayer that were decent fun, but there was barley anyone online and most were playing with mods. I'm sure other quake games are more populated.

85%PC

Forever Gold! I've played the Enhanced Edition released in 2021.

90%PC

I always loved Quake. After all, it's the first truly 3D first person shooter that also introduced the concepts we all love and use nowadays: bunny hopping and rocket jumping.

But back then I was more impressed by the visuals. It was hard to believe that a videogame can look that good. And you know what? Quake still holds up today: obviously, now I played OpenGL version, but I didn't feel the need to install any mods (unlike in case of Doom, which is basically unplayable without GZDoom).

The only thing I didn't remember from the childhood, is how short Quake is. I've beaten it on hard (the first episode on nightmare) in around 5 hours. But that's probably the only downside. I really believe every fan of FPS genre should play it even now. 25+ years after its release!

80%Xbox Series X/S

Un concurrent à Doom avec un gameplay assez dynamique et un monde en désolation. La grande différence est la possibilité de viser en 3D là où doom demande que de viser selon un seul axe, l’axe horizontale.
L’arsenal est vaste et original, un très bon jeu de tir.
Les extensions sont sympathiques avec l'ajout de nouvelles armes et de nouveaux monstres.

90%PC

Every time I play this game it gets better and better. Just everything you should do in an Old School Shooter and I feel that the people making Boomer Shooters today need to really take a look at this as the PRIME example of how to do it right. One of the best things about the game is the setting, this industrial fantasy with guns and science fiction weaponry is utterly brilliant. At the time there was nothing like this on the market that showcased not just graphical prowess like this but such a extraordinarily original and visionary setting in the video game market. Every time I play this I'm deeply immersed in the atmosphere thanks to Nine Inch Nails haunting, horrifying soundtrack which is still unsettling in most levels. The game also has a terrific sense of pacing, episodes are short and jam packed with action and thrills and if you really know what you're doing, you can easily beat this game in 2-3 Hours tops.

The gunplay and gameplay are some of the best in any shooter I've played. The guns are amazing and continue to impress me with how powerful they are, even the smaller ones. It's extremely satisfying to rocket launch an enemy into gory chunks. The enemies are all impressive and there are definite challenges to defeating them. The Vores homing missile, the Slime's intense explosive damage and the Shamblers hitscan lightning attacks can all be solved and avoided by smart movement and weapon management. And there are parts where if a fight is too much, you can pretty much avoid it which is what I found out. The level design is at an all time high, with secrets that are fun to find and also rewarding for those who go out of their way to find them. The game still holds up graphically with this new remaster and this is probably one of the first games that went with a dull color scheme, later imitated by several 7th Gen Games like Gears of War, for better and worse.

There are some issues. For example, there is sometimes no feedback when you are being attacked so if you're just walking around a room there will be no sound coming from your character to showcase you are hit which can be terrible if you don't pay attention to your health in the corner of the screen. The lack of a map also really sucks. I know technology was limited back then but they could have at the very least with this re-release/remaster added a map feature similar to Doom 2016. The lack of autosave also is terrible and yadda yadda, technological restraints, but I don't know if it would have fit well with these levels in general but it sucks if you screw up and have to load a quick save and then realize it's from the previous level you played.

Quake is still brilliant. Probably one of the Top 10 Best FPS Games ever and it still holds up. Compared to Quake II, it's more timeless thanks to it's art style, gameplay, pacing, level design, atmosphere and unique setting for an FPS Game. Many would go on to copy Quake's graphical style in these Boomer Shooters but I don't think they understand why it worked so well since. It's an all timer, a must play and genuinely a joy to play even after all these years.

40%PC

The tech is incredibly impressive for the time. I don't think it's a fun game.

80%PC

this game has aged really well for being such a new concept when it came out

the speedruns are fun to watch too

70%PC

Going into quake I had no idea what to expect other than I knew it was made by the same guys who made doom and Wolfenstein and that the source engine is pretty much just an updated quake engine. I had hoped that quake would at least be a linear shooter, instead of the more level based design that id was known for at the time, and while at first it may not have seen like it, thats exactly what I had gotten. Quake is probably one of the most influential shooter games that isnt talked about anymore, and playing through it, its easy to see the impact that it had on games.

Now that ive played wolfenstein, doom and quake, its easy to see how each game improved on the other. Doom added ramped floors, however it still wasnt a truly 3 dimensional map, instead creating the illusion of one by using ramps to trick a players mind. Quake however is exactly that, a 3 dimensional game with a 3d world, and thus this game does not have a map. Initially it seemed as if quake was going to be sectioned off into mazes such as doom and wolf 3d, however the levels are actually fairly linear, leading a player down a path to each key and to the exit. Thats not to say I never got lost, but its fascinating to see early 3d linear level design from the masters of the 2d maze.

Gameplay wise, quake is exactly the same as doom and wolf 3d, with high action gameplay and many fast firing guns, however id say the gameplay in this game is actually a bit worse than in those games, because a lot of your guns dont do much damange, you dont have much ammo, and enemies have a lot of health while you dont have much. Honestly, while I was playing the main campaign I was under the impression that this was more of a dark fantasy survival horror game due to the dark levels and the music/sounds which can even at some points consist of just whispers. This "survival horror" aspect sticks around for the main campaign, however for all 4 dlcs it goes away more and more, which honestly leads to the game feeling repetitive and boring after a while, especially in the 2nd dlc with levels reaching up to 15 minutes long at some points.

The most fascinating part of this game however is the story. This feels like a game stuck in time, because it simaltaniously tries to stick to ids "story in a game should be like a story in a porn movie concept" while also using the updated 3d engine to create environmental storytelling, as well as giving the player a game wide goal rather than just "go here." The main story is broken up into 4 episodes which can be played in any order, but the goal is the same for all, obtain a rune. In the main game and the dlc especially, the environmental story telling is the main way that plot is delivered, however my main problem with that is that the game never incentivizes or even forces you to slow down and actually take in the story that is trying to be delivered to you. In fact, with this being such a fast pace game, it actively incentives you to not do so, and instead rush through each level as fast as you can. Thats what is quakes downfall in my opinion, is that it tries to be 2 different games at once, and it doesnt do such a great job at it.

With its innovative storytelling and 3d level design, quake changed the fps genre forever, and in fact id argue that it still holds up today quite well, especially with the modern remaster. The most striking thing that jumped out at me when I was playing this, is that this game, not doom, is what all those modern "boomer shooters" are based off of, and quake plays honestly exactly like something like ultrakill. Quake is an important game, even to this day, but I just dont think this is as much of a classic and still as fun to play as something like doom. The main story is good, but the dlcs are an easy skip for me. I'd say this is a really good and fun game to play for a while, but not one to try and "complete" as I did. This game is fun to play for a while to kill time, but other than that, its just an important piece of gaming history, and one that I don't think should be on everyones must play list.

50%PC

𝗤𝘂𝗮𝗸𝗲 is as timeless as Doom but decreases in quality as the game goes on.

The futher you get in the game, the slower paced the game gets as the levels become more large and maze like. Some of the levels do work well with this but it feels quite rushed once you get to Episode 4 where they spam Quad-Damage non-stop randomly over the maps followed by level design that is massive in size for the sake of it just being big, long empty corridors for example.

The final boss misleads you into thinking it'll be a fight you need to be properly equipped for instead of what it is, a simple teleport timing.

The game has some good levels early on and the music is amazing and very atmospheric. However i must say that the expansions to this game are truly fantastic (the new ones added with the remaster) I highly suggest playing them as they do the engine, game, graphics, gameplay, music all justice beyond belief.

90%PC

Cool remaster

75%PC

A very good shooter with some of the most evil traps and ambushes I've seen. Adds a bit more verticality to the DOOM formula, but not enough to revolutionize it.

80%PC

Once you get it to actually work and make sense of the UI and menus, it plays smooth as ever. Bit odd and dated.

90%Nintendo Switch

The remastered version is amazing. Tons of levels and fast paced combat at 60fps. What more do you want?

60%PC

The gameplay is good, but there's very little story and the visuals are boring

80%PC

Chapter four did not make as much fun as the first three chapters.

70%PC

It's the original Boomer Shooter. At its time I would assume it was a great game, but for modern days it feels very simplistic. However, there is still a lot to love.
The movement is excellent and a blast to control. All the guns feel great to use. The artstyle is timeless and gives out an atmosphere of horror that still succeeds in instilling dread even when you are blasting away hundreds of demons. And the pacing feels perfect, levels are long enough to have a thematic gameplay idea with a beginning, middle and end, but not as long as to drag on and tire you. I never felt the urge to stop midway through a level, because they all flow so well.
The problem was in the repetition, diversity of enemies and guns and visuals. By the time you finish the first episode, you have seen almost all the game has to offer, there is only a couple of enemies, guns and levels visuals left to discover. A lot of the enemies just behave the same, so you end up dealing with most of them the same way, and only a couple offer any challenge when alone.
A lot of the maze-like levels also end up feeling similar, since they don't really offer a lot of challenge in the exploration department, you just walk through the available paths until you find all the progression items you need. Sounds like a shallow criticism, but that was basically how I played the game, and I never really got lost or stuck. Just go to the rooms you haven't been before you'll probably find what you need to progress. I haven't found all the secrets or secret exists, so there are still exploration challenges in the levels, but just the normal progression is quite of a breeze to go through and I wish I had gotten stuck more often.
For guns, there are: Two close quarters shotguns that feel mostly the same. Two long ranged nail guns that feel mostly the same. Two explosive guns, a grenade launcher and a rocket launcher, they feel different from each other and you can rocket jump to find secrets and skip some areas. A lighting gun that is hitscan with the highest amount of damage, it's the gun that feels the worst to use, but it's so powerful that it still ends up being fun due to the power fantasy. And the only melee weapon, an axe, that you'll only use when you are out of ammo or trying to conserve it. So in total only 5 variations in gameplay, but most of the time you won't have ammo for half of those options.
With a short playtime, the game felt just long enough to satisfy your boomer-shooter desires, while not dragging out for too long. It's a joy to play, but I don't see myself going back to it when there are so many similar games nowadays that took the formula and improved on it.

90%PC

It’s Quake, need I say more?

70%PC

7.5/10.
A rudimentary FPS from a simpler time of games. The remastered enhanced edition does well to make the game well-playable on modern systems.

85%PC

Had fun but again FPS. I wonder if I could play for longer on a handheld.

80%Xbox Series X/S

+ Fast, twitchy gameplay
+ Requires strategic thinking
+ Level design is hit or miss

- Gun variety is lame
- A lot of the combat is based on explosives, which can lead to frustratingly random instadeaths

80%Nintendo Switch

16/20

85%PC

Cool level design and sound design for the time. Could use some more enemy types, and is a little samey and short, but holds up well overall.

90%PlayStation 5

That game was totally fun! However, I missed a little bit of challenge like in Serious Sam, I didn't find it quite as intense even though I played on easy, if you think about how crazy SS goes on lower difficulty hehe. Overall a great experience!

70%PC

И сейчас играется весьма неплохо. По части сюжета игра придерживается ранней философии Кармака — нинужон. Музыка в игре ужасная. Если есть желание бодро крошить монстров отключив мозг — это оно.

90%PC

Final Score: 89/100

Holds up beautifully, even if you're playing the original version rather than the HD update. On that note, be prepared to fuss with the game a bit if you're doing that. That aside, the game's pacing is fast, fun, and what you want from an arena shooter. Plenty of content to keep you busy, and plenty of reasons to come back.

50%PlayStation 4

Gameplay: 35
Story: 0
Music: 50
Graphics: 80
Technical: 65

Average: 46

100%PC

Good for all levels.

90%PC

The masterpiece FPS from the golden years of id Software. Fast-paced, creepy and super frenetic, the game still plays like a dream despite being released over 25 years ago. Good fun all around!

90%PC

Ahead of its time

90%PC

Joguei pra me divertir com uns amigos meus em 2020, gostei bastante, a jogabilidade é muito boa, as armas são legais, é bem frenético, recomendo.

90%PC

still one of the best

90%PC

Quake surprised me as a worthy successor to Doom in a lot of ways. Perhaps it sometimes takes too much from Doom, but overall it is a strong, well realized FPS. The world of Quake is more interesting than Doom in many ways. The monsters of the game are gruesome, engaging, and keep the frantic pace of the game nearly as aggressive as Doom. The environments are ominous and varied, with many levels feeling distinct and inventive, both for the time and now. Even the weapons manage to have unique rhythms that fit the dark aesthetic. The music is a surprising but welcome departure too, effectively complimenting the tone and furthering the separation with id’s previous games. Indeed, a great strength of Quake is its grim, moody atmosphere that most elements contribute to. The main weakness in my opinion is a bit of bloat in the last episode. Episode 4 is a more difficult and oppressive take than the other episodes that mostly works, only falling short with an over reliance on obscuring lighting and inopportunely dropping enemies on the player. The lack of meaningful boss encounters is another minor issue, though it hardly diminishes the cumulative experience. Quake nonetheless remains a tense and fun shooter that has more than enough memorable moments to make up for its few shortcomings. It’s very much worth playing today and stands out as a remarkable step forward for FPS games.

80%PC

papa's favorite shooter. actually really good game. highly recommend

90%Nintendo Switch

Game time approximate - Nintendo Switch

80%PC

The quakespasm source-port felt incredibly responsive and modern. The secret places/items to help with difficult sections is an incredibly rewarding mechanic, and I'm not sure why it isn't in modern games. Overall, a 9/10 until the fourth chapter, which placed a bunch of very annoying exploding enemies in dark corners.

80%PC

I've always loved Quake's multiplayer but never got around the playing the campaign. Having now done that I can see why some people were disappointed with it, but I enjoyed the time I spent with it (the final few levels notwithstanding, spawns can eat it).

60%PC

Quake hits you with that classic 90s unforgiving gameplay. It is fun, fast paced and fuckkkking hard. One of the first Rouge Lites Some missions take 20-30 mins and if you die you have to do them all over again. It is rough. I had a fun time but man this game is really annoying when it wants to be. If you want to play through quake I recommend the OG campaign. Then the last DLC the machine. The machine DLC reminds me a lot of half life the way the levels are designed, I really enjoyed it the other DLCs are meh in my opinion. 6/10 because of age, difficulty, and glitches/frustration.

60%PC

yee

90%Xbox Series X/S

Didn’t realize ID monster closets went back this far. Some lvls were hard to navigate and others were trap after trap. Outside of the slimes the enemies they throw at you are manageable. Great music and strong graphic design. It was great to finally beat this game.