Quake in the test: The remaster of the shooter classic is good for it

Quake in the test

We are used to the fact that older games are gradually being delivered to the consoles. The fact that publishers have been taking their time for 21 years to program an implementation is a bit too much of a good thing!

Table of contents

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Classic in a "new" guise

All jokes aside: Pretty much everyone should know the classic shooter Quake. After all, it appeared in 1996 and, after Doom, laid the second foundation stone for id Software's exceptional position in the early days of the genre. And just in time for the game's 25th birthday, Bethesda not only announced a remaster edition of the game at QuakeCon in mid-August, but also released it on the same day. Nice surprise!

Every now and then you will also meet bosses and mini-bosses. Nowadays they are tactically no longer demanding, but they distribute well and take even better. Source: PC Games But what is it actually about? You embody a soldier named Ranger (no, not the manitou's shoe) and you have to stop the mysterious eponymous Quake (buy now € 50.06 / € 8.99) that threatens the earth. Why? Because the military has been playing around with dimensional portals again and in the process aroused evil forces. A typical video game Wednesday. But then there is no more story. To do this, the game uses the premise to stage varied levels. There are lava-drawn demon levels that are reminiscent of big brother Doom, but also those with a fantasy touch, in which you roam Gothic fortresses, fight knights and take on Cthulhu-like boss opponents.

One after another? Nope!

What's worse than a giant scorpion? A giant robotic scorpion armed with machine guns! After all, he can only take a few hits. Source: PC Games The starting point for these forays into each of the five included campaigns is a hub in which you select the levels. In addition to the basic game, which is divided into four episodes, the remaster also contains the two official, classic add-ons "Scourge of Armagon" and "Dissolution of Eternity". Added to this is the "Dimension of the Past", no longer staged by the original developers, which was distributed free to the players in 2016 for Quake's 20th birthday. Its developer MachineGames also sat down again and put together a fourth add-on called "Dimension of the Machine". You have a total of over 80 missions to choose from - and that is meant literally, because in the remaster you can not only play through them chronologically, but also select them individually right from the start.

The levels of the new “Dimension of the machine ”make

look a bit more attractive, especially when it comes to lighting. Source: PC Games In addition, there is of course the multiplayer part, where you can play through the campaign with four people in co-op mode, regardless of whether via split screen or online. Alternatively, you can jump into classic deathmatches for up to eight players, but the number of open games in our test phase was rather manageable and associated with waiting times - despite crossplay with PC, Playstation and Xbox! If you don't feel like it, you can also create your own matches and play with friends via P2P. It's all very exemplary that a large community will form here again, but we think it's unlikely. We are placing greater hope in the menu item "Add-ons", under which you can download additional officially supported fan mods and extensions. At the moment you can "only" select Quake 64 - the Nintendo 64 version of the original game - but further free add-ons are to follow in the next few days and weeks.

A question of technology

Regardless of the size, you should of course not expect any miracles from the Quake remaster. In a playful way, you are offered a 25-year-old shooter that still works wonderfully, but also comes across as very old-fashioned. The game is fast and hectic, but not too tactical either. The controls have been adapted well to the controller, the JoyCons and even the gyro sensor, but for today's conditions it is also quite spongy. And even if the game has been scaled to 1080p (even 4K on the PC!) And upgraded with chic extras such as ambient occlusion or new lighting effects, it still looks very pixelated. If you still feel like an outmoded, but really good shooter, you can grab it without hesitation.

My opinion

By Sascha Lohmüller

Editor-in-chief

[email protected] For fans of the series and anyone interested in video game history It is pretty clear which customers the Quake remaster is aimed at: Those who already know the original or at least have come into contact with older shooters are. Because despite all the optical gimmicks and efforts that have gone into this: Of course, the game no longer looks really nice after 25 years. I dare to doubt that it will attract a Fortnite disciple like Johannes from behind the tofu oven. For fans of the original or even players who have no problems with somewhat more frumpy shooters, the remaster is a really great, jam-packed package. To shoot your way through all 80+ levels and possibly also rasp off all the secrets should keep you busy for a while. And thanks to the co-op part, the currently somewhat orphaned Deathmatch area and the announced add-ons, there should be even more activity. I definitely had a lot of fun again. Quake (NSW) 8/10

Graphics - Sound - Multiplayer - Quake (PS4) 8/10

Graphics - Sound - Multiplayer - Quake (PS5) 8/10

Graphics - Sound - Multiplayer - Quake (XBO) 8/10

Graphics - Sound - Multiplayer - Quake (XSX) 8/10

Graphics - Sound - Multiplayer - Pros & Cons Huge scope With main game and four add-ons Still successful shooter gameplay Great soundscape including soundtrack by Trent Reznor Co-op and multiplayer mode, crossplay supports Relatively neatly pimped up Well-adapted controls After 25 years, it looks very old-fashioned deathmatch modes with little traffic and Much waiting time More pros & cons ... Conclusion Still a really good shooter, but a bit old-fashioned by today's standards