It is nostalgia time again as Quake Remastered is out from the original developer, id Software, along with Nightdive Studios, and published by Bethesda Softworks. This brings me back to the old days of fighting over the one computer in the house with six children to play Quake. Being the successor of id Software’s massively popular Doom series, Quake, in its day, lead the way and was the foundation for many of the FPS games we play today. Quake used real-time 3D rendering to set itself apart from any other shooter game at the time and solidified its well-deserved popularity.

With this newly remastered edition, you can travel back in time and re-live the original story, find the four runes from the four levels to unlock the last area, and defeat the ancient evil that wants to destroy the human race. Each of the four levels has around eight areas you must get through, all with hidden rooms, and each with a secret extra area. I mean, this game is just full of secrets. It took me a while to find most of them, but once you find a few you see a bit of a pattern that makes some easier to find. The one thing that I still need to find and try is the fourth-level hardcore mode that is hidden so unsuspecting players do not accidentally wander in there.

Not only do you get the main game, but the two original expansion packs are included; The Scourge of Armagon, and Dissolution of Eternity. Along with those cool-named expansions, you get a couple of bonus ones created by MachineGames; Dimension of the Past and the new Dimension of the Machine, which has players dive deep into the depths of a labyrinth and work their way to its core known as The Machine. You must find the lost runes, bring them together to unlock the portal, and destroy the evil on the other side before it destroys us.

I have not played much of the Multiplayer mode, however, there are a couple of options to choose from. You have the four players online or local split-screen CO-OP, but if you’re looking for a more competitive scraper gunfight, you can play with eight people online or four people with a local split-screen. There are dedicated servers to support the online multiplayer and peer-to-peer support for the custom game setup.

The bonus to this is it is completely cross-platform, so no matter what your friends play on, you can shoot it out together. That was a big thumbs-up selling point for me as I have a lot of friends on both PC and Xbox that I can now play this game with more games should try and do this.

The graphics have been enhanced and now support widescreen and 4K resolution. I no longer have the original to compare it to, but just from memory I can tell just how much fuller this game looks from the more dynamic look, the highlighted detailing of the surroundings, and improved character models. I won’t drag on too much about the music – it is great. The original soundtrack and main theme by Trent from Nine Inch Nails, Chefs Kiss, pure gold.

I do recommend moving and looking around so you can adjust your settings. When first playing for me at least, my setting was super high, and jumping straight into the game had me dizzy. I am pretty sure all of my sensitivities were maxed; I am not that skilled or coordinated to be able to play with those settings and my numerous first deaths were a good indicator. Other than that, I cannot fault it.

Now I do believe that only a few new, never-played-before gamers will like this. I believe that the main target player base will be those OG Quake players the people who love the nostalgia hits. Luckily for me, I fall into that category, and just playing Quake has me wanting to play the OG Doom and Wolfenstein games again.

Definitely worth a look for people under thirty if you are into retro-style games, or if you play a lot of FPS games, test your skills on one of the OG FPS games. For people over thirty, you best already have this game or have it sitting in your wishlist because it is making a comeback.

Written by: Adam Brasher