2021, while you have been an absolutely horrid year (at least for me personally, I hope everyone reading this has been having a much nicer year), at least you know how to come through with a pleasant surprise on a rare occasion. Full disclosure, before the release of this title, I never played a "Quake" game. That's not out of malice, but I just never had the chance to do so. I did recently re-experience id Software's classic "DOOM" games in 2020 thanks to re-releases on modern platforms, but I didn't really have a chance to re-experience "Quake." However, as I mentioned, the awful year that is 2021 is still capable of some nice surprises here and there, and one of those came at QuakeCon@Home, with the surprise announcement (and same-day release) of "Quake Remastered" on modern platforms. Even better news: this remaster would be coming to Xbox Game Pass as well. I knew I had to jump for the opportunity to grab it, and after spending some quality time with it, I really enjoyed my time with it.
Beyond the qualities of this nice remaster, "Quake" as a game has aged pretty solidly. Even in a genre that is absolutely saturated today, this still offers excellent, fast-paced shooting gameplay, with strong level design that is interesting and accessible puzzle-focused stuff. There's also some great visual design throughout the levels, I feel like the graphics haven't aged a day, and there's plenty of satisfying sound effects and atmospheric music. The game takes id Software's aesthetic and game design and expands nicely on it, adding a few nice, unique touches to the formula. As for the "Remastered" part of the game, I think it adds nicely to the original product and does a good job of touching things up in terms of visuals and accessibility. The addition of cross-play multiplayer is also excellent; while I played through the game solo, I also played through the entire campaign with some friends online and it is an absolute blast. I'd even recommend the game for that reason alone, honestly; having others to play it with really ups the fun factor. Also, it's fantastic that this remaster includes all the old mission packs, as well as some new ones, giving it a bevy of content for old and new "Quake" players alike.
I do think the game is held back in some areas, but before I get deep into the flaws, I have an important question to ask. Hey reader, have you ever played "DOOM" before? You have? Great! You know why? Because this feels exactly like "DOOM!" Yeah, as much fun as I had with the game, I do have to say that "Quake" definitely felt like quite a "DOOM" clone for me, and while it's still a dizzyingly fun time, I can see newer players finding it hard to understand what made the game innovative in the past. Also, I do think that some enemies can be overly annoying to deal with, which can make certain combat interactions a bit too much to deal with.
Overall, "Quake" often feels through and through like a "DOOM" clone, which isn't totally surprising since it is developed by id Software. As far as "DOOM" clones go, however, this is definitely one of the best ones. As I said, some new gamers might have trouble understanding what made it so innovative, and personally, I had times where I did too...but you know what? I had fun with it, and with a game like this, I think that's all that matters. It's an incredibly fun game that still holds up well, and the "Remastered" version is definitely the way to go to experience this classic game. If you have the opportunity, give this a whirl. It's a bloody good time.
Final rating: 8 out of 10 "Great"