Man, I’m feeling my years today. If Quake is 30, that makes me… old.
On the bright side, my enduring affection for id’s classic shooter means that I am delighted by the new update that was just made available to all existing owners of the Nightdive version of the game.
The new campaign is called Dawn of the Machine, and I’ve just spent some nostalgia-infused time experiencing this new addition to one of the most iconic shooters of all time. If you already own the game, you should definitely check it out.
The creators of this particular anniversary expansion are a group of devs from within MachineGames, the studio behind the Wolfenstein series, and more recently the Indiana Jones reboot. This team of crack Quake modders work on these campaigns in their spare time, and I’m genuinely delighted that we all get to enjoy the benefits of their industry.
The campaign itself is already shaping up to be a treat. Not only does it look great thanks to some meaningful visual/lighting tweaks, but the campaign’s gameplay twist has you jumping between realities. The action rolls on, but scenery around you snaps in and out. At first it’s disconcerting, but I quickly learned to enjoy the shifting perspectives.
There’s also an interesting update to progression, which adds a new twist to the Quake formula. It’s not a roguelite by any stretch, but there is an interesting new progress loop, whereby permanent upgrades and new routes are discovered as you go, expanding your experience.
The story has Ranger in search of something called the The Nightmare Machine, which just doesn’t sound good, does it?! To that end, you must venture through a campaign that takes place across 19 maps (all of which are a cut above thanks to the more modern dev tools) in order to break the loop and beat the game.
A couple of the original enemies have been bestowed with new tricks (the Rocket Ogre, Demo Dog, and Blood Shambler we specifically named), but you’ve got some new tricks, too, including the Super Axe, which zaps enemies on successive strikes.
As mentioned, the Dawn of the Machine campaign is free to existing owners of the Nightdive remaster of Quake, and that’s across all platforms: Xbox, PC Steam (not GOG or EGS, though), Switch, and PS4/PS5. If you don’t own Quake, it’s currently discounted on all platforms except Switch, so if you are going to give MS your money, now’s the time.
On the other hand, if you’ve this far and you’re like “nah, this isn’t for me, how about a roguelite shooter?” I think this list of FPS roguelites should have something for you!
