Quake 2 Remastered is real, it’s here, and it’s the return of one of the best FPS games of the ‘90s. Quake 2 Remastered revives the iconic id Software shooter with a total visual overhaul and all manner of performance improvements, bringing the successor to Doom, and ancestor to multiplayer shooters like Overwatch and Call of Duty, back into the limelight for the 21st century. With new levels from Wolfenstein dev MachineGames, if you haven’t experienced Quake 2 before, or you want another go around with one of the all-time greats, it’s out right now on Steam and PC Game Pass.
Originally released in 1997, Quake 2 is designed by some of the finest FPS engineers of all time, including John Carmack, Kevin Cloud, and American McGee, all of Doom and Doom 2 fame. The single-player campaign is pure ‘90s fun, as you blast your way through a grungy sci-fi world as the wonderfully named space marine Bitterman.
But it’s the multiplayer that really cements Quake 2 in the memory. Fast, fluid, and designed for maximum action, this is one of the pioneering online shooter experiences. And now it’s back, brighter, better, and bigger than ever before.
Quake 2 Remastered includes enhanced models, improved enemy animations and more, overhauled AI behaviors, dynamic lighting, and improved cinematics. You get the original mission packs and a brand-new expansion, Call of the Machine, created by Wolfenstein The New Order developer MachineGames.
Call of the Machine contains 28 campaign levels and one new multiplayer deathmatch map. Also, Quake 2 Remastered features the entirety of Quake 64 for free and allows for local multiplayer, online multiplayer, and crossplay. It’s available on Steam for $9.99 / £7.99 or on PC Game Pass.
If that’s not enough for you, you might want to get some more nostalgia via the best old games that you can still find for PC. Alternatively, check out the best battle royale games for some serious multiplayer thrills.