Quake II: Remastered: PS5 Review

Developed by id Software

Released by Bethesda

Platform: PS5

First released back in 1997, this first-person shooter wouldn't probably figure high on anyone's list of a game that needs to be remastered.

But as the Quake and Doom remasters showed, if done properly, these basic games can stand the test of time and provide simple bloody entertainment no matter what year it is.

So it is with Quake II, id Software's latest release which really does scratch that pixelated itch that's been nagging at the back of your mind.

Set against the backdrop of a war between humanity and an alien race known as the Strogg, it's up to you as a Marine known only as Bitterman to shoot your way through levels, battle beasties and try and win as part of Operation Alien Overlord, an attempt to end a war.

That's really all there is to Quake 2 but that's not to diminish any of the chaos that comes with it.

While visually it looks as striking as a pixel aesthetic can and it plays with the speed of a computer-based shooter, it's not all perfect.

For some reason, some times direct hits make no impact on those under fire, which can be both disconcerting and annoying. And there are moments when it feels like

the game hasn't quite moved away from its computer-based origins. Under a console experience, it's tricky to access the weapon wheel and activate the likes of the compass as you try to work out where you have to go.

But for the price of the game, and the fact the rerelease features the “Call of the Machine” expansion, a brand-new Quake II experience from MachineGames, there's much to recommend this remaster, which also comes with multiplayer.

Sure it won't win any Game of the Year awards, but it also won't feature in a list of stinkers, because there's love that's been deployed under this hood and tinkering that makes Quake II's remaster a thing of pixelated, bloody blasting beauty.