I'm a huge Quake fan, and I like this game for what it is, but it has its problems.

TL; DR If you liked Quake at all, you’ll love this ‘remastered’ version of beloved Quake. It authentically replicates the feel, and atmosphere of the original titles in a semi-polished, half-baked quake cake.

So, if you’re a Quake fan or you enjoy fast paced Arena-style FPS, this free to play shooter is for you.

MASSIVE review below…

Pros:
- Free to play.
- Modern graphics,
- Good performance (144fps on low, 100-120 on medium on my 970 GTX.)
- Champion Aesthetics are awesome, with characters from id titles such as Wolfenstein, Doom, and the Quake series.
- Good Customization Options. Even though some skins are plain stupid, most of the cosmetic options are well put together. My favorite part of this is the cosmetic weapons from all the various id games. You can run around with the Super shotgun skin from Doom/Quake, Quake 1 & 2 & 3 Rocket launcher, Quake 2 & 4 Railgun, Quake 1 & 4 LG, even a plasma gun from Q3A which replaces the “super nail gun” in game. These all change the sound and look of the weapon entirely and it’s a nice touch. With an old-school Railgun or Rocket launcher in my hands, I feel like I’m playing the version of quake I’ve always wanted to play.
- Solid hit registration. Even though some reviews say hit registration is bad, mine has been 99.9% fine even when I play on EU servers with a high ping.
- It "feels" like Quake and that’s the most important thing. With solid movement mechanics and plenty of UI / Gameplay options.
- Active player base. Note: Sometimes you’re up against seasoned quake pros who really know how to work the environment and weapons to their advantage. You WILL get owned by these players. The matchmaking does an O-K job at matching you with your relative skill level, but it could use improvement.
- Instagib mode!!! HUGE fan of Instagib in both UT & Q3A, it feels amazing. 100% my fav mode at the moment.
- Good reward system, and detailed stats for player progression. For playing games and doing well, or completing daily tasks, you can obtain cosmetic rewards and unlockable “Rune quests.” To work for some very flashy Quake-3 style shaders/skins whilst unlocking more along the way.

Cons:
- Lack of content.
Simply put, not enough maps, or modes. (Especially not enough maps, but keep in mind this is early access.) MORE MAPS PLEASE!! I want to see some of the classic Quake maps from ALL of the original games return, either that or give the public a functioning SDK so we can make our own maps – that would be amazing. I was huge into mapping for Q1-Q3, and would be happy to contribute.

- The business model & microtransactions.

Loot boxes are such a huge rip-off. You must pay $5 (minimum) for a "legendary." loot box which often will 5/10 times only give you common “greens.” Vs purple “epics” or orange “Legendries.” The microtransactions are ALL cosmetic, so making things rare is fine, but making things impossibly expensive and only available to whales? No thank you. In addition to that you get plenty of duplicates, which can be frustrating. You are compensated for these dupes with “Shards” where you can buy mid-tier loot boxes, but again, those are almost always full of duplicates exclusively, and I’m only level 35. Having said that, some of the bundle deals seem like good deals. Note: All loot boxes can be earned in game, no purchase is necessary. (I haven’t spent a dime on loot boxes, and don’t intend to.)

On to my business model issues. It's quite revealing of the gaming industry to see another free to play with cosmetic loot boxes in early access. Sure, the game needs revenue to survive somehow and continue development, but frankly games shouldn't be going into early access until all the funds for development have been secured so that the game can focus on being a good game FIRST. If developers did more of that, the money would flow in like waterfalls organically. Investors need to lay their cash on the line or not, instead of letting us pick up the cost as the target market. This goes for Quake Champions especially because they were originally charging for the game. (Granted it was $30 vs $60.) It would be different if it was post launch, but we are still in early access here. Post launch, games will need to support themselves to develop new content, and that we understand as customers, but I don’t want to throw money at a game that is still in development. We aren’t the investors, and I’m just not a fan of Early Access as a practice. On the other side of the argument though, in its current state its quite polished for an EA title. (8/11/2018.)

- Champion balance.

Some champions are just straight up better in some modes than others, and it really stands out. I understand the concept of having champions like OW, but i'm not sure it belongs in a highly competitive FPS where balance is part of the core. They have been balanced to a degree, but if i had a dime for every time i've been killed by ranger's teleport melee punch auto-kill i'd be rich, which is ironic because dying like this feels cheap. Luckily, I don't consider quake to be at the forefront of competitive gaming anymore, (Sadly.) so it doesn't bother me as much as it might those who are looking to get into some ranked matches. If you want ranked matches with fine-tuned balance, this may be a hard sell. But hey, it’s free to play, so...

- Conclusion:

If you claim to be a Quake fan, this is a must play free to play title. The lack of any real tutorial, practice arenas, (outside of TDM vs Bots) or custom games along with the limited number of maps means there is little to no depth. Even though there is a ranked duel and ranked 2v2, I don’t feel encouraged to play those modes. (competitive modes breed toxicity.) It’s a great game to hop into casually to warm up for other FPS games, or just have some fast-paced fun. If you’re a DIE-HARD competitive quake fan, you could have found yourself your next big game. Just don’t forget that there are balance issues and SOME people have experienced net code issues. This is an Early Access title. Even if you hate the practice of Early Access, you have to remember what you are playing when you’re playing it, so despite its semi-polished sheen, don’t expect a finished game.

I'm a huge Quake fan, and I like this game for what it is, but it has its problems. TL; DR If you liked Quake at all, you’ll love this ‘remastered’ version of beloved Quake. It authentically replicates the feel, and atmosphere of the original titles in a semi-polished, half-baked quake cake. So, if you’re a Quake fan or you enjoy fast paced Arena-style FPS, this free to play shooter is for you. MASSIVE review below… Pros: - Free to play. - Modern graphics, - Good performance (144fps on low, 100-120 on medium on my 970 GTX.) - Champion Aesthetics are awesome, with characters from id titles such as Wolfenstein, Doom, and the Quake series. - Good Customization Options. Even though some skins are plain stupid, most of the cosmetic options are well put together. My favorite part of this is the cosmetic weapons from all the various id games. You can run around with the Super shotgun skin from Doom/Quake, Quake 1 & 2 & 3 Rocket launcher, Quake 2 & 4 Railgun, Quake 1 & 4 LG, even a plasma gun from Q3A which replaces the “super nail gun” in game. These all change the sound and look of the weapon entirely and it’s a nice touch. With an old-school Railgun or Rocket launcher in my hands, I feel like I’m playing the version of quake I’ve always wanted to play. - Solid hit registration. Even though some reviews say hit registration is bad, mine has been 99.9% fine even when I play on EU servers with a high ping. - It "feels" like Quake and that’s the most important thing. With solid movement mechanics and plenty of UI / Gameplay options. - Active player base. Note: Sometimes you’re up against seasoned quake pros who really know how to work the environment and weapons to their advantage. You WILL get owned by these players. The matchmaking does an O-K job at matching you with your relative skill level, but it could use improvement. - Instagib mode!!! HUGE fan of Instagib in both UT & Q3A, it feels amazing. 100% my fav mode at the moment. - Good reward system, and detailed stats for player progression. For playing games and doing well, or completing daily tasks, you can obtain cosmetic rewards and unlockable “Rune quests.” To work for some very flashy Quake-3 style shaders/skins whilst unlocking more along the way. Cons: - Lack of content. Simply put, not enough maps, or modes. (Especially not enough maps, but keep in mind this is early access.) MORE MAPS PLEASE!! I want to see some of the classic Quake maps from ALL of the original games return, either that or give the public a functioning SDK so we can make our own maps – that would be amazing. I was huge into mapping for Q1-Q3, and would be happy to contribute. - The business model & microtransactions. Loot boxes are such a huge rip-off. You must pay $5 (minimum) for a "legendary." loot box which often will 5/10 times only give you common “greens.” Vs purple “epics” or orange “Legendries.” The microtransactions are ALL cosmetic, so making things rare is fine, but making things impossibly expensive and only available to whales? No thank you. In addition to that you get plenty of duplicates, which can be frustrating. You are compensated for these dupes with “Shards” where you can buy mid-tier loot boxes, but again, those are almost always full of duplicates exclusively, and I’m only level 35. Having said that, some of the bundle deals seem like good deals. Note: All loot boxes can be earned in game, no purchase is necessary. (I haven’t spent a dime on loot boxes, and don’t intend to.) On to my business model issues. It's quite revealing of the gaming industry to see another free to play with cosmetic loot boxes in early access. Sure, the game needs revenue to survive somehow and continue development, but frankly games shouldn't be going into early access until all the funds for development have been secured so that the game can focus on being a good game FIRST. If developers did more of that, the money would flow in like waterfalls organically. Investors need to lay their cash on the line or not, instead of letting us pick up the cost as the target market. This goes for Quake Champions especially because they were originally charging for the game. (Granted it was $30 vs $60.) It would be different if it was post launch, but we are still in early access here. Post launch, games will need to support themselves to develop new content, and that we understand as customers, but I don’t want to throw money at a game that is still in development. We aren’t the investors, and I’m just not a fan of Early Access as a practice. On the other side of the argument though, in its current state its quite polished for an EA title. (8/11/2018.) - Champion balance. Some champions are just straight up better in some modes than others, and it really stands out. I understand the concept of having champions like OW, but i'm not sure it belongs in a highly competitive FPS where balance is part of the core. They have been balanced to a degree, but if i had a dime for every time i've been killed by ranger's teleport melee punch auto-kill i'd be rich, which is ironic because dying like this feels cheap. Luckily, I don't consider quake to be at the forefront of competitive gaming anymore, (Sadly.) so it doesn't bother me as much as it might those who are looking to get into some ranked matches. If you want ranked matches with fine-tuned balance, this may be a hard sell. But hey, it’s free to play, so... - Conclusion: If you claim to be a Quake fan, this is a must play free to play title. The lack of any real tutorial, practice arenas, (outside of TDM vs Bots) or custom games along with the limited number of maps means there is little to no depth. Even though there is a ranked duel and ranked 2v2, I don’t feel encouraged to play those modes. (competitive modes breed toxicity.) It’s a great game to hop into casually to warm up for other FPS games, or just have some fast-paced fun. If you’re a DIE-HARD competitive quake fan, you could have found yourself your next big game. Just don’t forget that there are balance issues and SOME people have experienced net code issues. This is an Early Access title. Even if you hate the practice of Early Access, you have to remember what you are playing when you’re playing it, so despite its semi-polished sheen, don’t expect a finished game.