This year we’re putting together a list of 31 Retro Horror games. Games that have come from dead console generations, back to haunt us. Sadly, not all of these games will be available for you to play due to the complicated nature of video game preservation. However, we’re going to note if it’s possible to play them on modern hardware. We’ll be covering games from the Seventh Generation (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii) and earlier. So basically anything before 2006.
Day 8
Quake
I mentioned Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem as one of my first introductions into a game that fully embraced Lovecraftian lore, but it wasn’t my first game that exposed me to the Lovecraft mythos. That would probably be Quake. Not that I was unaware of Lovecraft–afterall, I was a well read kid. But seeing Quake’s Shub-Niggurath–a name taken directly from Lovecraft’s work–the gothic horror of Quake was completely recontextualized.
I don’t know why throwing Lovecraft into the mix makes Quake gel for me thematically, but something about ancient evil meets gunpowder makes sense. For someone who played Quake on its release (yeah, I’m old) I expected more id Software genius. And that means fast moving, fast shooting, and lots of enemies and projectiles to evade. I wasn’t wrong, but Quake also had lighting and transparency effects that were mindblowing.
It’s probably hard to think of it now, but Quake was the absolute pinnacle of 3D video game graphics at the time. And id Software used that ‘fidelity’ to add a grungy, stone and rusted metal aesthetic that managed to blend what looked like medieval with modernized weaponry. And it totally worked.
Quake is such a benchmark for shooters that most “boomer shooters” are games that are really just trying to recreate Quake-engine games, and most of them are trying to ape Quake directly. Strafe (awful) and Dusk (fantastic) immediately come to mind–but the market is littered with what are ostensibly Quake clones.
And while Doom holds up today, Quake is one of the absolute best “boomer shooters” you can buy right now.
One of the things that really helps Quake stand out is its enemy designs. All of the enemies have a niche to feel–there’s no wasted space. They all have very specific sounds they make, so you can know what you’re up against usually by the moans and shrieks coming from the next room. But not only are the enemies represented by great sound design, they’re also interesting to fight. Some ‘boomer shooters’ think all enemies should beeline toward the player, but Quake’s enemies use varied tactics that require you to respond dynamically based on the room you’re in and the enemies you’re facing.
Quake also spawned a few sequels, but none of them followed a linear path. Quake 2 and Quake 4 are basically games that exist in the same universe as the other, and really lean into the machine-meets-flesh body horror that Doom did, but instead of demons you’re fighting an alien race. Quake 3 and Quake 3: Arena were anomalies, though they were one of the very first multiplayer-centered arena style shooting games–a subgenre of shooter that was popular for decades, but now suffers from waning popularity.
If you want to play Quake today, you are in luck: Bethesda owns the rights, and has rereleased Quake to modern consoles. You can even download it and play it right through Steam. If you’re a fan of ‘boomer shooters’ but never played Quake, you’re missing out on one of the very best.
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