Quake II

Great remaster. I love the gunplay, the sound design and the weapons. The expansion packs however...
I didn't play them when they came out, only Q2. I like how they removed the kick from the machinegun and made some monsters more of a challenge. Took me awhile to get used to them being ''invunlerable'' when they duck.
As for the expansion packs, I understand they nefred alot of enemies, and honestly, even with the compass the levels are a bit too mazey. Lots of bactracking through empty areas, which is my fault for going where I'm not supposed to, and maybe just a bit too long. There are new enemies and weapons, most of them are good , but it still feels like doing the same thing over a bit too much.
COTM is by far the best of the three, and I even had fun with Q264, but Ground Zero and The Reckoning would be much better if cut in half.
All in all, a great release and a blast from the past

This is a fantastic remaster of a great game. It will give you hundreds of hours of enjoyment. This is a classic old school game bought up to date with knock out graphics. How lucky to strike gold twice. Can't give any better praise. Avoid this wonderful game at your own peril. 10 out of 10.

Nothing like the good old engines without auto aim and the sweet feeling of aiming and hitting where you aim not like nowdays games, sweet to play these forgotten maps i never got to play in my youth, awesome present for the now dads and gramps

One of the smoothest and tightest games I've ever played. The soundtrack is also valid

Great game for its time and still plenty of fun to play. The COTM expansion was really well done.

The soundtrack is awesome and it makes for a gripping experience.

There are some dated mechanics, like having to equip grenades/melee as a primary weapon in order to use them. But overall the gameplay holds up pretty well.

Like a lot of games from that time, the campaign could sometimes be confusing. Fortunately, this remaster includes a compass. When activated, it points you where you need to go.

My multiplayer experience has been positive. So far, the community has been friendly. Just be prepared to get destroyed since a lot of players have been playing this game since the late 90s!

9/10 experience, great remaster.

My palace.
My Stroggos.
My Quake II.

Circa ~2014, I was a junior in high school. Instead of going to prom that weekend, I stayed home and played Quake and Quake II. At the time, I didn't know anything about the games or patching them, so I played the Steam ports with no music. Since then, I've replayed Q2 with Yamagi on Nightmare and found it to be too easy. I've now played the 2023 remaster on Nightmare, and I've got to say this is a class act remaster in every single way.

The new graphics are exactly how your mind remembers playing Q2 while retaining the original atmosphere. You can tell that the developers lovingly improved every texture. The guns look sharper than ever, especially the BFG10k. The enemies look meaner than ever, and they pack a nasty punch.

Vanilla Q2, while it had an amazing cohesive industrial design, lacked a challenging difficulty and fell into obscurity as it was overshadowed by its bigger brothers DOOM and Quake. Nightdive's overhaul of the gameplay has turned it into one of the very best shooters of its time. On vanilla Nightmare, you can fly through the game with little to no challenge. On the remaster's Nightmare, you will begin struggling around Unit 6: Power & Cooling and spend the rest of the game fighting tooth and nail to survive. You're juiced to the gills, but so are your enemies. The tight movement and gory fights creates some truly refined gameplay.

My playthrough ended with me in the final showdown with the Makron, out of power-ups and fighting him in a Mexican standoff with my railgun, praying that I last longer than he does. Which is exactly how a great game should end. My playthrough took me 8 hours. While I think you've experienced everything the game has to offer around the 6th hour mark, there's no denying that Q2 has a fantastic linear campaign with a much more cohesive design than its predecessor.

The remaster also includes a tutorial, The Reckoning and Ground Zero expansions, Call of the Machine episode, and N64 port. My favorite is The Reckoning by Xatrix Entertainment - thank you Drew Markham (Xatrix founder) and may you rest easy. The id Vault is absolutely worth checking out as it includes the playable E3 97 and ECTS 97 demos, loads of development artwork and backstory, and model previews. I'm forever thankful to Yamagi Burmeister (Yamagi developer) and hope he's taking it easy these days, but Nightdive's remaster adds so many quality of life improvements that it's truly the definitive way to play Q2.

Make sure you find the secret level in Unit 8: Hangar - Outer Hangar to play the best level in the game. :)

Quake II will always rule the cosmos!

Quake II Remastered – A Perfect Balance of Nostalgia and Modern Enhancements

Quake II Remastered is not just a visual upgrade - it's a full-fledged enhancement that stays true to the original while improving on nearly every aspect. As someone who played the original, I can confidently say that the quality-of-life improvements, like the compass, make a significant difference. Navigation feels smoother, and this small addition alone makes progression more intuitive.

I played on moderate difficulty, and it strikes the perfect balance - challenging enough to stay engaging, yet not too punishing for a busy gamer. The gunplay and movement are still fantastic. The arcade-like mechanics demand skill rather than randomness, making every encounter feel satisfying.

The visuals are fantastic, modern yet retaining that classic feel. If you remember the old PC gaming days, this remaster hits the perfect nostalgic sweet spot. On PC, everything runs smoothly, and I didn’t experience any performance issues.

The Call of the Machine expansion is the highlight of this remaster. The starting platform cleverly nods to Quake 1, and the expansion finally explains the connection between the Strogg and Quake 1’s lore. The level design is phenomenal - packed with secrets and even featuring vertical map layouts. At times, enemy waves felt a bit overwhelming, but overall, the experience was absolutely top-tier.

Both multiplayer and co-op are incredibly well-done. Being able to save co-op progress is a fantastic feature, and the fact that achievements work in co-op is a huge plus. Standard multiplayer remains legendary - the maps, the music, the weapons, the sheer dynamics - it’s all still as thrilling as ever.

Quake II Remastered does more than justice to the original - it’s a huge upgrade in every way. Whether you're a returning fan or a newcomer, this is the best way to experience Quake II.

So, I've had this for years, along with Q1 in my library, but it was basically dog crap because of compatibility issues until the 2023 updates came along (took you people long enough). Now, it's actually worth playing and it's as much fun as it used to be. Call of the Machine is an excellent expansion to keep you going (the others are.... okay).

Awesome old school fun :) nostalgia. Can be played co-op with friends also the new levels.

Quake 2 has never been this good. Remastered graphics that look much better yet still look exactly the same as the originals, which is an incredible feat to pull off. Includes Quake64 campaign which is pretty good, includes all new campaign which is great. Includes some revamped enemies with new attacks in the main game which is very nice.
Overall great package, made with love, runs great, best way to play this game

Kinda dissapointed by this one, the alien war theme is kinda bland, there's some great body horror and the strogg are cool, but it's not on the level of the original, some guns feel underpowered but the flow of gameplay and quick navigation thanks to the compass make it a breeze to play through.

7/10

Awesome remaster, and new DLC are very fun. Must play 10/10.

One of the best old school shooters. Great game. Fast paced, pure action and great soundtrack!

I've played this game on my ps5 and it was really fun, I have it on my computer now, and its pretty fun, still

This is a absolutely awesome game to play if you like first person shooters with a space alien theme

Feels fast and meaty just as it did playing years ago. Full controller support and achievements is a welcome addition. Definitely recommend

Quake II is not a good sequel but it's still a good game and this is certainly a good port/remaster/collection. For the asking price you can't complain.

Please id bring back quake (not like this tho) 🥲

Still a fantastic boomshoot after all these years. The soundtrack slaps, the gameplay, level design, weapon and enemy rosters are all great.

The remaster totally gave this game the second life that it deserves.

I missed the whole Quake mania back in the late 90's, mostly due to growing in a poor family and not having a computer powerful enough to run these games. The relaunch was the perfect opportunity to get back into it, and I've got to say I've been impressed!

The game still holds up, I've found no issues running in modern hardware and the community content is amazing. I really enjoy playing it more than I do modern shooters.

Nightdive goes to work one more time and even outdoes their previous efforts on Quake with this complete package of Quake II. Once again, featuring a stellar new Machinegames campaign and throwing in the N64 version of Quake II. There is a lot of Quake II here, and it is made a much sweeter and more cogent experience. Quake II dabbled in a bit of nonlinear map/mission structure, and navigating these scenarios is made easier with a waypoint tool that literally points you to the objective. Play this on the highest of difficulties and get good!

bought the game for my dad because he loved quake, and I saw the the awesomeness this game has got to offer. So played I too and WOW
game is a blast, play it.

All the memories, all the nostalgia, it's pure fun, plus it has some new bits added! Couple of changes, some modernized stuff, it's a lot of fun, I'm glad they remastered this one as well as doom !

A really good remaster, highly recommend.
Check accessability settings to get rid of the annoying black box around text.

This is the definitive edition of Quake2. All versions packed into one release. It has pretty much everything, strafe jumping, funny voice lines, and the original music. On top of it, Machine Games created a brand new campaign with a lot of improvements to the units. Sometimes it feels like a new game with an old-school flavor.

Highly recommended.

The movement feels great, the aiming feels great, the guns feel impactful. There's decent enemy variety and I like how the levels go from one area to the next and feel like an actual world. Highly recommend.

While not a true sequel to the original Quake, this multi-hub based shooter is actually really kickass, and Nightdive did a great job with the port. Oh and I 100%ed the game so take that.

This IS the Best FPS Ever Made. Hands down. these updates are AMAZING !!
Looks awesome plays fast runs slick, its all here.

Nightdive excels at remasters because they have huge amounts of respect and passion for the source material. go figure. extremely good value for including both expansions, the n64 port, and even keeping the non-remastered version
Call of the Machine was a wonderful addition, even thoughthe ending was really out of left field

A must-(re)play classic! Timeless. Frenzy action and fun

Very solid old school shooter. The Call of the Machine campaign is even better than the base game.

Great update. Get a crt and lots of fun

It's very, very good. The Enhanced edition does justice to the game from my childhood. The visuals look clean and they added offline bots. Thank you

oldie but goodie, this has some new levels that i hadn't seen before and a lot that i had forgotten.

This game is much better than most of triple A games made nowadays. Just makes you realise that there was a time were games were made with passion.

Also with all the dlcs, there is a lot of content, for an average gamer. Id' say you have over 40-50 hours of joy. Totally worth the price tag. I still cant believe a game like this was made in 97.

If you miss and old school good quality shooting game, I totally recommend this masterpiece.

One of my favorite "Boomer" Shooters. Classic game. I think the weapons are all far more fun and satisfying to use than in the original. The shotguns are as powerful as shotguns should be in a video game. Much more like Doom I and II than Quake I. The electronic-metal soundtrack by Sonic Mayhem is a very cool juxtaposition to Trent Reznor's ambient industrial soundtrack for the original Quake though I do like the connection between id Software and Nine Inch Nails. Quake II is easily my favorite of the Quake series. 10/10.

Amazing, still holds up graphically. Played a lot of it back in the day.

It's a remake of Quake 2, with the only things changed being the graphics engine and the saving/expansion system. All the textures are the same, original res. The graphics are a definite improvement over the original hardware-accelerated version, and improve the atmosphere and playability. It helps if you know how to speed-run the levels, as this is the same old Quake 2, and could be a bit boring, as the levels are a bit labyrinthine. The saving system is pretty poor and can't handle more than about 10 saves at a time, and so it loses points on that.

There's a strange update, I don't remember the weapon scrolling system. Basically, a wheel pops up and you can push the mouse to the item but it doesn't work well. Doesn't interfere with the game though and you can just play without using it.

It's good to replay an old classic (if it's a bit over-simplified compared to Hexen/Heretic). It reminds you it's more about three-dimensional movement than those earlier FPS's. Quake 2 is quite a linear game, despite the recent 3D improvements of the time, and the next few were too. The graphical improvement are a major upgrade to the game, and it feels the same, and yet new.

Quake 2 though a departure from its predecessor is undeniably a must play for every FPS fan that has yet to be corrupted by fortnite. When Quake ll came out many people were understandably outraged at it not being a continuation of the critically acclaimed Quake but the first thing that you need to realize about this game is that though it shares a name and basic gameplay with one of the first and best 3D games ever made it is its own beast. The guns feel utterly blissful to shoot, the enemies are interesting bastards that you feel no remorse in committing genocide on, and the movement is as fast and responsive as you could want in a true boomer shooter. Personally, I have only played this version of Quake II and not the original but from this perhaps flawed basis I would rate Quake ll as above its predecessor, so play it, now.

ID Software best. Amazing game touched up by Nightdive so looks and plays better on todays systems. LOVE IT Played so many times on various systems and PCs over the years.

Man, they really did a smashing job with "Call of the Machine".

I rarely see the point in leaving reviews for old games - especially ones decades-old like Quake 2. But Nightdive and everyone involved in this remaster should be proud.

Not only is the remaster itself top-notch, but the new expansion is probably just about the best Quake 2 has to offer.

The maps are fantastic - huge, multi-tiered levels - all thematically different, atmospheric, and most of all - challenging and engaging (especially on Hard and above), The new weapons absolutely fit in with the original arsenal, and the newer enemy roster adds so much to the feel and flow of the game.

Good job guys and gals - dare we request that Quake 4 now gets the same treatment?

Solid stuff. Much like Doom, this game is relentless and quite frankly, I got pretty exhausted at the end of each session. Which isn't a bad thing. They really put the pedal to the metal.

7/10 STARS

Just doesn't quite hit the same way when I'm not trying to drown out the horrible things my parents are screaming at each other. Still fun tho.

I've been playing this game since the age of 7 years old. I completed it hundreds, if not even thousands of times.
It is my all time favourite shooter.
I know every inch of every map by heart. I can't even explain how i felt when i heard of this remaster.
Since it came out, i'm playing it every day, even though nothing is new to me, i still love it.
And Call of the Machine is absolutely AMAZING.
I love everything about this game.

Back Catalog Review #4: Solid FPS. Even on normal, the last few levels were challenging. Great weapon and enemy variety. Soundtrack is a banger. 8/10

This Remaster is a great improvement from the vanilla game in all honesty, not to down the og game but this here, this is the definitive way to play on a modern PC. The multiplayer is also a huge improvement, it's a shame not many people play, not as much as you'll find on q2pro servers anyways.

This game is even better in this latest version. Great old game, still fun after all these years.

An excellent FPS that is, in large part, a sequel to Quake 1 in name only. Take on alien invaders known as the Strogg as they try to assimilate Earth and it's inhabitants into it's legion, taking out essential infrastructure as a marine known as Bitterman.

I only played the singleplayer campaigns, so that is what I will be speaking to for this.
It is a fairly old game in terms of gameplay, though it's almost puzzle like to figure out which weapon will work best against which foe. Like Quake 1, it offers a similar array of weapons and power ups, and you do get some cameos from familiar foes, though they do not play major roles. Unlike Quake 1, this game does offer a compass you can use if you lose your way, you may chose to use your power ups whenever you choose rather than having to use them then and there, and it takes on a much more sci-fi tone rather than Quake 1's magic and demons. If you are on the hunt for achievements, this game is a good pick, as while it's achievements are fairly easy to get (mostly "complete this level" achievements), they do not feel unearned, especially for the ones involving the other episodes.
This game offers additional episodes, which you CAN play before you beat the main campaign, though I don't recommend it. Each one offers more of that "nice little bow" to the whole experience, and it's fun to see what the name of the character you're playing as for each of them is (you'll be able to see on the crashed shuttle what the character's name is).
There are some flashing light effects, but these can be turned down in settings.
This game does mute when you alt-tab, though it's music is largely atmospheric pieces with the occasional rock segment (though, and this is most likely just me, some of the rock music makes me think of burger places such as Hard Rock Cafe).
Audio balancing in this game is very odd, and I recommend making sure you turn on subtitles, as the cut scene dialogue is quiet and there does not appear to be a way to turn it up, though sound effects can be very, very loud.

Now get out there, and get back our moon, marine!

This is fabulous update to one of my favorite FPS. The graphics, the sound, and the new enemy movements are really awesome.

Timeless Action, Perfectly Remastered
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐½ (4.5/5)

Review:
Quake II Remastered is a stellar update to a classic FPS. The enhanced visuals, smoother gameplay, and added content breathe new life into a genre-defining title. Multiplayer feels as chaotic and fun as ever, and the AI improvements make single-player campaigns exciting. Plus, the option to switch the graphics to a more retro style is a fantastic touch for longtime fans. Whether you're a returning player or a first-timer, this remaster is a must-play. An outstanding revival of an iconic shooter!

They added a optional navigation arrow and paths to find objectives, keys and exits. it's pretty awesome to be able to chill and speed run this old classic without having to re-figure out all the mazey stuff. in addition to that new feature there's new accessibility features and graphic updates too. now more than ever you can chillax and re-live all this classic shooter had to offer.