Quake II
Quake II
Game
Game2007
Quake
Developer id Software, Nightdive Studios, MachineGames
Quake is a 1996 first-person shooter video game developed by id Software and published by GT Interactive. The first game in the Quake series, it was originally released for MS-DOS and Windows, followed by Mac OS, Linux, and Saturn in 1997 and Nintendo 64 in 1998. The game's plot is centered around teleportation experiments, dubbed slipgates, which have resulted in an unforeseen invasion of Earth by a hostile force… From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
516 reactions from 4 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky, Lemmy, Mastodon) · newest Nov 5, 2026 · last updated Nov 5, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
93
LovedLoved
277 positive · 21 negative
95% range 89–95%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 277 | 21 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 43 | 8 | 138 |
| Lemmy * | 8 | 1 | 9 |
| Mastodon * | 2 | 0 | 9 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Overwhelmingly Positive
11,816 of 12,274 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What players are saying
92% recommend · 234 yes, 21 no
Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 255 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Overwhelmingly Positive (15,921 of 16,508 positive).
Players praise Quake's timeless gameplay, atmosphere, and Nine Inch Nails soundtrack. [1][2][3] Some reviewers criticize the first episode as a drag and the new EULA as anti-consumer. [4][5][6] Many note the game's historical significance and continued support with free updates. [7][8][9]
Liked
Representative posts
- [5]
You know what's great? Quake. You know what's not great? How a game that's been in my library for years now requires agreeing to an awful consumer-antagonistic EULA in order to re-download it, let alone play it. It now includes a binding arbitration clause and class action waiver, courtesy of the jerks at Zenimax, and these are seemingly global to all Zenimax products, so if you've somehow accidentally "agreed" to …
- [1]
Happy 30th Quake 1. This is the game that made me definitively a PC gamer. There is something about this unique combo of Lovecraftian/eldritch horror, dark ambient Nine Inch Nails music, fluid and fast movement, and depressing atmosphere that stands the test of time. I still put Trent Reznor's Quake 1 theme as one of the best intros to a game ever. The moment it plays, you're put into a trance. If you know you know. …
- [2]
A lot of old games, even classics, end up becoming dated, whether it's because of technological advances, changing audience expectations, or developments in game design theory. They were "good for their time", maybe even exceptional, but hard to go back to today. Quake isn't one of these games; despite being 30 years old this year, the game remains as polished and responsive as the day it was released. It's good …
- [7]
Dropping a DLC 30 years after release is what I call commitment. Now please give us a new Quake game and also remaster Quake 3+4!
- [4]
Slander. I come back for Doom I&II every few years, while Quake left my blunt rotation decades ago. I blame the first episode, it's such a drag. I know, they had to adjust for a new audience who made its first steps into 3D shooters, but I still find it difficult to force my ass through the first hour or so. The levels are kinda basic, so is the encounter design. Sparse and boring, not to mention how drab it all …
Summarised from 34 of the 357 public posts collected about this game; every point cites the posts behind it ([n] opens the post) and the split is counted from the posts’ own ratings. Updated Oct 9, 2026. How summaries are made
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
92% of the 255 Steam reviewers we collected recommend Quake. The complaint that keeps coming up: first episode is slow and boring. Deal-breaker or nitpick?
Critics, per Wikipedia
Quake was critically acclaimed on the PC. Aggregating review websites GameRankings and Metacritic gave the original PC version 93% and 94/100, and the Nintendo 64 port 76% and 74/100. A Next Generation critic lauded the game's realistic 3D physics and genuinely unnerving sound effects. GamePro said Quake had been over-hyped but is excellent nonetheless, particularly its usage of its advanced 3D engine. The review also praised the sound effects, atmospheric music, and graphics, though it criticized that the polygons used to construct the enemies are too obvious at close range. Less than a month after Quake was released (and a month before they actually reviewed the game), Next Generation…
From the “Reception” section of Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Critic context only — not part of the audience score.
Reactions
60 of 516 · most liked firstWho remembers the glory days of 90s PC gaming?🕹️💾 ... If so, what was YOUR all-time favourite game? Doom? Quake? SimCity 2000? Or maybe another LucasArts classic? ... Currently lost in the pirate world of "The Secret of Monkey Island"🏴☠️ on my (pretty authentic, I think!) Windows 95 build. (cont...)
neutral · AI labelView post →I think it's specifically egregious given Quake's history with speedrunning. The techniques that early Quake Done Quick runners were using rely on knowledge of the Deep Weirdness of the actual game. Any copy of the game that can't reproduce those strange interactions isn't a copy of the game at all.
negative · AI labelView post →not to offer any Gamer hot takes but any game with a sprint function would be better if that was just the normal movement speed. once again the farther away from Quake games become the worse they get
positive · AI labelView post →*Sips* Yep. Quake II was a good game.
positive · AI labelView post →had to wait until the servers weren't so overloaded, but I'm proud to announce that Quake Brutalist Jam 3 is out now! there's a standalone version that works like a game for those who don't own quake too! www.slipseer.com/index.php?re... this was a tremendous group effort, I couldn't be happier!
neutral · AI labelView post →Quake is such a cozy game ^^ Screenshots from my upcoming 1024 units map jam entry.
positive · AI labelView post →me and my beautiful wife @cammydev.bsky.social are creating a survival horror game called Despecholia in the Quake engine. heres some lil snippets of whats been done so far :3 #indiedev #gamedev #lowpoly #quake
neutral · AI labelView post →you don't and will never need ai to make a game #quake #indiedev #gamedev #lowpoly #pixelart
neutral · AI labelView post →Look at this Quake-ass game. No wait that just makes me want it more.
positive · AI labelView post →Like, Mario 64 gets so much credit for revolutionizing 3D video games, but Quake came out at the same time, and arguably aged better/feels more like a modern day game.
positive · AI labelView post →The video compression is probably going to hate this, but here's a trailer for my game KOOK. It's a Quake-like retro FPS with steampunk weapons, Lovecraftian monsters, and gravity & time distortion. Made in #GodotEngine.
neutral · AI labelView post →It’s really insane to think about how much of Western video game history Microsoft has bought. They own Crash Bandicoot!! They own Doom and Quake!! They own Rare!! Blizzard!!! Call of freaking Duty!!!
neutral · AI labelView post →EVERY NEW BLOOD GAME | Check out our Quake Con celebration sale: www.wehate.money
neutral · AI labelView post →HAPPY BIRTHDAY QUAKE 1 the best game ever !!
positive · AI labelView post →Quake is 30 years old today. It certainly snuck up on me but, man, what a remarkable game. Quake started DF Retro in the first place and then helped me reboot it five years ago. It will always hold a special place in my heart. youtu.be/0KxRXZhQuY8?...
positive · AI labelView post →Dropping a DLC 30 years after release is what I call commitment. Now please give us a new Quake game and also remaster Quake 3+4!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Ever wonder why some bugs stay in the game? 🤔 #gaming #johnromero #DOOM #quake #gamedev
neutral · AI labelView post →I finally reached the end of my rope with the whole videogame choice paralysis thing and deleted every game from my PC except what I'm actively playing. Even Doom and Quake. I feel a little woozy.
neutral · AI labelView post →> Doom 2016 launches "Their next game will absolutely be Quake!" > Doom: Eternal launches "Their next game will absolutely be Quake!" > Doom: The Dark Ages launches "Their next game will absolutely be Quake!" > Doom: Infinite Warfare launches "Their name game will...."
neutral · AI labelView post →"Even Quake 1?" Ah, the game where the most common enemy is explicitly stated by the manual to be a surgically altered marine implanted with a device that gives them orgasms when they commit murder
neutral · AI labelView post →Happy birthday, Quake (1996)! This is a 29 year old game developed mostly by one guy. Modern game engines should hang their heads in shame. 😜
positive · AI labelView post →I programmed deformable platforms for my new game Dino Quake 🦖💥 Stomp the ground, create a quake to stun minions, and kick 'em good! #indiegame #gamedev
neutral · AI labelView post →another weapon model i made for my quake engine game :3 #quake #indiedev #gamedev #lowpoly #pixelart #blender
neutral · AI labelView post →Exciting news for Quake fans today as The Strong Museum announces the official induction of Quake into the 2025 Video Game Hall of Fame alongside GoldenEye 007, Defender, and Tamagotchi! 🏆✨ www.museumofplay.org/exhibits/wor...
neutral · AI labelView post →I'm not sure what's more cursed. Halo on a Playstation system or a new Quake game running on Unreal Engine.
neutral · AI labelView post →Well, correction, I *was* trying to make a game like Doom/Quake, but there wasn't really an established indie genre
neutral · AI labelView post →"The most important PC game ever." — Quake print advertisement, 1996.
neutral · AI labelView post →rc car prototype for my quake 1 engine game :3 #quake #modding #gamedev #indiedev
neutral · AI labelView post →Quake Shareware - packaging (PC / id Software / 1996)
neutral · AI labelView post →My first feature of the year explores the phenomenon of Quake Brutalist Jam for @theguardian.com, and how the FPS mapping community is keeping old-school level design alive. www.theguardian.com/games/2026/j...
neutral · AI labelView post →pistol model for my quake 1 engine game :3 #quake #indiedev #gamedev #lowpoly #pixelart #blender
neutral · AI labelView post →this guy was right Quake IS a good game.
positive · AI labelView post →pistol animations for my quake engine game :3 #quake #indiedev #gamedev
neutral · AI labelView post →revolver animations and sounds for me and my wife's quake engine game #quake #indiedev #gamedev #lowpoly #pixelart
neutral · AI labelView post →New video out! Making model lighting in my game better! #gamedev #indiedev #quake #fox
neutral · AI labelView post →wip map for my half life inspired quake engine game #quake #indiedev #gamedev
neutral · AI labelView post →i always thought the skies in daikatana looked really cool, they were basically a fusion of quake 2/hl1's skyboxes with quake 1's scrolling skies. so i did something like that in my quake engine game :3 (hl1 skybox textures used for testing) #quake #indiedev #gamedev
neutral · AI labelView post →There was also Enemy Territory: Quake Wars which was a class-based team multiplayer game that was a prequel to Quake 2 (and by extension Quake 4) which recycled a lot of the aesthetics from Quake 4, and expanded a little on the Q2/Q4 universe's lore.
neutral · AI labelView post →Thank you to the Strong Museum of Play for inducting Quake into the World Video Game Hall of Fame. It was such an honor to be there in person. #Quake
neutral · AI labelView post →flashlight model for me and wife's quake engine game (@cicadayl.pds.witchcraft.systems <3 ) #quake #indiedev #gamedev #lowpoly #pixelart
neutral · AI labelView post →smg animations for my quake engine game :3 #quake #indiedev #gamedev
neutral · AI labelView post →hl1 hgrunt style enemies i've been writing for my quake engine game, this is like the first time i ever tried writing npc ai code and it's been turning out pretty well! #quake #indiedev #gamedev
neutral · AI labelView post →some wip shots of a map i'm working on for my quake 1 engine game #quake #modding #gamedev #indiedev
neutral · AI labelView post →enemy model for despecholia, a quake engine game my wife and i are making #quake #indiedev #gamedev #lowpoly #pixelart
neutral · AI labelView post →For years, modders have been using Quake to host brutalist level design jams, creating "a rich melting pot of concrete murderzones" in the process. Robert Yang - a member of this community himself - reflects on the socialist roots of their work. www.eteogames.com/alone-togeth...
neutral · AI labelView post →good post about AI, game mechanics, and the incredibly depressing AI Quake 2 demo
neutral · AI labelView post →Better than Zelda? Quest 64 enters the fray! Needless comparatives aside, GameFan's December 1997 issue served us up a hearty meal of game hype on all platforms with Quake 64, Resident Evil 2, Einhander, Burning Rangers, and Panzer Dragoon Saga.
neutral · AI labelView post →Slander. I come back for Doom I&II every few years, while Quake left my blunt rotation decades ago. I blame the first episode, it's such a drag. I know, they had to adjust for a new audience who made its first steps into 3D shooters, but I still find it difficult to force my ass through the first hour or so. The levels are kinda basic, so is the encounter design. Sparse and boring, not to mention how drab it all looks compared to Doom. Don't get me wrong, I respect the legend, it was a…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →some prefabs for my quake engine game :3 #quake #indiedev #gamedev
neutral · AI labelView post →Is Quake III Arena, and by extension Quake Live and Quake Champions, id’s most underrated game?
neutral · AI labelView post →the high tech computer game, "Quake"
neutral · AI labelView post →I don't know about love of the game. if anything they're showing they love AI more than they love Quake or the community. Regardless of the quality of the software, they're using openly uncaring services to make this thing and making people agree to a strange thing to install it.
negative · AI labelView post →The soundtrack & SFX were created and recorded by Nine Inch Nails, including all of your characters' grunts, groans, screams and gasps. Making this the only video game where you play as Trent Reznor.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I got bored, so I turned Meiwing into a Quake texture. #Quake #GameDev #Touhou
neutral · AI labelView post →Happy 30th Quake 1. This is the game that made me definitively a PC gamer. There is something about this unique combo of Lovecraftian/eldritch horror, dark ambient Nine Inch Nails music, fluid and fast movement, and depressing atmosphere that stands the test of time. I still put Trent Reznor's Quake 1 theme as one of the best intros to a game ever. The moment it plays, you're put into a trance. If you know you know. This is the one game I risked a lot of punishment for. In high school, I…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Quake done Quick using the Bonk Jam mod mechanics! Very happy to see the speedunning community eating the game up with the mod, it's all I could have asked for.
neutral · AI labelView post →An absolute classic, fun as hell, gotta go fast, *the* game that made people want 3D accelerators (the things we call ‘GPUs’ these days), the best Rocket Launcher in any shooter ever, the best soundtrack in any shooter ever, and the technical- and social-genesis of so many other games and so many huge online communities that I wouldn't even know where to begin if I wanted to list them. Neutral review however (not recommended, but not not-recommended) because I don't love this Kex-engine-based…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →ally ai for my quake engine game :3 #quake #indiedev #gamedev
neutral · AI labelView post →Only cool kids play this game so you can't play it go enjoy your degenerate thug slop when it comes out in november
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →You know what's great? Quake. You know what's not great? How a game that's been in my library for years now requires agreeing to an awful consumer-antagonistic EULA in order to re-download it, let alone play it. It now includes a binding arbitration clause and class action waiver, courtesy of the jerks at Zenimax, and these are seemingly global to all Zenimax products, so if you've somehow accidentally "agreed" to any in the past, whoops there go your rights. Too bad Microsoft didn't cut id…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
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