Id Software and Nightdive Studios have released the Dawn of the Machine expansion for the Quake remaster as part of a free update celebrating the series’ 30th anniversary.
Dawn of the Machine introduces a ‘brutal new episode’ that builds on MachineGames and id Software’s previous work on Dimension of the Machine and Dimension of the Past. This new chapter delivers pulse-pounding combat, a labyrinthine level design, and twisted realms that bend reality beyond recognition, pushing the “legacy of the genre-defining first-person shooter even further” than before.
Ranger is trapped in a dimension of endless illusion, reliving the same violent cycles for what feels like lifetimes, dying thousands of times in a futile attempt to escape. Wearied but unbroken, he has heard rumor of The Nightmare Machine. Beyond the hordes of monsters, twisted by an eternity in the Elder realms, lies the Machine. It is believed its destruction will shatter the illusion, finally breaking the loop.
Quake was originally released for the PC back in 1996 and is the brainchild of id Software legends such as John Romero, Tim Willits, and John Carmack. The shooter was also ported to the Sega Saturn and Nintendo 64 in 1997 and 1998, respectively, and while Lobotomy Software worked on a PlayStation port, a publisher could not be secured. The remastered version hit PS4, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox One in August 2021, followed by PS5 and Xbox Series X/S editions in October 2021.
You can read our review of Quake here.