Nearly five years since its release, id Software, Nightdive, and Besthesda have kicked off this year’s QuakeCon with an update for the 2021 remaster of Quake with a new free update. Celebrating Quake‘s 30th anniversary, along with new fixes, the update adds the new MachineGames-developed expansion, “Dawn of the Machine”, which is available now.
This brutal new episode builds on MachineGames’ critically-acclaimed work on their previous Quake episodes, Dimension of the Machine and Dimension of the Past. Delivering ferocious combat, labyrinthine level design, and nightmarish realms that “twist reality beyond recognition”.
The story for the episode sees Ranger 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.
In order to combat new enemies and variants of old foes, players will have access to new weapons. The expansion also includes a new soundtrack, new deathmatch maps, and achievements.
That’s not all, as MachineGames has crafted the expansion to focus on replayability. The idea of the time loop story allows for players to revisit levels in order to find new content. Revisiting a level will open up new paths, new secrets, and new upgrades.
The Quake remaster is available for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5, Xbox One and the Xbox Series, Nintendo Switch and Switch 2, and PC via Steam and GOG.