I’ve been a Doom fan my entire life, the first game released when I was kid and I’ve been hooked on the series since. Hacking away on levels in Doom II to being scared to install Doom 3 on my new PC, I’ve been through it all, but it seems there is a bit of an identity crisis with the franchise.
id Software found itself in a unique position, by competing with its own creations in the first-person shooter market. On one side stood Doom, a visceral and oppressive experience characterized by its dimly lit corridors, demonic hordes, and a relentless, heavy-hitting combat loop that emphasized close-quarters encounters and resource management. Its aesthetic was decidedly dark and grungy, steeped in occult imagery.
In contrast, Quake represented a conscious departure, setting its sights on the emerging arena shooter subgenre, a space where Epic Games’ Unreal Tournament would dominate. Quake, with its faster pace, more open environments, and focus on multiplayer competition, offered a different kind of thrill. While it retained a certain gothic aesthetic in its early iterations, its gameplay emphasized agility, precise aiming, and the strategic use of power-ups scattered throughout the arena. The two franchises, while both undeniably id Software products and sharing a common ancestor in the fast-paced action the studio was known for, offered distinctly different experiences that catered to different player preferences within the growing shooter landscape.
However it was indeed two very distinct genres of games, and while id Software may have tried many times to bring the two together, they never really accomplished this until they revamped Doom in 2016. Quake most recently had an outright flop with a multiplayer arena shooter (Quake Champions) that came and went. It didn’t have the name power, and the free-to-play title couldn’t compete with explosion in free shooters, again basically anchored by Epic Games, and arena shooters just don’t have the hold they did 20 years ago. So a half hearted attempt to bring Quake back to the competitive online gaming scene didn’t last long.
But Doom 2016 proved that with a name behind the product, people possibly would flock to the genre, and so id Software switched gears. Id Software revamped the series to be more guns blazing, added some vertical platforming, and all out war against demons like Quake was before, but it was not nearly on the level of Quake.
I personally was never really a fan of arena shooters, and gravitated to more “boots on the ground” gameplay like Call of Duty. Once players are utilizing rockets to blast themselves across the map, I’m out. However Doom 2016 seemed to balance this moderately well, and had a decent online component to compliment it. Things were not too chaotic just yet.
Then they followed up with Doom Eternal, which quite honestly is one step away from literally being Quake with a Doom skin thrown over it. Things got chaotic. You were grappling, platforming, jumping on monsters, moving here and there. It has a lot more similarities to that of Quake 2 or 3, than that of classic Doom. Even one of the level game directors somewhat mentioned that Eternal was to be “more like a Quake 3 single player campaign.” In the most simple of terms, id Software basically took Quake and slapped Doom on the cover.
Look, I’m not saying this is a bad thing. Eternal ended up being a fun game to play, but not my favorite Doom game overall. What I’m saying is, id Software clearly wants to make a Quake game and they have the opportunity to do it. Doom The Dark Ages is going back to slower combat, more wave-like enemies with corridors, and seems to be toning down the platforming (thankfully) to align more with Doom.
So now is the opportunity to potentially look at Quake 1 or 2 and revamp it in a similar way as Doom 2016, breathe new life into the franchise, and go off the rails like they almost did with Doom Eternal. Quake arguably has the better opportunity for a story driven game, with deep exploration in the levels, combined with arena shooter mechanics, while keeping the aesthetic of a horror shooters and floating ammo boxes. A quick cash grab in the free-to-play market isn’t a fair attempt to revive Quake, at all.
We have the “next generation” of both Doom and Wolfenstein (Machine Games) now, both key franchises by id Software, but the 3rd giant has been sleeping in their back offices for some time now. There hasn’t been the time and care put into the Quake franchise, and it needs a team to take these ideas they are implementing in Doom, and explode with them on Quake. (Or twist it around and make Quake more like Doom?)
Nothing honestly says they want Quake more than their most recent announcement of a “cosmic realm” for Doom The Dark Ages. They were already basically taking inspiration for new Doom monsters in Doom Eternal, and now this? Let the Quake team cook! Just let them cook on Quake.
