“My favorite version of Quake II”: a fan has recreated the unique PS1 version of Quake II in the official remaster and will release it for free

A Canadian enthusiast under the pseudonym Paril published a trailer for Quake II PSX, a future free mod for the Quake II remaster that will allow you to play an unusual version of the shooter for PlayStation 1 on modern platforms.

Image source: MODDB

According to the author, for authenticity the video was recorded on PlayStation. He also warned that low lighting effects were used during recording, so the trailer does not reflect the quality of this component in the final version.

The mod will be released on October 5th – exactly 25 years after the North American release of Quake II on the Sony console. Thus, the official remaster will offer all three versions of the game – for PC, Nintendo 64 (levels from this port are included in the official re-release) and PlayStation 1.

The PS1 version of the id Software game created by the HammerHead studio was significantly different from the computer version, both in terms of technical features and content. It ran on the Shadow Master shooter engine, ran in a resolution of 512×240 pixels at 30 fps and was deprived of some features such as ambient fog and a skybox (it was replaced by a flat sky with Gouraud shading) due to technical limitations. At the same time, the developers retained the colored lighting for levels and enemies, flashes for weapons and explosions, particle effects for visualizing blood, debris and railgun beams and other effects from the PC version, and also added lens flares.

In addition (again, due to technical limitations), it included only 20 levels, divided into 5 blocks (in the PC version – 39 levels in 10 blocks), and to speed up loading, they changed the geometry and divided the maps into smaller segments with short corridors. Some types of enemies were removed, but two new Strogg appeared – the anthropomorphic cyborg spider with railguns Arachnid and the bipedal boss Guardian.

Saves were only possible between levels and at checkpoints. The game supported the PlayStation Mouse, as well as split-screen multiplayer with a four-player limit. In addition, this version included 12 unique multiplayer levels.

Paril not only transferred the PS1 version to a new engine – the modder corrected numerous shortcomings: improved the AI ​​of opponents, controls and the mentioned monsters (Arachnid and Guardian received new weapons and mechanics), eliminated serious bugs, improved some levels and added more secrets. Despite the changes, the shooter, as the creator assures, will remain recognizable to everyone who played it on PlayStation 1.

Players praised Paril’s work. Separately, they praised the author for the phrase “Fight the Strogg, not the controls” used in the trailer, calling it an ideal advertising slogan for the mod.

«The year-long wait was absolutely worth it,” enthuses Pepo_Huh. “It looks amazing.”

«My favorite version of Quake II,” admitted JakkedDog. “I can’t wait to play.”

«Forget Quake II RTX, this is what’s really cool,” wrote firestarter6488.

The Quake II remaster from Nightdive Studios was released in August 2023 on PC (Steam, GOG, EGS, Microsoft Store), PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X and S, Nintendo Switch, and Game Pass.