Quake Champions
A classic FPS in a hero shooter wrapper
BASED ON WHAT I’VE PLAYED, TEAM COMPOSITION DOESN’T FEEL ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT
What do you want from a new Quake game? Originally, I thought that my answer was an old-school arena shooter with twitch combat, breakneck traversal, intricate map design, satisfying gun feel and big, chunky gibs flying all over the place. And the good news is that QuakeChampions is all of that. It feels like Quake. Having played for some time during the beta, I’m not sure that’s all I want from a new Quake. Despite everything it does to recapture that late-’90s feel, Quake Champions is a modern multiplayer FPS, and it comes loaded with everything that has come to mean. Instead of a server browser, for instance, you enter a matchmaking queue that tries to place you with similarly-experienced players.
This is fine. Good matchmaking can help ease in new players and ensure that the more experienced are still challenged by their peers. But I do pine for a time when private servers were the norm. A good server browser is both a portal to a collection of ad-hoc communities and a fascinating journey of discovery through custom maps, mods and special rule-sets. Tired of fighting in Quake III Arena? No problem, just hop on into a DeFRaG race server and show off your bunny-hopping and strafe-jumping.
While I’m griping about modern FPS affectations, here’s another: Loot crates. Quake Champions will reward you with them when you level up your account, and you can acquire them with in-game currency, earned for completing challenges. You’ll also be able purchase them as real-money micro transactions. They’re cosmetic only, but, despite not being ‘pay-to-win’, their very presence feels incredibly un- Quake.
That’s enough of the ‘old man yells at The Cloud’ routine. I’m disappointed that FPSes are no longer the fascinating ecosystem of old, but that should take nothing away from the fact that Quake Champions is fast, responsive, and enjoyable. It looks the part, which is to say a mix of Gothic architecture and grungy sci-fi. More importantly it feels the part, despite the new variations between characters, who now each boast their own speed, health, and armor, as well as their own specific ability.
The character traits are a curious addition. In some respects it’s typical of a modern hero shooter, but here they aren’t divided into different classes. Because of that, and based on what I’ve played, team composition doesn’t feel especially important. In one team deathmatch, every player on my side was Nyx—the bluehaired assassin with the telefragging phasewalk ability. Sure, we lost, but that was more about our skill as players. It wasn’t comparable to the trouncing I received during an ill-advised all-Hanzo attempt in Overwatch.
Team Players
The majority of abilities are simply another form of damage, with a cooldown after use. The exception is Galena, who places an ‘Unholy Totem’—a deployable item that can heal nearby allies. Even this is rarely a difference maker in team fights. Quake is fast, and its guns hit hard. Having a slight armor advantage can give you an edge during a one-on-one gunfight using basic rifles, but that’s rarely how things shake out when you’re in the arena.
I’d like to see QuakeChampions embrace its newness and take more liberties with the classic Quake feel. Right now, it’s trying to integrate old-school FPS action into a modern multiplayer Skinner box of loot crates and levelling. It may be Quake, but it’s also a game about earning new skins for your lizard man. Which is to say: Not very Quake at all.