and it's a shame that we never got another game like it.
I fucking love this game so much and cannot believe how well it still plays nearly 25 years later.
The art style is hands down the most unique in an FPS games. It's easy to criticize ID games for overusing brown and grey textures, but there is really nothing else that looks like Quake. It's weird mix of Lovecraft and Satanic Horror with Sci Fi, actually works when it seems these things wouldn't blend well together at all. Some levels have Sci Fi lighting and then it's mixed in with all these gothic castles that you explore.
Quake 1 had ridiculously fast movement speed similar to Doom but with a bit of physics, which makes for cool stuff like rocket jumping and playing with the grenade launcher for fun. That's another strength to this game - the weapons. They kinda feel underpowered but are satisfying to use and the grenade launcher is the first "fun" weapon that ID Software put into a game.
The gibbing in Quake is the most satisfying I've ever experienced in a video game. ALL the enemies gib and they make that hilarious sound effect which is impossible to describe, but it's so funny.
QUAD DAMAGE! A power-up so infamous that it wound up in Doom 2016. There is nothing more satisfying than getting that Quad Damage and listening to the GRRRRRRRR sound effect every time you fire a gun. The face down at the HUD status bar changes hilariously and then most of the enemies explode into gibs when you kill them. Quad Damage is still fun all these years later. I don't even care so much about the other power-ups, this is the one that makes you go on a rampage.
This game had truly unique atmosphere and I think that is what is so memorable about it despite it's aging. The soundtrack was done by Trent Reznor/Nine Inch Nails and it sounds terrifying. Playing this game for hours in the dark, it's so immersive. Just listen to this in the dark and you see what I mean. Trent also did all the sound effects, including the iconic 'cha ching' when you pick up armor, the loud booming of the guns and the player sounds which are almost comical and you can tell it's him sitting in a sound booth making grunting noises.
If I had to make a pick for most disappointing game I ever purchased, Quake 2 is probably it. They stripped away that unique Lovecraftian/Satanic horror mixed with Sci Fi and went with a generic Sci Fi shooter with no atmosphere whatsoever (but a pretty damn good Metal soundtrack that still rocks). The Strogg are just generic bad guys who are boring. Quake had enemies that were the stuff of nightmares like the Shambler, Death Knight and the Ogres who's grunting alert sound always gave me nightmares. What enemies does Quake 2 have that are scary? I can't think of anything. Even the level design in Quake 2 is just bland.
When Bethesda rebooted Doom, I was hoping we would get a Quake reboot that went back to the original game and it's art style. It's a pipe dream at this point. Quake is more of a multiplayer game now with Quake Champions and it went in that direction years ago with Quake 3 that had great death matching, but there's something about Quake 1 that always brings me back to it.
I never really had a problem with the gunplay in Quake 1. The only flaw I really see in the game is that enemies have such large hit boxes, that you can snipe them from distances and kill them with just barely hitting them.
One thing I have to point out is that when developing Quake 1, they could not really cram in a bunch of monsters into rooms like Doom. This is why the monsters have double HP and why the guns feel slightly underpowered. To make up for not being able to put hundreds of monsters in maps, they gave most of the enemies double HP and nerfed all the weapons. Quake 2 didn't have this problem with it's engine.
Quake 2 is IMO the worst game ID software made which is still quite a statement given that it's not a terrible game, it's just so bland. People constantly rip Doom 3 and I wrote a long post about why I have a love/hate relationship with that game (here - https://hexbear.net/post/39695 ) but compared to Quake 2, there is an actual atmosphere in Doom 3 and it can be scary when you've been playing it for hours on end. I hate the shotgun in Doom 3, but the plasma rifle and chaingun are awesome and fun to use. Outside of the Railgun, Quake 2's weapons just feel as generic as it's enemies and setting.