Back in August of 2021, Limited Run Games released an incredible bundle for the PS4 release of Quake that included figures, shirts, a ring, coins, and other merch all for the price of $174.99. Obviously, it sold out the second it was available, now pending production and shipping in Q2 of 2022. I can’t wait to see an unboxing, everything looks to be 3D modeled, so I’m interested in seeing the quality of this one.
Quake Ultimate Edition Included:
- Quake Deluxe Edition
- Physical Quake game for PlayStation 4
- Official G2 Blu-ray sized Quake SteelBook
- 18×24″ Double Sided Poster
- Metal Quake Logo Keychain
- Commemorative Metal Coin
- Deluxe PC-style Big Box
- Quake Logo Shirt (XL)
- Ring of Shadows
- Enamel Pin
- 3″ Metal Shambler Figure
- Motorized Rotating Quake Quad Damage Replica Statue
- Numbered Certificate of Authenticity
- Deluxe Nail Gun Ammo Outer Box
The only things that was missing is vinyl release to go along with it. Fortunately, that has already happened in 2020 when for the first time it came on a 2XLP release. It’s still available for $35 on Nine Inch Nails website and it looks fantastic… Wait, Trent Reznor and Nine Inch Nails wrote the OST for Quake? Talking in a group Discord group, apparently this is common knowledge but how can you blame me for not knowing; I was only 5 when the game came out.
Some of my earliest gaming memories are Quake related thanks to my father constantly playing it online in my youth. We had a top of the line Gateway PC with perfect wired connection for multiplay fragging. A buddy of mine also had an older brother who played the game during sleepovers, yet my own introduction to playing the game wasn’t until Quake III. So why does the original OST fill me with the most nostalgia?
I think to really get to the bottom of what makes this such a unique and memorable release is looking at two factors. The first is the fact one of the grungiest band released an ambient album in 1996 and second, the fact that ID Software would team up with them to release it for their new video game.
Back in 1996 video games weren’t nearly as massive as they are today. There was a lot more experimentation to find new ways to innovate but genre standards were barely even established. For example, music was just becoming playable on computers with the use of CDs. Video games were mainly using chip tune to set background noise and sound effects. The thought of a rockstar band even have a single track on a video game was unheard of, no less making the entire OST for one.
This was the mark of a new path forward and even to this day, rarely do we see such power given to a single band to shape the audio aesthetic of a video game. In this case, it absolutely paid off.
Quake popularized the FPS genre and set the tone of what aesthetic was possible in mature gaming. Doom was great (also developed by ID Software) but it wasn’t until the gruesome creatures of Quake that the imagination of realistic alternate universes began to flood the mind of everyone who played. Sure looking back the world and graphics were crude but it was fully 3D; a full 360-degree view that had never been done before. And behind every gun blast and pixelated blood gush, was an album that truly set the tone of the world you were experience.
On it’s own the album holds up and is worth listening to even if you missed the early days of FPS gaming. The PS4 remaster looks great, the shading looks fantastic, the creatures are more detailed and the sound is on par with what you’d expect. It might be a release for those that want to relive their childhood (or early parenthood like my father) but one thing that never seems to fail the test of time is music and that what makes the OST so special. So grab a copy of the vinyl or just hit play on Spotify and give the album a go, you might find yourself reliving the grungy 90s all over again.
