Two years ago, at Quake Con 2021, id Software and Nightdive Studios shadow dropped a remaster of the original Quake which was critically acclaimed for its features and meticulous polish. Two years later, id Software and Nightdive are at it again with an enhanced version of Quake II, available now for all platforms and the best part is that, if you already own Quake II on Steam, it's a free update.
Quake II is currently listed as 
Playable on Steam Deck, although that rating is from the original version so needs Valve to re-review it.
Here's a brief rundown from Bethesda's own launch page:
- Includes the original Quake II campaign plus both Mission Packs, The Reckoning, Ground Zero, plus the previously Nintendo 64-exclusive Quake II 64 and the brand-new Call of the Machine episode from MachineGames.
- Improvements to gameplay, including content restored from the original development, plus visual upgrades such as dynamic shadows, improved lighting, glow maps and more.
- Play local split-screen and online across four Multiplayer modes with crossplay functionality:
- Cooperative
- Deathmatch
- Team Deathmatch
- Capture the Flag
- Add AI opponents in Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch modes, explore the id Vault, enjoy improved co-op play and much more!
- Various accessibility additions.
Additional Editor note from Liam Dawe: giving it a run on Steam Deck with Proton 8 - it works out of the box. Thanks to Nightdive's upgrades it has the Vulkan API by default, and supports the Steam Deck's native 800p resolution too with controller support working perfectly. Even with the enhancements turned on appears to give really good performance too. Screenshots below:
Quoting: scaineFrom the screenshots, it looks like the enemy models have been updated too?It's hard to tell since on all screenshots above the enemies are quite a bit away from the player. The German version of the Steam page mentions polished models.
Quoting: scaineFrom the screenshots, it looks like the enemy models have been updated too? Or am I just remembering my original play-through at 800x600??They were updated from what I understand.
Quoting: SmellbringerYep, visuals had been updatedQuoting: scaineFrom the screenshots, it looks like the enemy models have been updated too? Or am I just remembering my original play-through at 800x600??They were updated from what I understand.
Luke_Nukem Aug 10
Read the linked beths page for more info.
StoneColdSpider Aug 10
Quoting: mphuZReturn to Castle Wolfenstein next, please..And yes I totally second this!
The original works fine but is better played natively.
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