Quake turns 30: Bethesda releases a big add-on with 19 levels and a time-loop mechanic

To mark the 30th anniversary of the original Quake by id Software, publisher Bethesda has released a new story campaign for the game called "Dawn of the Machine." It is the latest chapter in a series of expansions created by MachineGames with involvement from id Software.

The Quake maps were built by a team called "Quake Club," which consists of MachineGames employees who work on levels for this game in their spare time. The studio is best known for the Wolfenstein reboot and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle. The levels were made using the modern Trenchbloom editor, which is easier to use and more capable than the tools of the late nineties, allowing the maps to be larger in scale than was typical for Quake of that era.

The add-on features 19 new levels with several unusual gameplay mechanics. Among them are a time loop and a disorienting yet flashy teleportation system that makes the locations appear to change on the fly. A similar trick was used in Titanfall 2 and Dishonored 2, but here the shifts between time periods happen without player input. The expansion also adds new music and several new enemy and weapon variants.