About Quake
Quake arrived in 1996 from id Software, published by GT Interactive, and helped define the 3D first-person shooter. It replaced the flat sprites of Doom with polygonal monsters and fully 3D levels, and its dark fantasy setting jumps from military bases to gothic castles and Lovecraftian horror. Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails provided the ambient soundtrack and sound effects. Beyond the campaign, Quake became a cornerstone of early online deathmatch and of the modding scene.
The full game has four episodes. This page covers the shareware release, which contains the first episode, Dimension of the Doomed, and was meant to be passed around for free.
How it runs in your browser
Quake-SRP is a port of the Quake engine written in Rust and compiled to WebAssembly, so it runs directly in a browser tab. It opens on quake-srp.pages.dev in a new tab. There’s nothing to install and no game files to bring, because the shareware episode comes with it.
The port is single-player only, with no online play, and saving progress isn’t listed. If you leave partway through the episode, expect to start that run again.
Controls and devices
On a computer, Quake uses the classic mouse-and-keyboard layout:
- Move: WASD
- Look: Mouse
- Jump: Space
- Swim down: C
The port also runs on phones, and a gamepad works if you prefer one to a keyboard and mouse.
Who it’s for
The first episode is a good sample of what made Quake influential: fast movement, punchy weapons and levels that reward exploring for secrets. It suits anyone who missed Quake the first time and wants to see where so much of the genre came from, as well as longtime players after a quick run without setting anything up.
Quake’s engine also had a long second life. Valve built Half-Life on a heavily modified version of it, and that game has a browser page of its own.
How to Play Quake (Episode 1): Controls
| Action | Keyboard & mouse |
|---|---|
| Move | WASD |
| Look | Mouse |
| Jump | Space |
| Swim down | C |
Is Quake (Episode 1) Free, Safe and Official?
Is this the full version of Quake?
No. It’s the shareware release, which covers the first of the game’s four episodes. The full game is sold separately.
Does Quake work on a phone?
Yes. This port runs on phones as well as computers, and it supports a gamepad.
Is this an official id Software release?
No. It’s an unofficial fan port of the free shareware episode and isn’t affiliated with id Software or Bethesda. Nothing needs to be installed to play it.
