Quake Champions is not an Overwatch clone.

Any elements that make it similar to the trendy modern hero shooters aren't drastic enough to change the core gameplay from its high-stakes twitchy shoot-a-thon roots. They're more additive than transformative other than the ultimate abilities, and so can ultimately be more or less ignored.

If you like Quake or games that have taken inspiration from it, that may be enough for you.

... but that's my problem with it.

Shooters have been evolving over the past thirty years and Quake Champions wants to take us back almost as far to strip away the complexities to get back to basics. This is the wrong decision unless you are a die-hard purist. It makes the game feel archaic than more than leaving the impression of something 'simple but addictive'.

Why not pick a distinct gameplay style that suits my prefrences by choosing characters with distinct weapons and abilities at the start of the game? Dashing around the map to find a weapon that I don't suck with and trying to figure out what tiny, tiny advantages each character offers will work best for a map isn't fun. It's not fun to wander around this maze to try to pick off people one by one instead of having some sort of objective where most players will be that I'll have to think about tackling in some way other than pointing and shooting. Having abilities that rely on other skills than twitch shooting just makes everything more dynamic and tactical in every situation, really. Having only twitch shooting makes matches feel like a bit of a mindless reflex test.

Yes, Quake Champions may be distilled down into the best form of the arena shooter, but it's so stuck in its old ways that it will never be something that can compete with something as polished and refined as Overwatch is because Overwatch is not padded with fluff, but with meat, and Quake takes all that away without anything to replace it.

Every single Quake game before now built on what came before to deliver and experience that felt fresh, fun, and modern. This doesn't.

Developers, you need to do the same thing by figuring out how to make your game competeitive in this modern market beyond releasing a nostalgic cash grab that was dated ten years ago.

Quake Champions is not an Overwatch clone. Any elements that make it similar to the trendy modern hero shooters aren't drastic enough to change the core gameplay from its high-stakes twitchy shoot-a-thon roots. They're more additive than transformative other than the ultimate abilities, and so can ultimately be more or less ignored. If you like Quake or games that have taken inspiration from it, that may be enough for you. ... but that's my problem with it. Shooters have been evolving over the past thirty years and Quake Champions wants to take us back almost as far to strip away the complexities to get back to basics. This is the wrong decision unless you are a die-hard purist. It makes the game feel archaic than more than leaving the impression of something 'simple but addictive'. Why not pick a distinct gameplay style that suits my prefrences by choosing characters with distinct weapons and abilities at the start of the game? Dashing around the map to find a weapon that I don't suck with and trying to figure out what tiny, tiny advantages each character offers will work best for a map isn't fun. It's not fun to wander around this maze to try to pick off people one by one instead of having some sort of objective where most players will be that I'll have to think about tackling in some way other than pointing and shooting. Having abilities that rely on other skills than twitch shooting just makes everything more dynamic and tactical in every situation, really. Having only twitch shooting makes matches feel like a bit of a mindless reflex test. Yes, Quake Champions may be distilled down into the best form of the arena shooter, but it's so stuck in its old ways that it will never be something that can compete with something as polished and refined as Overwatch is because Overwatch is not padded with fluff, but with meat, and Quake takes all that away without anything to replace it. Every single Quake game before now built on what came before to deliver and experience that felt fresh, fun, and modern. This doesn't. Developers, you need to do the same thing by figuring out how to make your game competeitive in this modern market beyond releasing a nostalgic cash grab that was dated ten years ago.