Chex Quest is a non-violent breakfast cereal game released in 1996 that was a conversion of The Ultimate Doom. I had a copy of this and really rather enjoyed it in 96 but as with some things, I got rid of it not knowing it would achieve cult status later on. The legendary status of Chex Quest is still very strong and it so much so that recently got an HD remake and came to Steam last month. Since I enjoyed playing the original and it's currently free on Steam I downloaded it and gave it a go.
Firstly Chex Quest HD is free and that means that it shouldn't really be held up to the same light as a game you paid for. With that is Chex Quest good? I think that depends on what you like but for a free game it's well worth your time and if you never played the original this could be fun to try.
All that said, I'm not sure as a remake this does much more than bring the original namesake back into the light for a time. Reason being is the game is aimed at recreating the levels and gameplay of the original but doesn't really improve anything. The graphics are in HD and entirely remade here which is interesting but the gameplay is so stiff and uninviting i'd argue the original Chex Quest is a far better game. Chex Quest HD is based on the Unreal Engine 4 but the gameplay doesn't feel like it is. The original Doom and Chex Quest by association were on the same engine and those games are bound to the limitations of 90's era control schemes and what DOS was capable of. One improvement i'd have made to Chex Quest HD is that since you are on a modern shooter engine, make the game feel like a modern shooter. The original Chex Quest was awesome because it was on the DOOM engine which was an entirely modern shooter engine back in the 90's. Sad that the HD remake didn't take take advantage of the modern Unreal Engine it was built within to feel more like Unreal or any other modern shooter made with it.
I absolutely love that Chex Quest is getting the attention it deserves. It's a fun classic campy game that should be more widely played. That said, I wonder if simply porting the classic game to modern systems and making it work in widescreen with a modern Doom engine port would have be better? The developers could have made a feature to switch between two WAD files one being the original and the other being a touched up version. In the end remaking a classic game with an entirely new codebase and art isn't bad and we've seen it done to incredible levels with the recent Link's Awakening remake. One reason why the modern Link's Awakening remake shines is because it improves on the original game in various ways that create a new fresh experience that builds on the classic game. I appreciate the love that the developers put into the Chex Quest HD remake I'm just not sure it hits quite the same notes as the original.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/804270/Chex_Quest_HD/
Firstly Chex Quest HD is free and that means that it shouldn't really be held up to the same light as a game you paid for. With that is Chex Quest good? I think that depends on what you like but for a free game it's well worth your time and if you never played the original this could be fun to try.
All that said, I'm not sure as a remake this does much more than bring the original namesake back into the light for a time. Reason being is the game is aimed at recreating the levels and gameplay of the original but doesn't really improve anything. The graphics are in HD and entirely remade here which is interesting but the gameplay is so stiff and uninviting i'd argue the original Chex Quest is a far better game. Chex Quest HD is based on the Unreal Engine 4 but the gameplay doesn't feel like it is. The original Doom and Chex Quest by association were on the same engine and those games are bound to the limitations of 90's era control schemes and what DOS was capable of. One improvement i'd have made to Chex Quest HD is that since you are on a modern shooter engine, make the game feel like a modern shooter. The original Chex Quest was awesome because it was on the DOOM engine which was an entirely modern shooter engine back in the 90's. Sad that the HD remake didn't take take advantage of the modern Unreal Engine it was built within to feel more like Unreal or any other modern shooter made with it.
I absolutely love that Chex Quest is getting the attention it deserves. It's a fun classic campy game that should be more widely played. That said, I wonder if simply porting the classic game to modern systems and making it work in widescreen with a modern Doom engine port would have be better? The developers could have made a feature to switch between two WAD files one being the original and the other being a touched up version. In the end remaking a classic game with an entirely new codebase and art isn't bad and we've seen it done to incredible levels with the recent Link's Awakening remake. One reason why the modern Link's Awakening remake shines is because it improves on the original game in various ways that create a new fresh experience that builds on the classic game. I appreciate the love that the developers put into the Chex Quest HD remake I'm just not sure it hits quite the same notes as the original.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/804270/Chex_Quest_HD/
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LRG sold a CE for the original version a month or so ago: https://limitedrungames.com/collections/chex-quest/products/chex-quest-chex-warrior-edition-pc
Limited Run Games is doing great work giving these older games a much better physical release. As cool as a CD taped to a Chex Box was, this seems way better.
Found a code to unlock Wheatney Chexworth on Steam: D3bg4E
https://external-preview.redd.it/AZHAfo326T4bHRgs33NRZyctGxugTx9yWSq3KKPAbQ0.jpg?width=1024&auto=webp&s=0cf41cdace28ea058e1062ba547c67540ec7d61d