Upon stumbling across a new PS1 homebrew with a Quake demo included, I thought I'd finally found a solid way to play the shooter on Sony's console. Unlike DOOM, the iconic MS-DOS romp didn't get an invite to the PlayStation party back in the '90s, but my dreams of playing it AFK were shattered by one caveat: it's made using AI.
Yes, this is another impressive retro console project that has AI lurking beneath the surface. It's a pity too, as the PSxOxide demo bundles Quake in with a wonderfully odd bunch of PS1 projects, including a version of Minecraft, Guitar Hero, and Rocket League. You can even dive into Celeste Classic if you fancy some platforming, but alas, it'll fuel AI-aided development.
If you're itching to dive into PS1 homebrews or even just easily run imported games, you can do that all with a PSXMemCard. For under $40, you're getting a gadget that can act like over 60,000 OG memory cards (no, really) and run tools like TonyHax to bypass pesky disc checks.
Over at the demo's GitHub, PSoXide's developer, EBonura, discloses that they used "substantial AI assistance under human direction and hardware verification." Simply put, while the code wasn't completely generated, Claude was used for debugging and as a developmental aid.
I admittedly hadn't checked for a way to play Quake on PS1 for a while, as it turns out the PSoXide demo is based on an older project. Dubbed QuakePSX, dates on the page suggest it's been around for at least five years, and it received updates nine months ago. The older shareware port doesn't leverage AI as far as I'm aware, so it is possible to give it a whirl regardless.
Having played both the PSoXide and original QuakePSX demos over the weekend, the latter actually feels closer to what I'm after anyway. That's largely thanks to the fact it features support for the PS1 mouse, meaning you can get a bit of a PC feel on the '90s console. It also felt like it was running at a higher fps, but you should brace yourself for frame rate frights well below 30.
I should note I also shot myself in the proverbial PS1 setup foot right after discovering these Quake ports. Foolishly, I decided to re-shell the modded OG PlayStation I was using to run the shooter via a burned CD, and the subtle changes to the laser alignment mean both aren't loading properly.
That's worth keeping in mind even if you're debating picking up more modern accessories like a PSxMemCard for TonyHax abilities or swapping out the disc drive for something like an XStation SD card ODE ($51 at Aliexpress, FYI). The latter will save you from the pain of trying to load in Quake, but as someone who's very passionate about keeping physical media alive, I am investigating why a shell swap is messing it up.
It feels like we're getting closer to seemingly impossible ports making their way onto the OG PS1. The issue is that there are far too many projects using AI rather than the traditional journey, and while I'd love to play a crunchy version of Quake for the console, I'd rather avoid fuelling tools that are actively eroding the art of development.
You'll want to check out how to play PS2 games next if you've got the original console or handheld emulation on your mind.
