Bethesda followed up what they started in 2014 when they resurrected Wolfenstein by bringing Doom back to our PCs, consoles, and hearts.
Doom shall forever have a special place in my heart after spending my younger years setting up LANs with my father and uncle for what would be one of the biggest parts of modern gaming multiplayer. Back then, you had to work for it, but the reward of playing games with groups of people without having a split screen was amazing. I still have fond memories of chasing my uncle down a corridor until he gets stuck on a door and punching him into submission. Over the years, I played hundreds of hours online, some in tournaments, some just for fun, but nothing compares to that first Deathmatch and kill.
I grew up with Doom – it was a childhood friend – would I recognise what it has grown into? Would I still relate? Was it all just rose-tinted memories? I waited, worried it wouldn’t be what I was expecting, but I was wrong. Let’s begin with the music – it is spot on and fits perfectly with the hectic playstyle whilst running and gunning. The only downside is that you may become too engrossed, chasing round errant imps for that final Glory Kill, and not truly appreciate the soundtrack.
Visually the game is stunning, with beautiful lighting effects, outstanding textures, and details. For the locations, they have a UAC Facility that feels like it could have been a set from Alien and a hellscape that would put metal album covers to shame. I don’t care for some of the enemy designs, not for any reason other than I always pictured imps covered in short brown fur. C’mon, I can’t be the only one that thought imps looked furry…right? Again, that was purely because I had decades of built-up mental images regarding these enemies.
The gameplay is amazingly fast and visceral. You play without thinking, “I need to stand behind these boxes for 3 seconds so I can recover some HP and then take some pop shots from the cover.” No, you think, “Damn, I’m on 80 health. Time to get up close and personal to tear some health outta this imp’s a-hole.” A few games have done this in the past, and it is a refreshing change to the standard cover-to-cover shooter of today. The Glory Kill system is fun and different and a brilliant way of getting health without taking you out of the game.
Doom is traditionally not a story-heavy game – you play a badass soldier, all hell breaks loose, you shoot, they die, and you win. That was all I needed for Doom 1 and 2, yet in this game, I find myself drawn to the info pages and extra little snippets of the story. I got as invested in this story as I did in Uncharted, which may sound silly. I haven’t seen my player’s face and haven’t heard him speak, but it comes down to how Bethesda crafts stories. He has nuances, he is real to me, and Bethesda was able to make that come across without shoehorning exposition down my throat.
RELATED: Fantasy RPG ‘Wyrdsong’ Revealed by Bethesda Vet’s Something Wicked Games at Gamescom
Collectibles are now an ingrained part of gaming today, and Doom has struck a good balance. The “Funko” Doomguys are cute and while there are a fair few to collect, it doesn’t seem like a massive amount per level. After adapting to the map system and leveling up your skills, you will find yourself able to collect all of the secrets and collectibles in your first playthrough. The map in Doom is very detailed, but I found that it took me a good couple of levels to come to grips with it due to how in-depth it was, plus the 3D nature of it. Once you get used to it, you will wonder how you managed without maps like this before.
Let’s talk about multiplayer – now, this is the big one. Doom was one of the first games for online multiplayer, so you may wonder if it is a worthy successor. YES. The customisation options are amazing, and I spent more time deciding on the percentage of wear and dirt on my gun than I did use that weapon. It lets you customise individual limbs of your character so you can make him completely your own. This is important to me if I am going to be spending potentially hundreds of hours as the character. I appreciated the fact that Doom gives a high level of customisation without just throwing dozens of sliders at you or making you feel like you need a degree in CAD before altering the character from the standard build. The multiplayer itself is fast and fun (seeing a theme here), and it does what it does well.
With the snap maps and the creativity of the gaming community, I can see Doom lasting for a long time to come. It is the very best of the originals made for today’s audiences. It manages to be relevant, new, and different while still being a throwback to the original Granddaddy of Gaming, Doom got me into gaming and multiplayer, and I would recommend this game as an introduction to the series.
Pros:
- Fast, fun, and visceral
- Good story
- Beautiful graphics
- Awesome soundtrack
Cons:
- The map is confusing at first
- Having to load out of the game to switch between single and multiplayer
- AI can get confused and wander off, causing you to chase down that one last imp
- Some of the monster designs aren’t as good as the originals
