DOOM plays like a classic shooter for classic shooter fans. It has all the trademarks of old-school games, with a few modern conveniences like a standout single-player mode and an amazingly innovative map creation tool. DOOM will make gamers new and old very happy.
DOOM is very much what you expect. It’s a hardcore FPS game, with you playing as a nameless Space Marine who battles the hordes of Hell using increasingly larger weapons. Because there’s no regenerating health, players are forced to scramble for every last health, armor and ammo drop they can find.
Gameplay is fast and, well, furious. Thanks to the lack of health, I found myself using the new Glory Kill mechanic almost constantly. When an enemy demon gets weakened and is close to death, they start glowing. Move in and perform a melee attack, and you’ll get one of a series of gory kills usually involving limb removal or other forms of mutilation. Performing Glory Kills is important, because it will always result in some sort of health drop and also gives you a very small break in between running and gunning.
Missions are a bit basic. Most levels revolve around completing a series of waypoint-chasing tasks before moving on to the next. Challenges, secrets and collectibles litter each stage, giving players plenty of reasons to fully explore every area. Upgrades can be unlocked to improve weapons, your suit’s abilities and even your base stats.
As for the story, it’s largely forgettable. Across the game’s roughly eight to 10 hours of gameplay, you’ll find out something about a company trying to tap into the infinite energy of Hell, and has opened a portal between dimensions on Mars. As one would guess, things go wrong and it’s up to you to set everything straight again. The story isn’t the main attraction here, it’s the combat.
Gunplay feels pretty solid, with all sorts of guns getting unlocked along the way. Reaction times are key here, as there’s no cover to hide behind and very few breaks in between rounds of blasting away. Unfortunately, the game can find itself getting a little repetitive, with seemingly endless waves of enemies coming at you across similar looking levels.
Outside of the main campaign, DOOM has a competent multiplayer component and an absolutely incredible level creation tool called SnapMap. SnapMap gives players the freedom to make all sorts of custom multiplayer levels from basic Team Deathmatch maps to completely new gameplay experiences.
Using SnapMap’s tools, players can set room layouts, add lighting and sound effects and put in AI demon enemies complete with their own AI settings. SnapMap users can also create unique game types by tying win and loss conditions to things other than the number of kills players get. For example, I created a map with pressure plates that spawn demons. When one specific demon is killed, the player that killed it gets the win for the round. My map is crude and hastily made, but I only spent a few minutes on it. Thanks to the creativity of the gaming community at large, rest assured the SnapMap creations will continue to blow us away for months to come.
As for the regular multiplayer, it’s serviceable if forgettable. It should be mentioned I’ve never been the biggest fan of online competitive shooters, but DOOM ’s doesn’t do anything to really stand out from the others.
There’s plenty of customization and unlocks to be had, but at the end of the day it seems if you don’t have the Combat Shotgun unlocked, you’re at a severe disadvantage. Because all of the weapons and gear you need to unlock are tied to your level, the better players all get better equipment. Thankfully, levelling happens fairly regularly, gaining a level every other round or so. It’s still a bummer slogging through those first few levels without some of the better weapons others already have.
Matchmaking also seemed off for multiplayer. It seemed most games I played had one team destroying the other. This can happen every now and then, but when it becomes a common occurrence, you start to question how team balancing is actually working. I got into most of my matches pretty quickly with only a minute or two of waiting, but there was one or two times I found myself waiting for more than five minutes to get into a game.
Overall, DOOM is a must-buy for fans of the franchise. Those who weren’t raised on DOOM or other old-school shooters may find many things to love here, but may also be turned away by repetitive gameplay and challenging difficulty. Those that like to build things NEED to try out SnapMap though, as it is an amazing creation tool that should get populated with awesome levels.
So what do you think? Did you enjoy the DOOM single-player campaign? Do you enjoy the multiplayer more than I do? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
