Doom will always remain a very special game for me, because it was the first ‘real’ game I got my hands on. I remember shooting those demons in the circles of Hell as a kid and can’t believe how far the franchise has evolved since that day. Bethesda released a new reboot of Doom and brings back the essentials of this fast-paced first person shooter. Forget everything you learned in games like Call of Duty, Doom is an entirely different game.
The DoomGuy awakens
The start of Doom brings back memories of a time long gone. You start the game on a stone table surrounded with blood. You don’t really know what you’re doing but it’s safe to say shit went down while you were sleeping. After your first steps around the table, you meet an old friend; you find your precious Space Marine suit. The way Bethesda orchestrated this reunion is just perfect, it feels like your suit is another important character in the game rather than just a suit. Which makes sense since the suit is equipped with the smart Vega, Doom’s own Jarvis (You know, Iron Man!)
After waking up, you receive a message from a mysterious professor called Hayden. It’s not really clear why you woke up after all those years or what your purpose is on this red new world. By discovering demon pillars, later on, you’ll learn more about the history and why you are, once again, part of it.
It seems like the Union Aerospace Corporation (read NASA) is using the energy of Hell once again to bring life to Mars. The only downside about the mission is that the demons landed on the planet as well. That’s why the organization woke up the DoomGuy, who is said to be the Slayer of demons according to legends told in Hell. So what better solution to get rid of the demons than to bring back their nemesis, right?
That’s the story you need to know while playing Doom and it’s the only story that matters. You’ve been awakened just to slay the demons once more, just like you did in the other Doom games. During your missions, you’ll also meet up with Olivia Pierce, a woman who sold her soul to the devil to stop you. It’s never really clear why she is there all the time but you’ll need to stop her nevertheless.
Defeat hordes of enemies on Mars and Hell
So, as we said before, Doom is a very different first person shooter experience than let’s say a Call of Duty or Battlefield game. The original Doom games featured a map filled with enemies you needed to take down. Occasionally, a new door would open, adding more enemies to the field. The trick was to get where you needed to go without being trapped between the insane amounts of enemies.
Kill them all
Things changed a little in Doom 3 and the same system is used in this new Doom game. Instead of placing enemies everywhere, the game uses a constant ‘Horde-like’ mechanism. The worlds are divided into smaller rooms or areas that can be locked for a certain time. In these smaller areas, you’ll need to bring down every enemy before you can advance. It’s a little bit of a downside for the veteran Doom players since this horde gameplay takes away some of the surprises the original game had.
The element of surprise mostly gets lost due to the layout of the maps. Even without entering the smaller areas, you can just see which places will be used for these horde battles from miles away. That being said, it is fun to defeat the demons in these smaller environments although it’s a little too easy sometimes. The arenas are filled with weapon and health packs so it won’t happen that much that you die. Your bullets, on the other hand, tend to run out a little too fast and extra ammo isn’t always available. Your pistol with an infinite amount of bullets is a great alternative but it’s not really that powerful. If you die, it’s mostly because you ran out of bullets.
When it comes to location, the game constantly switches between Mars and Hell. You’ll discover a gate to Hell, jump in it, destroy the enemies and brutal boss to close the gate, return to Mars. It happens more than once that you’ll think you closed the last gateway to Hell but things get a bit too repetitive short after. The switch in environments isn’t bad but some more variation or surprises could have done wonders for the single player experience.
Time to get some weapons and upgrades
Just like in the multiplayer, you can score upgrades for your weapons and unlock special Runes during the solo story. Runes are passive perks that augment your normal stats. For example, one specific Rune will make ammo drop more frequently. There are a lot of Runes to find but there are only a few that are really useful, the others are just fun to have but not necessary to achieve victory. The way you unlock these Runes is fun on the other hand. By completing certain mini-challenges (like blowing up multiple enemies at once), you’ll unlock a new Rune. It’s a fun mechanism that pushes you to think out of the box while taking down your enemies.
The better upgrades happen through an upgrade system that’s similar to the ones found in several games. The fuel for the upgrades is the so-called pure energy that can be used to boost your health or ammo capacity. Raising your ammo is something you’ll want to do as soon as possible since ammo is hard to find in the arenas from time to time, as discussed earlier.
Of course, you can also use your points to make your guns fancier. Why not add a grenade launcher to your shotgun, right? Upgrading all your weapons isn’t possible in a single session so you’ll need to decide what you’re after. Want to keep your points to unlock the real badass guns? Are want to spend a little on your main set to make those weapons even more brutal? Decisions have to be made.
The multiplayer
Besides the solo adventure, Doom also comes packed with a multiplayer option. The multiplayer feels like a combination of Halo and Quake 3, which means speed, is important. If you’re used to play modern online shooters, you’ll need to adapt to the style of Doom’ multiplayer. Standing still isn’t an option if you want to survive. Doom brings back the feeling of how multiplayer games were played when I was younger. No campers, just fast-paced chaotic action. That’s exactly what this multiplayer mode brings back and it’s great to see a more old-school approach in a sea filled with ‘realistic’ shooters.
The biggest difference between other shooters is that there aren’t any guns on the maps. You’ll only find health packs and extra ammo, but no guns. That’s right, nobody is rushing towards the power weapons since they aren’t there. As weird as this sound, it’s this mechanism that brings balance to the multiplayer. Players that went for long-range weapons will be killed by short-range weapons and vice versa. It feels balanced and for every weapon is another one that can easily overpower it.
To unlock the more powerful weapons, you’ll need to rise in level, which means that some players will have more powerful weapons but as said before, this doesn’t mean you’ll automatically die. Leveling is rather easy so you’ll have the regular set of weapons in no time. Spending some extra hours for the better weapons is certainly worth it!
The multiplayer is something some, especially younger gamers, won’t understand that well. You’ll need to change the way you’re playing but after you figure out what kind of game Doom is, the multiplayer is one of the most fun modes the game has to offer.
Oh yes, there will be blood
Doom is a gory game to put it lightly. The game is filled with gallons of blood and the developers made it even more bloody thanks to the glorykills. These glorykills are close-up kills you’re able to perform on stunned enemies. The bigger the enemy, the more different glorykills you can perform. You can even perform this devastating finishing move during the multiplayer.
Don’t have time to perform a glorykill? No need to worry, Doom still features some of the most brutal weapons you’ll ever see. The fan-favorite chainsaw makes a return and kills the enemies without any problem, if you’re able to find the rare fuel that is. The BFG also makes a return and will transform a room filled with enemies in one big red pool of death. Doom isn’t meant for the young gamers but if you’re a little older, you’ll certainly see the fun in killing the demons in such a bloody way!
Super Doom Maker
The last impressive feature I wanted to point out is the Snapmap mode, which can be considered the Super Mario Maker equivalent of Doom. In Snapmap, you can create your own custom map with every type of enemy, weapon or object the developers used in the game. Sure, there are some limits in the editor (you can’t endlessly spawn enemies) but it’s a great level maker. If you have some fantasy, you’ll put some great levels together. The tutorial will demonstrate everything you need to know and isn’t that hard to understand.
Not that creative? No worries, the community already created some great and unique maps. Thanks to this option, you’ll always have something to return to in this new Doom game. Bethesda made sure gamers could enjoy the return of Doom and thanks to the Snapmap mode, they’ll be able to enjoy it for a very long time to come.
Conclusion:
Doom takes the first person shooter back to its roots by giving you some brutal weapons and deadly enemies to take care of. It’s not a realistic or modern experience but that’s the charm of the game. Running around on Mars and Hell, firing those sick guns isn’t something we can do in other games. The return of Doom feels a little old school but it’s incredibly fun to play! We can’t wait to see what the future holds for the franchise but until then, we’ll enjoy the multiplayer and Snapmap modes some more!
