Doom

Zach Goodier

Doom is a first-person shooter that reboots the original game. Now, some of you might be thinking the original is like an early 2000’s production…. No. This is meant as the spiritual reboot of the original 90’s game that, more or less, defined the modern shooter. Many of the demons will be familiar, and the game doesn’t throw a lot of story or character your way, only bloody, wondrous carnage.

Environments look and feel impressive to travel and fight in.

You play “Doom Guy,” AKA “Doom Slayer,” depending on who is describing you. You awake in a sarcophagus from Hell, in a UAC Mars facility in the midst of being overrun by demons. You quickly awake and begin smashing and blasting everything that crosses your path, and you soon meet/talk to a couple of survivors, who are each trying to accomplish their own ends: Olivia Pierce is trying to open the gate to Hell so the demonic overlords can usher in a new age for mankind, and Samuel Hayden, director of the Mars facility, who is helping you try to contain the nightmare.

Olivia Pierce is a fanatic who believes Hell will pave the way to humanities future.

The story is basically just killing demons and killing more demons, and that’s exactly why I loved every second. This is the true spiritual successor to the original game: it doesn’t throw exposition and characters at you, it just gives you a gun and points you to the demons.

Demon runes can be found by completing challenges to earn them.

So, if the story is deliberately minimal, then the entire single-player campaign is coming down to gameplay, and I am glad to say Doom delivers big time. The game has many of the classics, with some new looks and what not, and the same goes for the demons. You are running and gunning your way through corridors, open rooms with large hordes, and the deepest bowels of Hell itself. Weapons all have mods which can be swapped on the fly to alter your combat abilities, and they all look and feel unique in how they can work in your favor. Combat is fast-paced, tense, and richly satisfying, with glory kills, ragdoll physics, and gruesome carnage being cornerstones to combat.

Hell looks appropriately... well, you know.

Multiplayer is where the game does lose some steam, with all its’ modes being remakes of classic types, but the fast-paced combat is still present and enjoyable. For me, though, it’s all about the campaign, which is fantastic. With higher difficulties comes more fun, which is somewhat rare. Sure, the challenge is higher, but with the pacing, it makes everything feel faster and more exciting.

Good luck.

This is a fantastic game. It captures the essence of the classic Doom in a modern game. The graphics, pacing, and design all feel amazing. The rewards for exploration and skillful gameplay are great, with upgrades and challenges to work on, even after the campaign is over. Multiplayer is somewhat uninspired, but the look, feel, and action is all that fans of the originals should appreciate in a modern version.

Good:

-Great visuals and level design.

-Fast pacing keeps the action going and the player on edge.

-Challenges and upgrades to inspire replay.

Bad:

-Multiplayer is fairly unoriginal in concept, with most ideas already found in some form in other games.

Scully Rating: 9.5 out of 10