Bethesda and id Software’s reboot of DOOM for the PC, PS4 and Xbox One has gone over extremely well with actual gamers. The paying consumers have spoken loud and clear that despite some shortcomings with the identity of the multiplayer component, DOOM is a gory masterpiece.
Featuring a campaign mode that roughly extends to around eight hours, a multiplayer deathmatch component and the ability to build new maps and content with the SnapMap tool, DOOM hit the ground running with a lot of standard features, but also with some new features in tow as well, such as the new Glory Kills, advanced melee combat, suit upgrades and weapon modifications.
The game could best be described as a Metroidvania rendition of DOOM. Players will scavenge for supplies, mods, ammo, guns and upgrades, while also attempting to progress through the levels by acquiring red, blue and yellow keycards scattered throughout each of the levels.
There’s four minute video featuring some of the gameplay and content to give you an idea of what it’s like, courtesy of Azralynn. You can check that out below.
When discussing the content of the game, there are quite a few things that people feel id Software nailed and nailed right with DOOM.
The Pros…
The campaign mode has been practically universally praised by most gamers putting up user reviews. RazeE didn’t think the game was worth full price, but did think the campaign was one of the highlights that makes for a good selling point, writing…
“Get this game for the campaign because the main campaign is a solid FPS single player mode. It’s really good and it is pretty much its only redeeming feature. If you like first person shooters and like killing lots of ♥♥♥♥, than this is perfect. I recommend this game just for this.”
Gosukusan reiterated similar sentiments, noting that the campaign alone is what beckoned him to write a Steam review, stating…
“I literally never write reviews for anything, but considering that Doom is perhaps my new all-time favorite FPS campaign, I felt I owed it to the developers and community to share my honest opinions. Doom, simply-put, is absolutely incredible. This game has greatly exceeded the somewhat high expectations I had set for it after watching a solid amount of footage before release. The visuals are absolutely stunning and the game runs very well on my 7/10 PC at max settings.”
NoSkill summed up the game by saying…
“Basically – this is Doom.
“Go buy it, it’s a god damn masterpiece.”
Just about everyone enjoys being able to find mods for the Praetor suit and customize the loadouts to fit their playing style. As mentioned, it has a Metroidvania style setup where scavenging for new equipment and combining different mods will grant you different results, and plenty of options to play around with for potential multiple playthroughs of the campaign.
Over on Metacritic jazzagenomad explained that the game is a true callback to the classic age of shooters, back when skill, resourcefulness and tactics were actually required, writing…
“I’m only able to testify to the quality of the single-player campaign at the moment – but it’s absolutely incredible. DOOM is back. As a love letter to the original series, it’s perfect. Combat is fast and frenetic, with a heavily emphasis on mobility and item resourcefulness. There is no regenerating health and no hiding behind cover,”
Hokyshirt wrote a similar review, except juxtaposing it with what classic FPS fans were expecting and what modern gamers will end up with, writing…
“I feel like you’re going to see 2 types of Doom reviews from 2 camps of players: those who played the original Doom, and those who didn’t. Basically, if you liked the original Doom, you’ll like this. If you like more modern shooters, this is going to be very strange for you. No sprinting, no reloading, no fine aim–and that’s all FANTASTIC. This is Doom at its Doomiest,”
Both Xbox and PlayStation gamers agreed that this reboot of DOOM is not Call of Duty, and that’s a good thing.
BemaJinn explained in his Xbox One review that…
“If you are looking for a call of duty style shooter, or a deep story, this isn’t for you. Don’t even bother. If you want to rip the faces off demons, and run around like you’re an ADHD kid on speed, then get up on this!
“Its the classic style run and gun, no aiming down sights, or stopping to take cover, you have to keep moving to survive. It’s the perfect game to blow off steam”
Users note that the aiming is fast and fluid, the guns are responsive and dynamic, and the gore is very satisfying. You won’t have reloading to worry about or regenerating health, so there’s different kinds of strategies to employ when playing, and watching your health bar is absolutely essential.
Many users also reported that the game is well optimized to run on PC, and that helps make the campaign satisfying given that there are no worries about constant slowdown or frame-rate issues. Ectocooler stated that some AMD users were reporting problems running the game on max settings, but his Nvidia setup had no problems…
“I have all of the settings maxed out – with the adaptive AA enabled – and it’s running at 9000+ FPS. I haven’t come across a single framerate drop or visual glitch/tear and I’ve not experienced any kind of crashing.”
Console gamers also noted that DOOM looks and runs well, with kraster writing…
“There are plenty of secrets and Easter eggs and massive maps to explore. The graphics are breathtaking, and immersive. Even living up to it’s “outdated” legacy Doom is a 2016 title that holds on it’s own”
User dimbaZLO also addressed one of the elephants in the room: the speed.
He writes…
“Don’t look at the moving speed from alpha/beta versions, it’s much different now. You’re fast just like in the originals, and if you will pick up some Haste powerups through the game, you will be even faster“
One of the big complaints during the alpha and beta tests were that this newest DOOM weren’t as fast as the originals or even Brutal DOOM. However, in the single-player portion most users have been rather satisfied with the speed of the Doom Guy.
But not everything about DOOM is perfect. It does have its flaws.
The Cons…
The biggest and most consistent complaint is the multiplayer.
Captiosus wrote a lengthy review for the PS4 version of DOOM, explaining that while most of the game bored him, the multiplayer was as generic as anything else on the market…
“With little reason to replay the campaign, I turned to multiplayer. What I found there is a tacked on mess of a game that won’t appeal to many over the long term. There’s nothing in multiplayer to distinguish Doom from the myriad of other sci-fi shooters in the genre. It will likely keep some players for a week or so but they’ll go back to their FPS’s of choice very soon.”
Covaco was a little more lenient toward the multiplayer, noting that it was just okay…
“The multiplayer is okay, but the single player has me on the edge of my seat alot and is a ♥♥♥♥ing blast. Great game so far, although i havent tried the snap map ♥♥♥♥ yet :/”
Nakoda had a lengthy review to talk about the cons of the game, and how it wasn’t a classic id Software title, but did have some promise. However, the real kicker for Nakoda was the multiplayer, in which he wrote…
“Doom MP is a Halo/CoD hybrid with a demon motif. Everything from player levels, hack-modules, point systems, avatar customisation, combat movement, melee style et al. are DIRECTLY from Certain Affinity’s work on other Halo and CoD titles. All they did was compile idtech assets within a structure they already knew; their inexperience with arena shooters is evident in the layout of the maps in the Warpath and Domination game modes, and the lack of meaningful map control in TDM. “
Invocator tried balancing out a lot of the negative remarks about the multiplayer by saying that while it wasn’t spectacular, it wasn’t bad either…
“Was I blown away by the multiplayer during the beta? No, but I enjoyed it enough to even keep me from diving into the Overwatch beta running at the same time. Now that it has been fully realised, and I’ve experienced a number of different maps, game modes and demons, I can safely say that it’s “pretty ♥♥♥♥ing good”.”
In between a lot of the praise for the weapons, AI, level designs and gameplay, and the disdain or apathy toward the multiplayer, was a lot of mixed results for the SnapMap.
The Mediocre…
Most note that the SnapMap could be a really feature for DOOM, however, it’s greatly limited in what it has to offer and how players can use it to build new levels and game modes.
Nakoda explains that the player limitations and platform limitations will ultimately cripple SnapMap’s longevity…
“SnapMap limits map created to a maximum of 4 players. This immediately diminsihes the appeal of building TDM arenas. Limited architecture capabilities homogenise map design, making the only real differentiators the logic that the makers utilise. For example, since there are no outdoor areas you cannot custom craft floating platforms.”
Others also noted that the limitations of SnapMap would prevent it from becoming the next big modding scene for the DOOM reboot, where RazeE explains…
“They dropped the ball on Snap-map. It’s a 2 weapon limit and it has damage numbers when you hit demons like the multiplayer mode. I am very disappointed in this feature. They marketed it as if it was going to be good, but it was actually the opposite. It does have co-op though, so you can at least make a map and “play with your friends”
Captiosus felt as if SnapMap has potential, but that right now it doesn’t have the legs, but may eventually grow into something grand, writing…
“The shining gem of this reboot is Snapmap – the gory version of Super Mario Maker for Doomheads, if you will. This is what will ultimately give Doom any sort of longevity but the problem is waiting for a decent variety and amount of levels to become available through the community. Right now, being new, Snapmap is only good for those people who want to dabble around with level design.”
Others thought that id Software “nailed it” with SnapMap by making it easier to make levels than in previous outings for DOOM that required modding skills and some sort of understanding of architectural competency, but the simplicity of SnapMap has also turned off veterans looking for the depth offered from the old-school modding tools. It’s going to be interesting to see how SnapMap evolves, but for now it’s kind of a split in the community, with veterans finding it lacking and newbies liking its simplicity.
There were also some minor complaints about the textures not always streaming in properly, but they were far and few between, and id Software has already released a new patch to address some of the graphical hiccups.
The general consensus, however, is that a majority of gamers feel as if id Software produced the kind of DOOM game worthy of its legendary FPS legacy. There are more than 6,300 positive reviews on Steam at the moment and only 492 negative ones. So it’s safe to say an overwhelming majority of gamers enjoy DOOM.
It may not appeal to everyone, but id Software appears to have a winner on their hand, despite what some of the more traditional culture critics and game journalists might be saying about the game.
(Main image courtesy of Jerrico)
