Developer: id Software
Publisher: id Software
Available On: Virtually every platform under the sun
Xbox One version reviewed on Xbox Series S
While there are earlier examples, the original 1993 release of DOOM was how a significant amount of gamers were introduced to the first-person shooter genre. Along with a ripping soundtrack, ferocious demons to slay, and an arsenal of powerful weapons, DOOM quickly made a name for itself as one of the most hardcore and beloved games of its time. Now, 30 years later, the influence of DOOM is still felt in the industry, even if the actual nuts and bolts of the genre have been modernized and updated. However, despite its age, DOOM still holds up and is as engaging and badass now as it was then, and with it being released on just about every platform imaginable, it’s never been easier to play it.
The story of DOOM is almost non-existent, opting to throw you into the mayhem and carnage rather than deliver anything substantial in terms of narrative. You’re a soldier on a Mars base, demons have invaded from Hell, and it’s up to you to blast your way through their ranks. What more do you need? The lack of a narrative could be chalked up to the time it was released, but to me, it feels like a more intentional choice. id Software created an intense, and fast-paced shooter that’s all about action and speed, fulfilling a simple power fantasy of mowing through evil forces to save the day. Thankfully, the gameplay is what DOOM excels at, and it’s almost shocking just how gracefully it has aged.
DOOM may be a first-person shooter, but one thing those brought up on modern titles might find surprising is that you can’t aim up or down. You can turn left or right, walk forward and backward, and strafe quickly to avoid enemy attacks, but you’re always aiming perfectly at your eye height. As it turns out, as long as an enemy is on screen and centered in front of you, you can shoot at them, regardless of whether they’re right in front of you, slightly above, or down lower. It can definitely take some getting used to, but once it clicks it becomes second nature and makes it easy to work your way through each level slaughtering whatever gets in your way.
One of the ways DOOM has earned its iconic status is due to its roster of enemies and arsenal of weapons. There are some evil human soldiers who patrol the hallways of the Mars base, but the vast majority of enemies in DOOM are fiendish demons. Humanoid demons stalk you while slinging fireballs, while more fearsome foes like the walking bull demon “Pinky”, the flying mouth of death “Cacodemon”, and the demonic floating skulls called “Lost Souls” add more originality and challenge. Each and every demon in DOOM has a striking visual style and approach to combat, making it easy to instantly identify a threat and change up your battle strategy appropriately.
Whether it’s keeping distance from melee enemies or strafing past projectiles from others, learning how each demon moves and behaves is part of the thrill of DOOM, and eviscerating them with your weapons is where the real fun happens. You start with just a dinky little pistol, but it’s not long before you’re packing something stronger, like a shotgun, plasma rifle, or rocket launcher. Each weapon has its own specific use and can take out certain demons more efficiently than others, so playing around with each one to become comfortable with how they handle is crucial. Of course, there are a few iconic super weapons like the chainsaw and BFG (Big F—— Gun) that are often tucked away in each level as a hidden secret. All of the guns feel like they’re designed to be extremely powerful and allow you to carve through the demons, so while I only played on the Normal difficulty I found the game to get progressively easier as my arsenal expanded.
Keeping everything interesting is hard to do when your arsenal feels so powerful, but the level design helps the game feel continuously engaging and complex. DOOM is split into four acts that each have multiple levels to work through, ranging from the haunted halls of the science base on Mars to the actual realm of Hell itself. What I love the most about this game is figuring out how to complete each level. They’re all full of twisting and turning passages, with keycards hidden around the area to unlock new doors and open new paths and shortcuts. Each level feels like a puzzle, and trying to figure out how to get through each of them while finding all the keys, opening all the paths, and searching for all of the (super well-hidden) secrets is a blast. The music also plays a huge part in each level. The soundtrack, although simple, is full of tracks that have a metal edge to them, further increasing the energy of the game and sustaining its hardcore vibe for the 5 or so hours it takes to finish it.
Unfortunately, the final level in each act typically feels like the worst. These are your standard boss levels and pit you against bigger demons with staggering amounts of health. While most of the game encourages you to continuously move around as you blow up the demons, these boss fights feel incredibly slow-paced and typically have you hiding behind a wall or pillar and popping out for a few shots before taking cover again. The bosses all shred through your health in a manner of seconds, so you have to play these levels while being overly protective and slow compared to the rest of the game, which feels like an unnecessary halt to the action-oriented flow of the standard levels. It also doesn’t help that the AI for the bosses isn’t great, and they often get stuck in the environment or stop paying attention to you and walk away. When fighting a boss you typically want a test of skill and a memorable encounter, but all of the boss fights in DOOM feel like they were made to meet a requirement rather than being an integral part of the experience.
Thankfully, you can make the experience a little less grueling and play through the whole game in split-screen co-op. I didn’t mess around with this too much (I didn’t have anyone to play it with) but I did grab a second controller just to check it out. It seems like a potentially fun time slaying demons with a friend, and there is an Achievement for beating the whole game on the hardest setting in co-op, so maybe I’ll have to grab someone and give it an honest shot. However, if co-op isn’t your thing, then you can also play competitive split-screen where you and your friends can fight to the death on any level of the game, without having to worry about demons or searching for keycards. It’s a fun option if you have a group of local friends and multiple controllers, but it also would have been cool to have these modes with online functionality.
Lastly, I want to address a potential concern some players might have. A common complaint from modern players is that the dated visuals of older games make them too hard to play and enjoy, and while DOOM definitely looks its age, its visuals also have a fun retro vibe to them that feels more charming than outdated. DOOM is a seminal video game that serves as one of the Godfathers of the first-person shooter genre, so if you’re a fan of modern shooters it’s worth checking this one out to see how far they’ve come and how much they’re still influenced by this classic.
FINAL VERDICT
30 years have passed since DOOM first launched, yet it still manages to hold up as an influential and fun shooter. Storming through Mars and Hell, blasting away demons, and hunting down secrets is a blast, and while the lack of vertical aiming and the old-school visuals might take some getting used to, there’s enough here to keep the game feeling entertaining and full of adrenaline despite its age. It’s relatively short and available on basically everything (seriously, you can play this game on a refrigerator), so it’s really easy to get your hands on a copy and either revisit this classic or experience it for the first time.
– Zack Burrows
Sight-In Games 