Taking place in hell, from development hell. DOOM was a game most gamers could have safely assumed was a train wreck. There were no review copies given out prior to release, which is never a good sign (see Batman: Arkham Knight not giving out PC review copies). id Software had gone through massive staff changes, with John Carmack leaving the studio in 2013. On top of all that chaos, there was a Doom 4 game before this, that id scrapped completely and created what Doom is now. Doom was shaping up to be a recipe for disaster, but it turned out in the end to be pretty good. Doom excels in the fast paced gameplay and its ability to incorporate classic concepts for what made Doom originally an amazing game. However, Doom does fall short with a story that almost does it right and a stale and at times confusing level design.
The story at points can be hilarious and great for how minimal it is, but then at other points it is taking itself way too seriously than it should. Doom at points in the game is self aware with the story, and acts like "you're playing a Doom game, this story is silly". Those moments are the best with the story. Right from the start, you are introduced to Samuel Hayden, he starts to tell you via a computer monitor how the Doom marine and him need to "work together". The Doom Marine just smashes the monitor and shuts him up. Other points such as when you have to destroy these power devices, Hayden tells you to be very careful and how important these devices are. The Doom marine just stomps and destroys them, not caring at all or taking the situation seriously. Points such as those make Doom's story pretty good, but they can be far and few in between. The whole story is about a cult/Mars UAC science facility that is using hell to extract energy to use as power. The serious parts like these of the story, it does not do much and I for the most part ignored it. Granted, the serious parts of the story dialogue and narrative make up a very small part of the game. You will maybe have one or three chats with Samuel Hayden or other characters during a mission but that is it. No prolong cut-scenes or anything. Still, Doom's story struggles half taking itself seriously and half being funny and self aware, the latter which would have been way better.
The level design also gets in the way a lot. Some may say big level design with lack direction is a huge part of classic Doom, but it more is just tedious and takes you away from the action in the game play. At several points with levels, I got lost as to which way I was to go. The map and the waypoint aren't clear, they look pretty but not good at directing. Doom should have benefited from more linear paths to get you back into the good parts. The secret paths and secret items you can find are neat, but still could be incorporated with a bit better directional system. There is even this whole platforming type section in a tower, where you have to climb to the top. It just becomes a nuisance more than fun. The environment of the levels lack much distinction. Generally it is either hell or a factory. At points, I would have liked to see id switch it up more doing some other variation on it. It also attributes to the confusion at points as to where to go, because everything looks the same. Graphically, the game looks amazing. id in the past has been known to be a graphical powerhouse, so no surprises here. Even playing on a Playstation 4, the level of detail to each level is great. It just would have been better to mix it up more. Console version on the Playstation 4, there were rather long load times between levels or when you died, ending up being 30 seconds to a minute in most cases. For this reason, I'd recommend playing on a PC.
Despite all this, the gameplay recovers all the missteps that the story and environment had. Doom's gameplay successfully captures the magic of old Doom, while incorporating what works in new games. The game is still very fast paced, which is exhilarating. Glory kills are a great example of this, where you can finish off an enemy in a brutal execution two second scene. There is a lot of strategy and method to the gun play in the game. The shotgun in particular is an extremely satisfying weapon. To just be able to blow imps and of the likes away with one shot is so satisfying. Being able to dodge and jump around a knight of hell all while taking out imps shooting at you at the same time, is just quick, fun, and intense game play. Constant action and run and gun moving is what Doom rewards, and taking a more passive approach will get you killed. The shotgun isn't the only good weapon, they all are really. I tend to use the shotgun the most, but I still loved using the plasma rifle or the rocket launcher as well. The chainsaw is also a unique mechanic added to the game, where you can do an instant kill with it and extract and refill on ammo, health, and armor from the demon. It is a great mechanic to lessen the amount of backtracking for supplies, and keep the game going at a fast pace.
Doom's ability to incorporate modern FPS ideas mixed with classic Doom ideas is spot on with gameplay. Modern mechanics like reloading are things we just expect to do in an FPS these days. Several times at the beginning of the game, I found myself pressing R1 to reload instinctively. The removal of this mechanic attributes to the fast paced action well, avoiding any moments you have to slow down and reload constantly. Your special abilities with the weapons, such as the lock on rocket launcher, does have a cool down time. However, this is something you can decrease and make faster with the upgrade system. The upgrade system itself is an idea taken from modern shooters, but the design of it is simple and easy. Upgrading is not very complicated or in depth, but just enough to make a difference in the gameplay on a positive note.
Side content isn't abundant, but it still is great. Rune trials provide a nice mini-game challenge, and a break from the game play. Essentially rune trials are just time trails for "glory kill this many imps in 1 minute" or "destroy these demons only with exploding barrels". They can be pretty tricky, but are certainly a fun break from the main gameplay in a meaningful way. Doom also has several secrets hidden around the game, with particular mini Doom marine figurines to collect and find. Not something particularly new or original by any means, but a nice fun inclusion to the game. In a world where bigger huge open worlds with tons of content is the norm for shooters these days, Doom takes a more minimalistic approach to it's game play and side content. All the while, still being fast pace thrilling fun gameplay that we all know and love from the original Doom.
The multiplayer component is so-so. It was not developed in house by id, rather by Certain Affinity, a studio who has assisted on other multiplayer series such as Halo, Call of Duty, and Left 4 Dead. The multiplayer is not bad by any means, just more fast paced Doom gameplay but with other people. It does have connection issues I find. Overall, not the reason to buy Doom, but a decent side treat. Snapmap, again not really all the big of a deal, but it has the potential to be a great in-game developer to produce some awesome fan made content. The multiplayer and snapmap feel a lot like just taking pages from what other shooters already have done, and not incorporating much id style Doom into it. Neither the multiplayer or snapmap are bad by any means, but not why you should buy Doom.
In the end, Doom is a game that, on paper, should have been a train wreck. However, it turned out to be one of the most refreshing first person shooter gameplay I've played in years. I could see Doom's campaign alone being worth a replay for how fun the gameplay alone is. Despite having it's short comings with a almost there story and a dull environment with cryptic level design, Doom shapes up to be an amazing shooter. This game, and others such as Dishonored and Wolfenstein: The New Order, have really put Bethesda as a publisher on the map. Bethesda is turning into my favorite third-party publisher with the sucess of the past games they have produced. Almost to which, I'd consider strongly anything Bethesda puts out and can't wait for their E3 conference as to what is next. id really nailed it with incorporating modern shooters with the classic concepts of Doom, and I can't wait to see what is next for id.
