DOOM (2016)

best FPS ever, best performance, best story

Singlehandedly revived the boomer shooter genre.

Doom ('16) is a quality production. Level design varies within a 'type', so a given section of the Martian surface is distinct from a different iteration. It also fluxuates between broad 'types' regularly - Union station interiors, the surface, Hell. Areas are generally pretty open, with multiple ways to get around, and the way forward is cued to the player in a number of different (mostly) subtle clues that minimizes the "Everything's dead here, how to I progress?" time. It's clear they both spent a lot of time on the 'theory side' of level layout and playtested this thing to Hell and back with newbies / fresh eyes. The weapons are great. Even the peashooter feels a little meaty when it goes off at full charge. The game encourages swapping guns multiple times during a fight, and the way they handled the transistion (holding "Q" gives you a weapon wheel that slows down time ~almost~ enough to switch safely) always felt fluid. Each weapon continues to bear up until the end of the game. Sound effects are great - audio cues are distinct and appropriate for the game, and everything ties thematically to what's putting it out. The music is solid throughout, even if nothing approaches M1E1 levels. Enemies fight differently enough to mandate the player switch up tactics in the spur of the moment, and facing a handful of different types simultaneously adds some wonderful tension. The lowly imp remains a risk until the end, where it is the weakest thing facing you but still aggressive enough (and nimble / defensive enough) to be a constant tax on your HP if you deprioritize them. No hitscanners either! One noncritical bug noticed on my whole playthrough. That's pretty good for the length of this beast! Negatives? If you're looking for a "true sequel" to the original, this is too easy, albeit still massively fun. Huge memory hog, RAM and hard drive.

SHOULD BE AGAINST THE LAW TO LOCK MULTIPLAYER BEHIND DRM/SELL INCOMPLETE TITLE

Whoever reviewed this less than five stars...We gotta have words.