Developed by id software, the studio that pioneered the first-person shooter genre and created multiplayer Deathmatch, DOOM returns as a brutally fun and challenging modern-day shooter experience. Relentless demons, impossibly destructive guns, and fast, fluid movement provide the foundation for int...
Developed by id software, the studio that pioneered the first-person shooter genre and created multiplayer Deathmatch, DOOM returns as a brutally fun and challenging modern-day shooter experience. Relentless demons, impossibly destructive guns, and fast, fluid movement provide the foundation for intense, first-person combat.
Story
You’ve come here for a reason. The Union Aerospace Corporation’s massive research facility on Mars is overwhelmed by fierce and powerful demons, and only one person stands between their world and ours. As the lone DOOM Marine, you’ve been activated to do one thing – kill them all.
A Relentless Campaign
There is no taking cover or stopping to regenerate health as you beat back Hell’s raging demon hordes. Combine your arsenal of futuristic and iconic guns, upgrades, movement and an advanced melee system to knock-down, slash, stomp, crush, and blow apart demons in creative and violent ways.
Please note: The DRM-Free version of DOOM (2016) is single-player only. Multiplayer and online functionality for SnapMap are not included. SnapMap content is unlocked by default.
Looks amazing but feels like original/old school Doom. This title is the sweetspot for me in the series. The later ones are too stressful to play. Yea, I know, Im old. Im that old, I was a young man when the first Doom came out :)
Before this popped up on GOG I didn't know it existed, and was surprised by the good reviews and high rating. I remembered Doom 3 to be the most bland and boring looking game in existence on the Xbox, so I was reluctant, but the rating turned out to be deserved.
This is the first time I describe a game as "badass", because the atmosphere oozes of it. What it does (guns) it does to almost perfection, and it will make you close your actual fist in satisfaction. It actually has a decent default difficulty.
There's just the right amount of variance in the form of equipment upgrades, weapon modes, melee (except I was used to the overpowered swings you can do in Halo, which caused a few deaths in the beginning), special abilities (runes), challenges, and the right amount of story and talking (not much) to make you not feel all alone. It stays interesting all the way though by rewarding you for the optional challenges, which gives you something to focus on, but you can turn your brain off most of the time if you want to.
The gems in this game, for me, were: the chaingun (what the hell is turret mode? Oh... YES), the rocket launcher (designed to absolute perfection), and the assault rifle (most satisfying sound effects ever).
The only bad things I have to say is that 1) my saved games were deleted because of the bad integration of GOG Galaxy services, courtesy of Id and GOG: If you're offline when you quit the game then say goodbye to all progress. That's just incredibly unprofessional. I disabled cloud saves immediately after that first level. 2) The handgun quickly becomes irrelevant, unlike all other weapons, and 3) the plasma rifle has that incredibly boring organic and soulless appearance that I associate with Doom 3, and its sound effects are underwhelming. Almost never used it except for completing challenges. 4) Each weapon shares ammo with another one, meaning you have to choose between them. Problem is, one is almost always more powerful than the other, and switching weapons unnecessarily during a fight is a liability so you'll mostly end up using the more powerful one.
The game runs flawlessly and gives the impression of being the most optimized software I've run in my life. Except when I tried the Vulkan backend (crashes) or adaptive sync (sync loss, but I'll blame the Philips monitor there I think).
I will play this again, at the next difficulty, some day.
A masterful reboot of a groundbreaking series. The game fully owns up to its namesake and delivers an unapologetically kickass experience.
Its gameplay refines the FPS. Every previous trope of the genre has been combined into a high-octane barrage of pure action. All weapons serve useful purposes, all enemies are fun to fight, and all the levels reward frantic player movement. The Glory Kill takedowns are exactly as fun to watch and to perform. Every monster closet has something in store to challenge and engage the player through its excellent combat mechanics. The only potential fault of the gameplay is how it paces its optional challenges. Going for all upgrades on Nightmare or above can be tedious, but it's generally worthwhile on lower difficulties. It seems best to just rip and tear on the harder modes.
Doom's graphics are outstanding. The models, textures, and animations remain truly stellar. Seeing the same kill punches, breaks, and stomps never gets old. Its expert use of color, lighting, and particle effects go a long way to give an excellent backdrop for its forsaken world. It carefully straddles a line of being completely violent and gory, while also being lightly cartoonish to not appear too serious or realistic. The music and sound design are also exceptional, fully delivering a cerebral power fantasy for the Slayer. And its story is solid, as it provides a fresh take on Doomguy's lore and the UAC's profanities.
It does everything that Doom 3 did well, and utterly blows that entry out of the water. It never wastes the player's time, making them wait for "the good part." The whole game IS the good part. Even then, with SnapMap neutered and the multiplayer mode gutted, this GOG release sets a questionable precedant for games subsequently released on the platform. Yet the real meat of the experience remains intact, with the Campaign and Arcade Mode being well worth the purchase.
The game is highly recommended to literally anyone who can play it.