With the release of DOOM, ID Software has once again returned to form, bringing new relevance to a franchise that had laid dormant for over ten years aside from spin offs and re-releases. Although many worried that DOOM wouldn't impress upon launch, I can safely say that not only does it impress, but exceeded expectations tenfold.

ID Software has created another instant FPS classic that will leave you wondering why they ever strayed from this formula to begin with. With insanely fast paced action, fluid gameplay and fantastic graphics, DOOM is a nightmare come to life in all the best ways.

Whether you're looking for an immersive single player campaign or an addictive multiplayer component, you'll quickly realize that ID Software and Certain Affinity were both successful in paying their respects to fans of the series by bringing them an experience deserving of its decade long absence.

DOOM without a doubt deserves to be mentioned in the same bredth as its namesake and is a worthy successor to continue its legacy.

Welcome back to hell


Within the first few moments of beginning your DOOM capaign, you'll be thrust into action. Literally seconds after the opening begins, you'll be fragging demons like its 1993 again. No unecessarily legnthly cinematic cut scenes, just DOOM. You'll be immediately immersed naturally, taking on the role of the DOOM Marine and slaying demons on Mars in brutal fashion.

As you traverse the facility and Mars surface, you be engrossed by the incredibly atmospehric surroundings, which are created with intense gameplay in mind. You'll be moving and attacking with forward progression, aggressively destroying hordes of demons and leaving their lifeless remains in your wake.

As the incredibly unforgiving DOOM Marine you'll be ripping and tearing through seemingly impossible odds, growing ever stronger as you upgrade your weapons throughout the campaign. From pistol and shotgun, to the legendary BFG, there are quite a few weapons at your disposal to dispatch your demonic enemies.

In regards to story, it's there, but not in the sense of countless cinematic cutscenes as many of us are accustomed to, but instead naturally by collecting information and reading its contents. This is an incredibly welcome method of immersion that all but a few titles have recently engaged in the use of in game.

Considering DOOM's campaign welcomes the player to return after completing it, to play at a higher difficulty or search for secrets hidden in the world, this is an incredibly smart decision. There's nothing worse than having to wait through a ten minute cutscene when you've already beaten a game and simply want to return to the action. I commend ID Software for not going the cinematic cutscene means of story telling due to this fact and the game benefits greatly from this decision, you'll see.

Back are the beloved DOOM elements such as searching for colored keycards to gain access to different areas of the map as well as searching for hidden areas or easter eggs (Which there are many, but I won't spoil them here). You'll be surprised at exactly how large the DOOM world is, if you decide to attempt to locate everything.

Although some have completed the campaign in roughly 9 hours, they most definitely weren't taking advantage of the entire experience available. DOOM could easily take upwards of 20 hours or more if being played completionist style, searching for everything hidden in its world and that's only if you're playing on "Hurt me plenty", DOOM's normal difficulty.

If played on Ultra nightmare, even a highly skilled FPS player would have to put likley hundreds of painstaking hours to manage the same feat. So there's most definitely value to be found in DOOM's single player campaign alone and quite a bit at that to warrant a purchase.

With that being said...even if you're only interested in the single player campaign, I would give a resounding recommendation for all Steam users to add it to your collection, because it's not just a fantastic release, it's an instant classic.


DOOM's multiplayer component is increedibly well developed, addictive and much deeper than it originally appeared during the beta. So much so, that I put roughly twenty hours into multiplayer within the first weekend after release. Surprisingly, as I played more and more I became less interested in wishing it was more like Quake and grew excited that it was the DOOM it had turned into being.

Fast paced, relentless and unforgiving, it was the DOOM I didn't realize I wanted until I got it and thank God I did. Totally unexpected, after much debate, it dawned on me that I now have a new favorite online shooter.

One of the first things you'll notice is that the hitboxes are much less forgiving in comparison to other FPS titles such as Call of Duty, Battlefield or Team fortress 2 and much more akin to the Quake hitboxes of old which is a welcome return. When you earn kills they're incredibly satisfying in comparison and I believe many other DOOM players would agree.

You'll start to make minute adjustments during exchanges with an enemy, that you never had to in competing titles. This leads to incredibly tense engagements on a regular basis, that truly makes the experience much, much more enjoyable in the long run. Although much less forgiving, it leads to a much more rewarding experience overall.

The multi-tiered maps make use of the double jump mechanic and using them on a regular basis is a necessity, but in no way feels over done. DOOM is a shooter and a shooter first, which means evading an enemy is unlikely, so although you'll need to take advantage of the available movememnt system, you can't use it as a crutch like in many other recent AAA multiplayer releases, so master movement, but aim and aim well.

DOOM now has loadouts, each containing two weapons of your choice and a hack module system where prior to a match you can select up to four hack modules that can be utilized during a match. The hack module system is surprisingly really well thought out and increases the depth as well as balance overall.

The hack modules available each reward the player with slightly enhanced stats such as +5% armor or the ability to see your enemy through walls for 5 seconds after you respawn, but none of them create an imbalance at all. Like I said above they merely add to the depth and I find them to be a welcome addition to the overall multiplayer package.

Demon runes are another gameplay addition that I find to be a quite enjoable experience in DOOM's multiplayer. Players can select either the Revenant, Baron of Hell, Mancubus or Prowler and each are able to perform differing attacks which suit certain maps better than others, as well as certain play styles. This truly adds to the depth of multiplayer overall by quite a bit.

Demon runes become active on map after a certain amount of time has transpired and then the first player to collect it will become their chosen demon, that can then cause havok on the defending team. So, essentially, demon ruins are now the OP weapons of previous Quake games. Where all players are fighting to be the first to get them. So overall that gameplay aspect of Quake is here, just reimagined.

In closing DOOM's multiplayer isn't simply an afterthought, but a completely fleshed out experience that many players will find themselves addicted to for quite some time. So, if you're looking for a new online FPS experience, with relentless and unforgivingly addictive multiplayer, then look no further. DOOM will fill that need and punch it in the face, while you ask for more!


Build maps for free and play other player map creations for free. Who does that in 2016? ID Software does. Buy DOOM, they deserve our support.

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