Review of Doom

Doom (2016 Video Game)
9/10
Proof that DOOM still has it after all this time.
12 July 2016
A incredible return to form for both the DOOM franchise after so long and id software as they prove once again that they are the kings of first person shooters. At its core is the same excellent base that is the original DOOM yet has been updated to fit today's industry perfectly without sacrificing it's identity and compromises every mechanic in place to work in tandem with one another, rather than cluster it together trying to be like everything else that sells, because it knows that its DOOM and it knows exactly what people want from it so it doesn't try to be anything and instead offers a fully realised campaign of pure carnage, mayhem and gore over 10-15 hours with every moment feeling intense and exciting. Well paced as well with simple puzzles that don't break up the action heavily and are spared enough to not become annoying, guns and combat feel incredible with the sound design and control being light and responsive, beautiful environments and monster designs, great OST, Surprisingly strong characterisation with DOOM Guy himself expressed through his actions which are genuinely funny and loads of contents within the single player alone. The only issues within the actual campaign is that there are a few moments where the game does stop you for a cut-scene and while they are far apart and generally quick they can be slow for DOOM and the Glory Kill system in place, while its done extremely well here for what it is as it does also lend itself to a great risk and reward system with the health encouraging players to head on to get health rather than hide away, can break the pace slightly as now you have to land the kill otherwise the monsters are fine and that can be annoying.

However with all that said DOOM isn't amazing in every area as then there's the multiplayer which has potential from a game play standpoint overall as its still the basic control and weapons from the single player, but at this moment is horribly unbalanced and plagued by weapon load outs which just don't work in DOOM and its fast paced nature with picking weapons on the fly as now its restricting you to select weapons so it feels unfair as new players with have terrible weapons in comparison to those with higher levels so the multiplayer needs a lot of work, but like stated the core is fine its the mechanics around it that ruins it.

Finally there's the Snap map feature which is alright for a easy map creator but is NO match for the legacy of Original DOOM Mods. It is very simple to pick it up and design a level from a base standpoint and people have done some interesting levels but its horribly restricted in comparison to the amount of ridiculous fun that people have had modding the original as it was open for anything while DOOM 2016 is more restricted overall with what players can accomplish. Not bad for what it is and has potential like the multiplayer but is still restricted.

But overall despite the Snap Map and multiplayer being weaker, the single player campaign is so solid and em-composes everything that is DOOM so well that i can rate it highly on the campaign alone, as there is so much to do and find with secrets and challenges (id as well have been saying that they would fix the multiplayer soon as well and already adding more content to the Snap Map). A amazing return to form for DOOM and shooters in general.
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