Playing the Leon sections of Resident Evil Requiem in first-person perspective felt a bit like Doom 3 to me, and once I finished it, I was in the mood for some Doom. I played a couple of Doom games and realized I have a lot of opinions about Doom. That’s what this post is.
First of all, I think Doom (1993) is a perfect video game. Probably my favorite of all time, maybe the greatest. The action, visuals, level design, multiplayer, official and unofficial port culture, the modding community… just incredible. It would be impossible for any sequel or expansion to match its impact, but there have been some damn good ports, mods, and follow-ups.
Post-Requiem I decided to finally give The Dark Ages a shot. I had picked up a Steam key for nineteen bucks a few weeks ago, but had been reluctant to actually start it up. I liked Doom (2016) well enough, but couldn’t get into Eternal at all. I just don’t love the ridiculous amount of mechanics and generally sweatiness about it.
What I want out of a Doom game is:
- Cool, creative levels with lots of secrets
- Demons, blood, and guts
- Metal
- Minimal story
- Intuitive and satisfying gameplay
The modern Doom games have the first three to varying degrees, but 4 and 5, not so much.
An hour into The Dark Ages and the game was still introducing mechanics via tedious tutorials (a good chunk of that time was also cutscenes). So I bailed. Maybe I’ll go back to it at some point, but it definitely wasn’t what I was looking for right now.
Instead, I fired up a messy, divisive, old favorite: Doom 3 (BFG Edition). On my PC the game runs at a sick 360 fps and looks gorgeous on my OLED monitor. The shadows and lighting are still honestly kind of breathtaking. And the game itself? It rocks. I love the horror focus, the monster closets, the weird characters, all of it. Nothing else quite feels exactly like Doom 3.
Controversial, but I think the way both versions of the game handle the flashlight is good. Swapping in the original release creates a more methodical and tense experience, while switching it on and off in the BFG edition still requires some management, but gives the game a faster-paced feel that’s closer to the originals. Either way, Doom 3 is still a blast and I loved the hour or so I spent revisiting it.
I don’t know what the future of Doom is; the current direction of the mainline games isn’t for me. But the original game continues to get incredible .wads like My House, Sigil 1&2, and Legacy of Rust, which further extends its replayability.
Wait, I’ve got it: MachineGames should do a new Doom 3 episode. The world needs this.
P.S. Doomguy > Doom Slayer
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