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The Issue with Doom

Doom is hands down one of the most visually stunning games I have played. However, the issue with Doom lies in its gameplay.

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In 2016, Doom released to critical acclaim. Today, it is regarded as one of the best first-person shooters of the 2010’s. The game hearkens back to the early days of the genre, taking inspiration from its ancestor, Doom (1993), which has been credited as one the pioneers of the first-person shooter genre. However, when I played through Doom (2016), I couldn’t help but feel burnt out after just a few hours. I never really understood why. I’ve been thinking about this recently and went back to play it again. I thought “it must just be me, it couldn’t possibly be the game’s fault”. However, it soon became apparent that Doom wasn’t all that it was hyped up to be. My main issue with Doom (2016) was its pacing. There is seemingly no diversity in the gameplay, and it just sort of bored me.

What I Like

Doom (2016) is hands down one of the most visually stunning games I have played. From the models to the lighting, and the overall aesthetic of the world design. The game can immerse you entirely into its hellish landscape. As you progress through the game, you will see a range of environments. The colour palette and design of each level works well to underpin a smooth and unique combat experience. The levels possess a great deal of verticality and a plethora of secrets and collectibles to discover. As a player, you can view a 3D version of the level map in the inventory menu; a unique and refreshing change from the bog-standard flat image map.

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Source: Medium

The combat in Doom (2016) is sublime, to say the least. I haven’t played a FPS that makes me feel as badass. A wide arsenal is offered to the player, providing a multitude of ways to obliterate and vaporise the demonic hell-spawn of Doom‘s landscape. When the demons near their inevitable death, they start flashing, opening them up to ‘glory kills’. Now, glory kills are unnecessarily graphic. I love them. The opportunity to feed a demon its own heart, or to use a chainsaw to melt and rip through the flesh of an imp has never been so satisfying. Doom‘s gameplay is smooth, and provides a nice change from the all too common ‘health regeneration’ shooters. The player requires health and armour pick-ups, as these do not regenerate over time as they would in many of Doom‘s (2016) contemporaries.

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Source: GamesRadar

Doom (2016) also demands that the player manages resources efficiently. Not in the traditional sense, but conserving ammo and deciding when to perform glory kills in order to replenish health becomes more prevalent as the game progresses.

The Issue with Doom? No Rest

It is undeniable that Doom (2016) has fluid and highly responsive combat. However, that is all there is. Unlike other modern shooters, such as Uncharted or Metro, which offer stealth gameplay or a cut scene to provide exposition and a brief respite from the intense combat, Doom (2016) leaves the player no time to rest. You never get a chance to breathe, and it is overwhelming.

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Source: Push Square

Games such as Metro offer the player diversity in gameplay. The player can experience different aspects of the game. As the narrative progresses, rather than just ramping up the action and the number of enemies thrown at you, the player is provided with time to rest. Periods of dialogue, where the player is passive and does not have to play, is a key example. Other ways to avoid players from burning out can be produced by offering content that requires a different skill set to the normal gameplay. These scripted sections offer the player a chance to recover.

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All Ghillied Up

Many other shooters seem to allow the player time to recover from intense periods of combat. For example, during Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, after completing a highly demanding and engaging mission in which the player is searching for the antagonist, Al Asad, and believes he is staying in a safe house in Azerbaijan. At every stage of this mission, the game requires your undivided attention and combat proficiency. Following this mission is perhaps the greatest CoD mission of all-time – ‘All Ghillied Up’.

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Source: PC Gamer

The player takes control of Price for this mission and must progress to a sniping vantage point, whilst tip-toeing around the radioactive and Russian-infested landscape of Chernobyl. The gameplay changes drastically from the levels preceding it, forcing the player to use stealth and patience, rather than utilising an itchy trigger-finger. The mission allows the player to complete the mission without killing anyone. It offers the player a rest from the exhausting moment-to-moment gameplay present in the rest of the game. Doom (2016) doesn’t have any of this.

Admittedly, a stealth section would not suit Doom (2016). However, that isn’t my point. I feel that Doom (2016) doesn’t offer the player any diversity in gameplay, which is my main issue with the game.

Doom Eternal

A sequel to Doom (2016) is set to be released on November 22, and hype is rapidly building. Players cannot wait to get their hands on the next demon-slaying simulator. Based on the gameplay trailer, the formula from the first game doesn’t seem to have changed. Except, now there are new ways to cut enemies up. Plus, a pseudo-parkour mechanic that can be seen with swinging and grappling. However, this is indicative of more level verticality rather than a change in gameplay style. Perhaps parkour will be more prevalent in Doom Eternal. Some of the world navigation of Doom (2016) felt a bit obscure, such as having to jump from platform to platform for no apparent reason.

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Source: YouTube

I would love to see more diverse gameplay in Doom Eternal. Perhaps, puzzle-esque sections like the Dragon Keys from Skyrim. Even though that system was simple, it offered a different layer to the game. The idea of having to inspect an item in your inventory for a clue about how to solve a puzzle is just fascinating, and would add a much-needed layer of depth.

To Conclude

My play-through of Doom (2016) was plagued by an overarching sense of exhaustion. Other shooters had conditioned me to expect the gameplay to vary as the narrative progressed, and this was lacking throughout Doom (2016). Despite being a great shooter, I feel that iD Software need to adapt their title in order to create a more engaging experience that keeps the player from burning out.

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My earliest experience with video games consists of my father buying me a PlayStation 2 for my birthday, and me responding by saying that “I just wanted toys”. Couldn’t have been more wrong.

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