Doom (2016) Reviews
Despite its shortcomings in the multiplayer — easily forgotten and waved off as an unnecessary add-on — and the rare instances of a mechanically loose screw, DOOM is undeniably one of the best looking and sounding shooters there has been for some time.
DOOM is 2/3 really good and 1/3 really mediocre. The single player campaign is an absolute blast and if you like the shooting action from that you can get all you can eat via Snap Map. DOOM competitive multiplayer is really unfortunate, however.
It may not be genre-defining like its progenitor but it's easily the best shooter on the current crop of consoles and one of the finest first person shooters of recent years.
DOOM is an excellent and exceptionally fun first first-person shooter. That's all you need to know.
I have little to complain about regarding the single-player campaign. It's a fun shooter that brings back aspects of classic design (like health packs and sprawling levels) that I didn't realize I missed so much.
id Software knows what it's best at, and it works on honing that talent to a razor's edge. With Doom, id has delivered a highly polished, utterly shameless Hellbound hecatomb that confidently swaggers into the world with gaudy fervor. It's huge, it's preposterous, and it's absolutely bloody majestic.
The 2016 Doom reboot shares more in common with the 1993 original than its 2004 sequel. But who cares when it cranks up the demon slaying to 11?
Developer id Software is able to hit players hard and fast with gameplay that calls back to an era that many may think was left in the past. However, DOOM instead brings the past roaring back to life, and for once makes the phrase "go to Hell" seem like an invitation more than anything else.
Propulsive, thrilling and breathless, DOOM is the triumph I never expected. I just can't see there being a better shooter this year, I really can't.
Doom is a brilliant homage to the spirit, and hellish gore, of old PC shooters.
What "Doom" gets noticeably right is its pacing. The ebb and flow of combat is as balanced as a keystone.
Defying the odds, id Software has made DOOM not only a relevant series in 2016, but a great one. They've also managed to create three distinct modes that all have their own appeal and feel to them. It's an amazing package, and one that I'll continue to come back to.
It's strange to be this excited about the singleplayer portion of game from id Software, but here we are. While multiplayer doesn't scratch the itch the way something like Quake Arena once did, the power of Snap Map puts the power to fix that entirely in the hands of intrepid and creative players. Doom has resurrected not only a series, but an entire flavor of shooters. Welcome back, unapologetic high-speed murder — we missed you.
DOOM allows you to become the main character of your own personal gory action movie; the conductor of an unholy, death metal symphony. As you vault and explore vantage points, as you blast demons mid-air as you leap down and stomp on demonic brains.
In Doom's first moments you break free from metal restraints with your bare hands before smashing a demon's head in against the edge of a stone table.
Temper your expectations, accept that you're essentially blasting cans off a fence, and Doom is, unexpectedly, the best shooter of 2016 so far.
DOOM is back, and I couldn't be happier. Brutal, ultra-violent, hyper-kinetic and able to make the adrenaline go into circulation as it had not happened to me for a long time. The gameplay is built on the solid piles of its previous ones more than twenty years ago, suitably aging with elements now indispensable in 2016, but still intimately connected to a really inspired level design, and that traces a new path for the FPS genre.
Review in Italian | Read full review
As Doom returns, will you want to go to hell, or just stay home?
There can be no dispute that DOOM is back. The campaign brings the glory of the '90s screaming back with heavy metal, blood and guts. But the multiplayer mode feels confused and the Snapmap level editor needs to add some serious content for modders to play with. Regardless, DOOM's campaign is reason enough to dive back into Hell.