Doom

Doom is the latest installment in the famous series. Players take on the role of a space marine and make their way through the corridors of an abandoned space base on Mars, all the way to Hell, where they must destroy as many demons as possible. Players can play alone or online, taking part in large-scale battles between humans and demons. The game also includes a special editor that lets anyone create a map or game mode and share it online.

Doom is a single-player first-person shooter by id Software. It follows the original’s classic formula, with a few carefully added modern mechanics. The game is a reboot of the Doom franchise and the main entry in the series since the days ofDoom 3.

The game benefited from cutting-edge graphics for its time, with impressive effects, great animation, and support for 4K textures—all thanks to the idTech 6 engine. It was well optimized and ran smoothly on all four platforms.

Classic gameplay mechanics include fast-paced action, a wide variety of enemies, enemies dropping armor and health packs (which are also scattered throughout the levels), access keys of different levels, secret areas and passages, and Easter eggs. The protagonist carries a huge arsenal of weapons and must methodically destroy enemies. There are four difficulty levels for players of different skill levels.

Among the new gameplay mechanics, melee combat stands out : you can weaken any enemy enough to either shoot them in the head or tear them apart with your bare hands. The suit’s boots also have jetpacks that let you leap across gaps or jump higher.

Many role-playing mechanics have been added: weapons can be upgraded with modifications; the protagonist can be enhanced using Argent cells, which can double health, armor, and ammo limits; and the suit can be upgraded with a terrain scanner, better agility, and environmental resistance after searching the bodies of other space marines.

To unlock some upgrades, you need to complete specific challenges, such as getting a series of kills with a particular weapon. The deeper the upgrade, the harder the challenge. All game menus are readily accessible, and a map and extensive codex provide information about your progress.

Doom takes place on Mars, in a huge UAC corporation complex. The company was searching for new sources of energy when it unexpectedly opened a portal to Hell. But the apocalypse did not happen right away. UAC carried out long expeditions into Hell in search of new technologies and resources, and to study the local wildlife.

One of the specimens brought from Hell to Mars was the protagonist, or Doomguy—the “Guy from Hell.” The company had made great progress in its research, but by then its employees had fallen under the influence of the inhabitants of another dimension: Hell.

From that moment on, the colony's fate was sealed—it took very little time for the fanatics to destroy the security system, open a portal to Hell, and unleash hordes of demons that took over the Martian facility.

The studio reworked the main character. Doomguy is now an ancient warrior and the only surviving member of an order of knights known as the Night Sentinels. They were tasked with protecting their home and their gods, the Wraiths, from the forces of Hell. He is also called the Doom Slayer, and demons fear him because he is special—he can absorb the souls of those he kills.

Besides Doomguy, the game has only a couple of other important characters:

The events of the game take place some time after the demons invaded. The station's personnel have been wiped out, and the survivors have succumbed to evil and are now enemies. The only one trying to fix things is Samuel Hayden.

He explains to the Doom Slayer that there is a way to seal the portal between Hell and Mars: travel to a facility on the other side of the planet and find an artifact called the Crucible, which will close the tunnel between the worlds. The player encounters Olivia Pierce from time to time, and she will do everything she can to get in his way.

As the player explores the vast UAC facilities, they can learn a lot from codex entries and video clips. They are also periodically sent to Hell, where they are addressed not as Doomguy, but as the Doom Slayer. This is a kind of second storyline.

Still, although Doom's story is interesting, it remains there mostly for show, and even the final twist is not very surprising.

Each level has a main story mission and several side quests. Exploring Doom's locations is directly tied to killing demons—and the player has a huge arsenal for this, from fists, an assault rifle, and a shotgun to a plasma gun, chainsaw, and BFG 9000.

Players need to explore every level carefully to find hidden passages, field drones, and elite guards—marines—and complete regular and rune trials, among other things. All of this will greatly improve their attack and defense stats.

The list of monsters is extensive, but incomplete; some appeared in later games in the series, such as Doom Eternal. Here are the main demons in Doom:

In addition to the campaign, the game has an arcade mode with no story scripts, but featuring all the game’s locations and many enemies to kill in a series without getting hit by bullets. The player earns points for this and is ranked on the leaderboard based on their score.

In July 2017, a major update changed the multiplayer and made all season pass add-ons available to every game owner. The progression system was reworked to bring it closer to classic online play. Doom’s multiplayer now offers 18 carefully designed maps, 18 weapons, 7 playable demons, and 7 game modes.

Modes:

Depending on the mode, the starting conditions may vary. Let’s look at team-based deathmatch. Players start with full health and half armor, and standard weapons, then have to explore the map to find better weapons, extra armor, and health.

During a match, they can use teleporters, jetpacks, and power-ups (quad damage, invisibility, regeneration, speed boost). This means you have to think and plan your tactics, not just shoot at each other.

There is also a demonic rune that transforms a player into a demon and lets them fight for your team. The demons include the Revenant, Baron of Hell, Mancubus, Pinky, Cacodemon, Harvester (an alternative to the Summoner), and Prowler (an alternative to the Imp).

Players earn points for each match, which add up to levels. The more active a player is (number of kills, assists, and other actions), the more experience they earn. You can also complete various challenges that unlock access to certain features.