Doom
2019
- shooter
- action
- science fiction
- horror
- single player
The story
Doom is a sci-fi first-person shooter game developed by id Software and Nerve Software and published by Bethesda Softworks. It is an updated version of the original 1993 Doom that uses the Unity engine as a shell for the id Tech 1 engine. This game, as well as Doom II Classic, was initially released in a suite of classic Doom ports for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, iOS, and Android, however, the ports were initially heavily criticized due to its poor quality and inaccuracies compared to the previous console generation ports while implementing an always-online DRM that required the player to sign into a Bethesda.net account (meant to unlock Slayers Club rewards) to play the game, despite these ports not having any online multiplayer features. After the initial criticism of the ports, Nerve Software eventually rectified the issues of the log-in requirements and problems with the ports through patches. A PC version of Doom Classic was released through Bethesda.net on January 9, 2020, which was later re-released through Steam on September 3, 2020 as a free update to existing owners of The Ultimate Doom.
What it’s like
Chunky low-resolution sprites and blocky brown-grey corridors lit by flickering overhead panels, with red-lit hellscapes bleeding orange across the walls. The retro look is deliberate: pixelated demons lurch out of doorways, and the palette swings between rusted industrial gloom and lurid crimson. The soundscape is a driving mix of pounding synth-metal beats, electronic stings and the guttural wails of monsters echoing down long halls. It feels grimy, feverish and relentlessly kinetic, the kind of noisy adrenaline you reach for late at night or for a quick burst of nostalgia on a handheld. Pacing is fast, with short combat bursts broken up by quiet, eerie stretches through silent tech bases where dread builds before the next swarm. The emotional register is hot-blooded and bleak rather than intimate, and the arc is pure escalation. Intensity is high: frequent bloody violence, gore, dismembered demons and grotesque imagery, with horror carried by atmosphere and ambush more than by character. Best for players who want arcade-style shooting, demonic mayhem and the satisfaction of blasting through hordes, not gentle or quiet play.
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