DOOM 4 Campaign Review and Analysis

We already covered the multiplayer, but now we’ve got some campaign coverage for DOOM 4.

In short, it’s bloody – being the key word here – brilliant. But here are some further, digestable points for you to consider. Alternatively, just watch the video and see it all for yourself.

DOOM 4 Campaign in Byte-Sized Chunks

• Power ups are sooooo satisfying. The reflex action with your shotgun when snagging haste is godly. Whipping around the big enemies and just filling them with bullets. Or obliterating otherworldy entities with Quad damage. Wonderful.
• The return of familiar enemies is a real mark out moment. While the Imp has been almost completely re-imagined, vintage foes like the Lost Soul and the Cacodemon might just make you squee…and scream.
• Rushing around levels to collect health and armour feels refreshing all over again. No more regenerating, unlimited health. You can’t just creep back into cover and hope it’ll all go away. Actually, if you stand around in DOOM then you’re getting fucked up! The key is to keep moving and keep gathering.
• Bear with it. The first few hours do take a little while to get going, but once you reach Hell then… all hell breaks loose. It also becomes quite intense, but ultimately satisfying.
• DOOM is gorgeously macarbre to look at. From the outside areas, to inside facilities. The game keeps environments fresh, and always looks pretty…in a disgusting way.
• More story in the opening 15 minutes than probably any other DOOM game combined. But it’s not essential to the experience. Where Wolfenstein really shone due to the narrative, DOOM is just raw fun.
• New additions add great value and are a logical fit. The Praetor suit upgrades, for instance, are a lovely touch. Building up those areas, then actually seeing results on the battlefield is genuinely refreshing.
• Weapon upgrades are wonderful, offering two different mods and stances, enabling you to build up either section. The ability to equip different mods and develop your weapon, keeping the usage fresh is great. The arsenal is also very easy to replenish, and you’ll find yourself regularly switching out guns during battle, ensuring nice combat variety.
• Double jumping and scaling platforms works surprisingly well. ID games are known for speed, and where DOOM 3 slowed down the pace a lot and built up atmosphere, DOOM 4 has no issues in chucking you in at the deep end. The parkour is a nice touch, and a surprisingly appropriate fit.
• Glory Kills. At times, they put Mortal Kombat to shame. Grisly and graphic. Precisely what you’d hope for, whether you’re feeding a Mancubus his heart, or squishing a Revenant’s eyes down into its seared skull.
• Runes add a lot of depth to the game. Rune challenges are a nice diversion, and developing them for various different reasons like range and effectiveness makes notable marks on your abilities and progress. Nice touch.
• The heavy metal score is blisteringly brutal.
• Level structure and formula does become a bit tedious at times, occassionally lending itself to aimless running and maiming, but it definitely suits drop in/drop out play as much as it does a hardcore play session.
• Secrets are a wonderful throwback to a bygone era.
• This is a love letter to fans who grew up adoring these games. It’s the DOOM game we’ve been waiting for since DOOM 2, but it’s also made the game extremely relevant to a new age market. Those who thought DOOM would be forever consigned to history and the past, then this is the evidence you needed to the contrary.

Final Analysis

Somehow, DOOM is breaking down barriers again in a genre that is in desperate need of something new. Of all the games to usher in some newfound energy, i’m glad it’s DOOM. It deserves to be DOOM. It just had to be DOOM

• For more DOOM coverage, here’s our opinion on the game’s multiplayer