Kralamoonard
Member
I'm not even exaggerating when I say this game is not only my GOTY for 2016 (tied with Ratchet and Clank), but has entered one of my top 5 games of all time. Bethesda are doing great work investing into these SP focused games, especially in the FPS genre (apart from the fact they never did this game justice pre-release). I digress, but in a nutshell, this game just BLEW ME THE HELL AWAY, despite already having my expectations elevated due to all that post release hype. Starting this game last Tuesday, and having just platinum-ed it a few days ago on PS4, it's been one hell of [almost] a week, and I'm about to go into why, pretty much every facet of the game, was just so good. (I've included a TL
R at the end for those who want to cut right to the chase).
What better way to start off the thread with the bread and butter of DOOM: its fast and chaotic gameplay. You know when the clock of the shotgun is just perfectly timed with the musical note, that shits about to get serious -- you're in for one hell of a ride.
It instantly throws you into the action, with no time to waste. And it only goes uphill from there. Everything about the combat encounters was bliss: from the perfectly timed music to the swarms of enemies attacking you; not only was the DOOM Marine looking for a fight, so were you. Your heart pumped when you pulled out that heart from the gore nest. It hyped you up so much, that you were looking for any chance to fight, just because it was so fun to blast a demons head off, or to smash their face in with their own arm, only helped beautifully by the horrific animations of the glory kill. The best part being? The incentive of getting up, close and personal with a demon on low health, just to be rewarded with that extra drop of armour, health and ammo. The gameplay loop was just so addictive, and everything about it fell into place really nicely. Like the creative director of the game said, "you stop moving, you die", and the the game promoting an aggressive playstyle and encouraging you to push forward at all times not only worked well with the mindset of the DOOM marine, but actually the player since that's all you want to do: kill demons, whilst playing the risk vs reward feedback loop aspect really well. Changing weapons on the fly, to chaining glory kills, to throwing grenades, to doing all sorts of maneuvers felt satisfying each time.
From the variety of weapons (further helped by the options of mods) that packed a punch and felt so satisfying to shoot, to the fantastic enemy design both taking into account the aesthetic design and the intelligent behaviour of the AI (god damn, the Imp's were annoying as hell!). Or how about the upgrade systems for the weapons, or the rune trials, or even the praetor suit upgrades? There was definitely a lot of breadth and depth into these systems, that not only encouraged use of said abilities on different enemies, but allowing the level design to feedback into the gameplay loop through exploration. Even the challenges that were in each mission helped in contributing to these upgrades. The best way to describe all these extra gameplay features is that: 1) None of them felt useless, 2) Each one fed into each other and 3) They were not necessarily mandatory to enjoy the game, but at the same time not redundant -- they weren't put in for the sake of it, but because they served a purpose.
Which leads me onto the next best part about the gameplay: the exploration. What a joy it was to actually be rewarded by exploration, through not only cool little collectibles (that again, gave you the ability to see the character/enemy models up close), but upgrades that help with gameplay. And how about the homage to the old DOOM games with the secret levels? Just everything about this title is SO GOOD -- I know I keep repeating it ad nauseum, but it feels so meticulously crafted and you can see how much care and thought was put into each level. It's definitely a classic shooter at its core, but done just right for modern systems. Which brings me onto the next aspect of what makes the gameplay so good: the tech.
Oh my, the buttery smooth 60fps, with the impressive depth of field and motion blur techniques, to the joy at being able to go up to 110 FOV on a console (+1 for options, right?!) that helps with the feeling of fast movement, to the great particle effects and PBR implementation that definitely gives every material its depth and how nicely each surface reacts to the light. And hell, how about the beautiful backdrops of Mars, or Hell, and how intimidating, surprising realistic, and detailed each map was. I could go on and on, but words can't describe how impressive the tech going on here really is -- you honestly have to see it for yourself. Granted, it wasn't all that perfect as there were times where textures weren't loading in fast enough, and loading times could sometimes be a pain, but I guess that's the comprise on consoles. In the grand scheme of things, its minor stuff to be honest -- definitely nothing too blemishing on what was otherwise a very beautiful presentation.
I could go on and on about the gameplay, and how much I enjoyed playing it, but I'm sure most of you who have played the game know what I'm talking about, and for those who haven't: JUST PLAY THE DAMN GAME and you'll see what I'm babbling on about
Story? Why the hell am I including a separate section about a story in a DOOM game? Because you know what, this was the second best thing about the damn game. Because oh my god, it was just pure mad genius. Self aware, engaging, interesting, surprisingly deep and hilarious. These are all the adjectives that spring to mind when recalling this games' story. Because each one was so true. It was actually one of the only games in recent memory where I bothered to read every single codex and the hilarity, and smart witted writing behind it made it all the more better. There was definitely interesting lore to be had there, but what actually makes it so great is to see the development of the story and lore go hand in hand as you progress through the missions. Even better, is the escalation of said lore, and how you see the UAC's manuals and reminders become more and more hellish, going deeper and deeper into the rabbit hole, and not only is this reflected in the codex, and Olivia Pierce's psyche, but also the environments (environmental story telling in this game is on point btw), and through what you see. I'm even more happy that I noticed this, and then proceeded to watch the NoClip documentary (which you should all watch btw) and see that this was a conscious development put in by the developers.
Lore aside, and how interesting it was, I actually really enjoyed the main story itself, and how awesome the DOOM Marine was as a character without saying a word. I'm sure I'm beating a dead horse at this point, but the first mission says all I need to say about how great the players' expectations and DOOM Marine's attitude towards the exposition is (despite it actually being ironically interesting). It was simple, obvious yet engaging, and sometimes you don't need the most over complicated, subtle plot with numerous twists to have an engaging narrative. Again, the NoClip documentary touches upon this in a much better way than I can ever say, so I'll leave you guys to watch that. Seriously, watch it.
I know I touched upon the music before, but I'd like to include it as a separate section, just to emphasise how awesome it is. Not only as something to listen to, but how in-sync it is with the gameplay, and how it directly impacts the player in regards to pumping them up to kick some demon ass. Now I'm definitely not well informed about genres of music, or sub-genres, but this metal (or whatever type it is) definitely goes hand in hand with this game, both on a thematic level, but also gameplay level. It kind of anagolises the game neatly to be honest: everything fits into place quite nicely.
So as you can tell by the long OP, I really liked this game. It's memorable, fun, and despite the numerous encounters towards the end, it never got old. As they say, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. I heard this as a common complaint that the game got repetitive, but honestly, if the game is amazing at doing something, I definitely don't mind when they throw that something at me 100x times. The rush and hype you get from each encounter felt fresh yet familiar each time, and it was always a joy to blast a shotgun to the fantastic music. So overall, I'd give the game a 9.8/10.
R at the end for those who want to cut right to the chase).
What better way to start off the thread with the bread and butter of DOOM: its fast and chaotic gameplay. You know when the clock of the shotgun is just perfectly timed with the musical note, that shits about to get serious -- you're in for one hell of a ride.
It instantly throws you into the action, with no time to waste. And it only goes uphill from there. Everything about the combat encounters was bliss: from the perfectly timed music to the swarms of enemies attacking you; not only was the DOOM Marine looking for a fight, so were you. Your heart pumped when you pulled out that heart from the gore nest. It hyped you up so much, that you were looking for any chance to fight, just because it was so fun to blast a demons head off, or to smash their face in with their own arm, only helped beautifully by the horrific animations of the glory kill. The best part being? The incentive of getting up, close and personal with a demon on low health, just to be rewarded with that extra drop of armour, health and ammo. The gameplay loop was just so addictive, and everything about it fell into place really nicely. Like the creative director of the game said, "you stop moving, you die", and the the game promoting an aggressive playstyle and encouraging you to push forward at all times not only worked well with the mindset of the DOOM marine, but actually the player since that's all you want to do: kill demons, whilst playing the risk vs reward feedback loop aspect really well. Changing weapons on the fly, to chaining glory kills, to throwing grenades, to doing all sorts of maneuvers felt satisfying each time.
From the variety of weapons (further helped by the options of mods) that packed a punch and felt so satisfying to shoot, to the fantastic enemy design both taking into account the aesthetic design and the intelligent behaviour of the AI (god damn, the Imp's were annoying as hell!). Or how about the upgrade systems for the weapons, or the rune trials, or even the praetor suit upgrades? There was definitely a lot of breadth and depth into these systems, that not only encouraged use of said abilities on different enemies, but allowing the level design to feedback into the gameplay loop through exploration. Even the challenges that were in each mission helped in contributing to these upgrades. The best way to describe all these extra gameplay features is that: 1) None of them felt useless, 2) Each one fed into each other and 3) They were not necessarily mandatory to enjoy the game, but at the same time not redundant -- they weren't put in for the sake of it, but because they served a purpose.
Which leads me onto the next best part about the gameplay: the exploration. What a joy it was to actually be rewarded by exploration, through not only cool little collectibles (that again, gave you the ability to see the character/enemy models up close), but upgrades that help with gameplay. And how about the homage to the old DOOM games with the secret levels? Just everything about this title is SO GOOD -- I know I keep repeating it ad nauseum, but it feels so meticulously crafted and you can see how much care and thought was put into each level. It's definitely a classic shooter at its core, but done just right for modern systems. Which brings me onto the next aspect of what makes the gameplay so good: the tech.
Oh my, the buttery smooth 60fps, with the impressive depth of field and motion blur techniques, to the joy at being able to go up to 110 FOV on a console (+1 for options, right?!) that helps with the feeling of fast movement, to the great particle effects and PBR implementation that definitely gives every material its depth and how nicely each surface reacts to the light. And hell, how about the beautiful backdrops of Mars, or Hell, and how intimidating, surprising realistic, and detailed each map was. I could go on and on, but words can't describe how impressive the tech going on here really is -- you honestly have to see it for yourself. Granted, it wasn't all that perfect as there were times where textures weren't loading in fast enough, and loading times could sometimes be a pain, but I guess that's the comprise on consoles. In the grand scheme of things, its minor stuff to be honest -- definitely nothing too blemishing on what was otherwise a very beautiful presentation.
I could go on and on about the gameplay, and how much I enjoyed playing it, but I'm sure most of you who have played the game know what I'm talking about, and for those who haven't: JUST PLAY THE DAMN GAME and you'll see what I'm babbling on about
Story? Why the hell am I including a separate section about a story in a DOOM game? Because you know what, this was the second best thing about the damn game. Because oh my god, it was just pure mad genius. Self aware, engaging, interesting, surprisingly deep and hilarious. These are all the adjectives that spring to mind when recalling this games' story. Because each one was so true. It was actually one of the only games in recent memory where I bothered to read every single codex and the hilarity, and smart witted writing behind it made it all the more better. There was definitely interesting lore to be had there, but what actually makes it so great is to see the development of the story and lore go hand in hand as you progress through the missions. Even better, is the escalation of said lore, and how you see the UAC's manuals and reminders become more and more hellish, going deeper and deeper into the rabbit hole, and not only is this reflected in the codex, and Olivia Pierce's psyche, but also the environments (environmental story telling in this game is on point btw), and through what you see. I'm even more happy that I noticed this, and then proceeded to watch the NoClip documentary (which you should all watch btw) and see that this was a conscious development put in by the developers.
Lore aside, and how interesting it was, I actually really enjoyed the main story itself, and how awesome the DOOM Marine was as a character without saying a word. I'm sure I'm beating a dead horse at this point, but the first mission says all I need to say about how great the players' expectations and DOOM Marine's attitude towards the exposition is (despite it actually being ironically interesting). It was simple, obvious yet engaging, and sometimes you don't need the most over complicated, subtle plot with numerous twists to have an engaging narrative. Again, the NoClip documentary touches upon this in a much better way than I can ever say, so I'll leave you guys to watch that. Seriously, watch it.
Though the ending definitely leaves your imagination open for the sequel. It'll be interesting to see Samuel Hayden as the turned-villain for the next game.
I know I touched upon the music before, but I'd like to include it as a separate section, just to emphasise how awesome it is. Not only as something to listen to, but how in-sync it is with the gameplay, and how it directly impacts the player in regards to pumping them up to kick some demon ass. Now I'm definitely not well informed about genres of music, or sub-genres, but this metal (or whatever type it is) definitely goes hand in hand with this game, both on a thematic level, but also gameplay level. It kind of anagolises the game neatly to be honest: everything fits into place quite nicely.
So as you can tell by the long OP, I really liked this game. It's memorable, fun, and despite the numerous encounters towards the end, it never got old. As they say, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. I heard this as a common complaint that the game got repetitive, but honestly, if the game is amazing at doing something, I definitely don't mind when they throw that something at me 100x times. The rush and hype you get from each encounter felt fresh yet familiar each time, and it was always a joy to blast a shotgun to the fantastic music. So overall, I'd give the game a 9.8/10.
- Fun, fast, chaotic gameplay that's just perfect for a DOOM game, with a nice variety and depth to the combat systems, enemies, and level design. Guns pack a punch and there's enough there to keep the shooting fresh with the different weapon mods.
- Interesting, yet self-aware (and sometimes hilarious) story that has a lot of great background lore that's engaging enough to keep you wanting more and see the story through to the end. One improvement I think that could have been done a bit better is that the final boss
could have been slightly more challenging and have more stages, since it was a bit odd for the previous boss to have that, but not this one.
- It goes without saying, but the tech on display here is superb: 110 FoV, 1080p 60fps, on PS4 with a great PBR implementation, post-processing (loved the depth of field and per object motion blur) and the slick presentation coupled with the horrifically awesome glory kills. Landscapes and backdrops are also beautifully done. The only improvement I'd say is perhaps the textures could have streamed in faster, but that's just nitpicking because you have to compromise at consoles.
- Soundtrack is just fantastic and perfect for this game, especially as it gets you gloriously pumped for each combat encounter. It also works really well in conjunction with the moment to moment gameplay.
- Level exploration is so good -- I absolutely love the secrets, collectibles, hidden classic levels from the older DOOM, and the various mission challenge and rune trials. Keep the gameplay loop interesting, especially as the mission challenges and combat rating you get all feed into each other in helping upgrade your character and weapons.
- Overall, a really fun ride and blast to play through from start to finish. Bethesda are doing great work investing into these single player orientated games, especially in the FPS genre with my GOTY of last year (played it late), Wolfenstsein The New Order.
- As a side note, I'd honestly recommend any DOOM or non-DOOM fan to watch the NoClip documentary about the game. It definitely explains a lot about the ethos and mentality of the creators when they eventually have their vision (after the years of development he'll) for the game. Really good stuff
