Iconic, controversial and at times frustrating, Doom (2016) is a wonderful continuation of a franchise whose roots go back to the earliest days of the interest and PC gaming.
Singleplayer.
PvP Multiplayer.
I must preface this by saying I am a fan of the Doom franchise; however, it is far from a relaxing game, with combat being best described as exhausting and, at times, brutally difficult.
While Doom is nowhere near as difficult as Souls-like games, as far as shooters go, you will have trouble finding any game that gives players less downtime and provides more opportunities for combat than Doom (2016) and its sequel Doom Eternal.
Despite being wholly owned by Xbox Game Studios, Doom 2016 is not available natively on PC game pass, with PC players being forced to play the cloud-based Xbox One port; what makes this all the more curious is the fact that Doom (2016) is one of just a handful of first-party PC titles (and the only title published within the last decade) not to be included in the PC Game Pass catalogue.
As of May 2023, Xbox has given no reason for its absence; however, I imagine this will “eventually” be rectified, despite Doom (2016)’s conspicuous absence from the PC Game Pass library since the acquisition of Bethesda in 2021.
Doom (2016) is one of the few games where early-game weapons can still play a deciding role in late-game encounters, and much of this is due to its robust weapon modification system that allows players to swap weapon mods on the fly, which in turn empowers each weapons alternative fire mode with unique and often devastating abilities.
From micro rockets to explosive shotgun rounds and turret mode, being able to change your arsenal to match any given encounter instantly is one of the reasons that Doom (2016) remains one of the highest-rated titles in the franchise’s 30-year history, with 95% of the 118k+ reviews on Steam being positive.
Despite being seven years old, having been released early in the 8th generation, Doom (2016) holds up very well in 223, offering players silky smooth combat, stunning visuals and above-average performance, with all consoles but the Nintendo Switch running at 60 fps, and the PC version able to reach frame rates well north of 180 when running at 1080 on ultra settings on most gaming rigs built within the past five years.
Doom (2016) was the first mainline Doom title in over ten years, with the last mainline release being Doom III in 2005; while there was a slew of Doom ports and remasters during that time, with the cancellation of Doom 4, fans of the series had to wait over 11 years to enjoy a proper return to the franchise.
Doom 4 was originally announced in 2008 and was not heard from again, with the developer maintaining near-total radio silence until the announcement of Doom (2016) in 2013.
Doom has always been controversial, and Doom (2016) is no exception, with many of the same complaints about earlier titles resurfacing.
Most prominent among these controversies are the accusations of promoting satanism and displaying satanic imagery, with some decrying the games as being “evil” or satanic, which, while I can understand, I do not agree with.
As a Follower of Jesus Christ myself, I prefer to avoid playing as evil characters, especially those who use satanic abilities; however, Doom is the farthest thing from that, with our hero (commonly known as Doom guy) spending the entirety of each game slaughtering demons in a variety of increasingly gory and imaginative ways.
While admittedly Doom is bad theology and shotguns are of little use against demonic beings in the real world, I cannot help but feel the religious right’s insistence that evil characters do not look or act in a manner that is even vaguely satanic rather ludicrous.
What better form for evil to take than the ultimate evil, and what better way to start conversations with interested parties about Jesus Christ, who through his sinless life, death and resurrection overcame the power of satan, than titles such as Doom and Diablo, which place satan and satanic imagery in an antagonistic role?
For those interested in biblical accounts of encounters with demons, an encounter between Jesus Christ and a legion of demons can be found in Mark 5 1-20, just one of the multiple recorded instances of Jesus Christ encountering and defeating the spawn of satan.
Doom is a shooter video game developed by id Software and published by Bethesda Softworks, it was released on 13 May, 2016 and retails for $19.99.
Doom is available on the following platforms: Nintendo Switch, PC, Playstation 4, Playstation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.
Doom is no longer in active development, and the developers have moved on to other projects.
While we do not know how many people play Doom on console, the Steam PC community peaks at around 700 players daily, with monthly highs of around 1000 players.
Thankfully for fans of the game, it is doing considerably better on console, where it is part of both Xbox Game Pass (permanently) and PS Plus Extra (temporally), which has resulted in larger than average console communities for a game of its age.
Doom is not entirely dead, but due to a lack of crossplay support, the remaining multiplayer community is highly fragmented, resulting in lengthy wait times and unbalanced matchmaking.
On average Doom (2016) takes between 12 and 20 hours to complete.
Estimated completion times are derived from various sources and may vary based on the skill level of each player.
Doom (2016) supports:
Doom (2016) offers the following matchmaking options:
Doom (2016) offers no microtransactions.
The following peripherals are officially supported:
Doom (2016) is rated PEGI 18+ and contains:
Doom remains one of the most iconic franchises in the history of gaming. While Doom Eternal has superseded Doom (2016), it still has a lot to offer games in 2023, and I fully recommend it to longtime fans of the franchise and of singleplayer first-person shooters in general; however, fans of multiplayer content may want to look elsewhere, due to Doom (2016)’s diminished and fragmented multiplayer community.
