Tested on PS4 Pro but also on Nintendo Switch.
Game purchased in physics (for both versions).
Nothing to report on the technical level, both versions turn like charms (even if the title is obviously thinner and fluid on PS4).
Bouclé (for the occasion) in about fifteen hours, time to finish the campaign and recover about 80% of the bonuses and eater eggs.
- Screenshots editor.
One could easily have believed that after the extraordinary, what do I say, the impossible DOOM Eternal, id Software teams had exhausted their reserves of good ideas. Yet last June, Bethesda and Microsoft announced at the conference a certain The Dark Age, prequel of the 2016 reboot. As if this was not enough, the title is scheduled for next year, proving (in case it was still necessary) the effectiveness of this legendary studio. In the meantime, with chronic impatience, I decided to return to the DOOM 2016, the best entry into version 2.0 of this cult license.
World Wars
It does not seem obvious to determine the reasons for the extraordinary success of the DOOM 93, an extremely brutal title appeared at a time when I left video rarely pulled out of its colorful and joyful carcan, it is nevertheless much easier to explain how the third part was planted in beauty, moving away from its elders. DOOM 3, it is a logical suite, starting from a fast-FPS full of peps to turn it half into Survival Horror, all in very dark environments, with a little inspired Level Design and a soundtrack often absent. It's hard to blame the fans of the first hour for breaking this strange shoot game, despite obvious qualities, including an irreproachable plastic. After that, and despite a relative commercial success, id Software had to reinvent itself. What was, again, not obvious, and we did not go far away from a DOOM 4 to the antipodes of what one was entitled to expect. Whatever the name of the angel passed by there, is it always that the soberly titled DOOM, reboot of a mythical franchise, appeared on 16 May 2016, eleven years after the previous one.
Mine of nothing, it's already the fifth (or sixth, it all depends on how you count) when the id Software franchise propels us tens of millions of kilometers into our solar system, on a planet Mars still as unhospital. Let's move on to astrophysic considerations, even if as soon as we talk about space I have a tendency to get lost (don't hesitate to cut off my speech above all), to stop at an obvious observation: never our closest neighbour has been so beautiful in a video game. So, of course, we do not escape the ever-changing monocord of our beloved red planet, which is displeased by those who hoped for a better title after the sad and dull DOOM 3. But it is necessary to say what is, visually the game is a breath of fresh air, and also turns very well, even in the heart of an action which, we will see, has nothing to envy to that of his older brothers. Hell is also very well transcribed, and also has much more to do with the one we knew in 2004.
We also find that id Software has visibly learned from its mistakes, since the scenario is immediately relegated to the background, thanks to a « subtle » staging effect based on « Throw me that screen I won't see ». And if he won't stop telling us some summary story afterwards, sometimes putting his action on hold, DOOM Nevertheless, it tastes wonderfully without this screenwriting sauce which, in any case, seems rather lucid about its immediate interest close to nothingness. What we need to know is that we embody, in order not to change anything, this good old DOOM Guy, who loses his face with this reboot. This does not prevent him from maintaining a certain identity. The jacket is quite eloquent on the subject, our protagonist is a monster who could find his place in the bestiary of the game, and the brutality to come will confirm it.
Since all the interest (and purpose) of a reboot lies in reinventing a franchise, one was entitled to expect something very different from what one might have known before. And in a way, that's actually what we got, though DOOM keeps a foot firmly anchored in its past. But for his own good, rest assured. The id Software title remains much closer to its same name of 93 than any First Person Shooter released in 2016. This is certainly to be seen as a quality. If we had to dwell on the novelties of this episode, acting as if DOOM 3 never existed, so we'd start by talking about the free sight, the jump button and the possibility of getting up on some edges, or of course those bloody executions to be carried out on opponents at breath.
Apart from that, finally, DOOM remaining DOOM. Forget your Shift for spinter, and imagine that you've activated the auto race, as this 2016 version would divest itself of any unnecessary fioriture, for its greatest good. Thus, unlike a Call of Duty, or very cool Wolfenstein : The New Order To stay at Bethesda, there is no question of reloading your weapons here, except of course the Super Shootgun, for a style effect that's always so gloomy. If you have ammunition in stock, you can shoot, otherwise, go to the next gun. As a last resort, you still have body-to-body attacks, which are really useful only when your opponents flash, indicating that they are good for execution; Or the chainsaw, which requires petrol to operate, but which will help to destroy almost all the future ages, which will explode in a flood of ammunition to be collected. Guaranteed jubilatory effect.
Stories of a fugitive life
Brutal, it is certainly the word that best suits this new DOOM, although this one is absolutely not content with this. One could have expected a very pure, very crude experience, but this reboot is much richer, more garnished and more complete than it suggests at first glance. Let's hear ourselves, we stay well in front of a violent, bloody, and perfectly uncomplicated First Person Shooter, who is also the simplest in the world if we know a minimum of the genre. This would allow almost everyone to try it out in the end, if the challenge, and especially the nervousness, were not as central in his proposal which, although rather short, requires a few pauses to resume his breath. What the game, more precisely its developer, is perfectly aware of, since each exhausting sequence will be followed by another more relaxing, often oriented towards exploring a zone at Level Design rather inspired.
The adventure is therefore fragmented, which is to be seen with a good eye since, as said, it will often be necessary to breathe again after an overly demanding confrontation. Something that is hard to figure out at first, but that becomes quite obvious passed half the campaign, the challenge skyrocketing, and the intrinsic cognitive load with it. Cognitive load that will not be perceived in the same way in all players, it's obvious. As far as I'm concerned, after two or three hours of play I've been overheating neurons, which tends to cause me to lose foolishly for mistakes of inattention. DOOM chain the emotionally strong moments at a regular speed, and most of the time does so on a Heavy Metal that adds to the violence of each scene. Whether you like it or not, it must be recognized that the chosen musical style fits as much as it happens on the screen as the DNA of the franchise. It should also be noted that Sound Design is a true success.
The greatest strength of DOOM, beyond his well-chosen and efficient arsenal, it is his bestiary, the true centrepiece of his gameplay. Because each type of enemy has a pattern of attacks and movements defined, pushing us to adopt a precise attitude. But it goes without saying that placing in the same arena of adversaries aligning us at a distance, and others pursuing us tirelessly, has enough to destabilize, but above all to push to a continuous forward race. What will be the case for most of the game, fortiori as our DOOM Guy, however muscular it may be, is not well solid. So we're constantly moving, constantly monitoring what happens in front and on the sides, but also our ammunition, our life gauge and the armor. As if that was not enough, the title constantly pushes us to contact, allowing us to recover life points during a successful execution. A gymnastics that is not obvious, requires a time of adaptation, and especially that psychologically fatigue over the duration. Fast FPS at its best, in short.
I was talking about wealth earlier, and it materializes in several ways. DOOM can very well be closed in about ten hours, pushing into the heap without paying attention to what it offers outside its powerful gunfights. But those who would like to search a bit would soon be rewarded, whether by small eater eggs; permanent bonuses, such as increases in the gauge of life, armor or the number of munitions to be transported from our DOOM Guy; or improvement points to make our arsenal more efficient. Points that are also obtained by performing during the fighting, and are attributed at the end of each level. Levels that do not have much to do with those of the first shutters, since the one of 2016 is certainly more direct in its Level Design, and in general in its approach. Good or bad, I will rather lean on the good side, although the secret passages by thousands of originals miss a little in this reboot, which prefers to keep a good rhythm.
After such an article, one would be tempted to believe that DOOM is perfect. But it does not escape from a few bad addresses, including small problems of Pathfinding during its exploration sequences, or a Level Design of arenas sometimes less inspired. The action is also so energetic, which partly translates into outbursts and explosions in all directions on the screen, that it lacks visibility at times. This can obviously lead to a rather frustrating death. The same is true in the few platform phases, which are cruelly lacking in precision. Fortunately, the title has regular checkpoints, but it is nevertheless regrettable that loading times are quite long. DOOM Also offers a multiplayer mode, at its launch, which has absolutely no interest despite maps (partly from the campaign) that work quite well. Finally, it is difficult not to note that, despite its rather modest duration, the campaign is a little too long compared to what it has to offer, its last two to three hours being much less inspired. The title, however, catches up with its Arcade mode, which, if not perfect, nevertheless has its interest.
Not all players are affected by the map editor function, but it has the merit of existing, and has allowed many enthusiasts to realize absolutely crazy things. DOOM allowing to modify many parameters in its amateur levels, but also to trigger scripts and insert text, the possibilities are virtually endless, and the community is given to heart. A good way to prolong the pleasure, with unequal creations, obviously, but sometimes involving genius, when they are not simply barred. Some did not hesitate to put their hands in the cobblestone to perform singularly different experiences of the basic game, such as Harvest Moon-Like, or Tower Defense, which works strangely well. Too bad that eight years later, there is no world left to make this fashion live apart.
Finally, a little word about the different versions of the game. Originally released in 2016 on PS4, Xbox One and PC, DOOM quickly offered a release on Nintendo Switch, landing at the end of 2017. If for the purposes of this article, I re-launched the PlayStation version on a PS4 Pro, I was also able to close the game on the last born of the Nintendo range (don't ask me why). This allowed me to see the quality of this portage, which I will recommend without hesitation, as long as it runs well, both on TV and in mobile. So of course, you lose legibility in nomadic configuration, but you have to say what is, turning a monster like that on such an unpowerful console, all without falling framerate, it sounds like a feat. A fortiori since, unlike many others, DOOM is not ridiculous on the Lite model of the Switch. As for the PS4 version, it also runs smoothly, and with a fluidity that honors.
DOOM revives a license that everyone thought was dead and buried, and it does so with impressive mastery. If Bethesda instead focused on multiplayer anecdotics during his deplorable advertising campaign, the id Software title fortunately has many other things in his stomach, starting with an extremely nervous gameplay and brutal mechanics, leading to a jubilatory performance. Few games manage to crystallize as clearly as the flow state can represent. DOOM is as much a moving tribute to the Fast-FPS of another era, as a love letter addressed to the fans of id Software and his work. This leads to a game as timeless as the mythical first part of the franchise.
For
- A nice way to reinvent a classic
- Easy to access gameplay...
- ... but also offering some depth
- Visually and musically successful
- Brutal and jubilatory
- Challenge precisely measured
- Persuasive core content
- Creating maps with impressive possibilities...
- ... and absolutely crazy online creations
- A Switch version that turns like a charm
Against
- Campaign shooting a little in length...
- ... despite a very modest overall duration
- Multiplayer mode absolutely useless
- We wouldn't have been against coop couch.
- Switch version amputated of online creations
How's your Switch joycons after your Doom game? :-p
😂😂😂
Thank God I have a Nintendo Switch Pro...
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