Doom

Doom is another installment of the famous series, where the player, as a space marine, will travel a long path through the corridors of an abandoned space base on Mars to reach Hell and destroy as many demons as possible there. Gamers will be able to play not only solo but also online, engaging in large-scale battles between humans and demons. There is a special editor that allows anyone to create a map or game mode and share them online.

Doom is a single-player first-person shooter from id Software, following the classic formula of the original with a number of carefully added modern mechanics. The game is a reboot of the Doom franchise and a main entry in the series since the timeDoom 3.

The promotion of the game was aided by the relevant graphics of the time, featuring impressive effects, cool animations, and support for 4K textures—all thanks to the idTech 6 engine. The game received excellent optimization and ran smoothly on all four platforms.

Among the classic gameplay mechanics, one can note the speed and dynamism of the gameplay, a vast bestiary, the dropping of "armor" and "medkits" from enemies (they are also scattered throughout the levels), multi-tiered access keys, secret places and passages, and Easter eggs. The protagonist carries a huge amount of weapons and must methodically eliminate enemies. There are 4 difficulty levels for players of different skills.

Among the new gameplay mechanics, melee combat stands out —any enemies can be weakened to the point where you can either shoot them in the face or effectively tear them apart with your hands. Jetpacks have also been added to the suit's soles, allowing for greater jumps or higher leaps.

Many RPG mechanics have been added: weapon upgrades through modifications, protagonist enhancements (health, armor, and ammunition limits can be doubled) using argent cells, and suit upgrades (terrain scanner, agility, environmental resistance) after searching the bodies of other space marines.

To unlock certain upgrades, you need to complete specific tasks, such as making a series of kills with a particular weapon, and the deeper the upgrade, the more challenging the task will be. All game menus are readily accessible, and information about progression is provided by the map and an extensive codex.

The events of Doom take place on Mars, in a huge complex of the UAC corporation, which was searching for new energy sources and unexpectedly opened a portal to Hell. However, the apocalypse did not happen immediately. UAC conducted long expeditions into Hell, searching for new technologies, resources, and studying the local fauna.

One of the samples extracted from Hell to Mars was the protagonist, or Doom Slayer — "The Guy from Hell." The company had made significant progress in its research, but by that time its employees had fallen under the influence of the inhabitants of another, hellish dimension.

From that moment on, the fate of the colony was sealed — it took very little time for the fanatics to destroy the security system, open a portal to Hell, and release hordes of demons that took over the Martian complex.

The studio revised the concept of the main character. Now Doom Slayer is an ancient warrior and the last surviving member of the order of knights known as the Night Sentinels. They were tasked with protecting their home and deities, the Wraiths, from the forces of Hell. He is also called the Soldier of Rock, and demons fear him because he is special — able to absorb the souls of those he has killed.

Besides Doom Slayer, there are only a couple of important characters in the game:

The events of the game unfold some time after the demons' invasion. The station's personnel have been destroyed, and the survivors have succumbed to evil and are now enemies. The only one trying to fix the situation is Samuel Hayden.

He explains to the Soldier of Rock that there is a way to seal the portal between Hell and Mars — to go to the complex on the other side of the planet and find an object called the "Crucible," which will close the tunnel between the worlds. Periodically, the player encounters Olivia Pierce, who will do everything to hinder him.

Wandering through the vast UAC complexes, the player can learn a lot of interesting things from the codex entries and video inserts, and he is also occasionally thrown into Hell, where he is addressed not as Doom Slayer, but as the Soldier of Rock. This is, in a way, a second storyline.

However, the story in Doom, while interesting, still feels like a checkbox, and even the final twist does not surprise much.

Each level features a main storyline and several side quests. The journey through the locations of Doom is directly related to the extermination of demons — and for this, the player has a huge arsenal of weapons — from fists, a rifle, and a shotgun, to a plasma gun, chainsaw, and BFG 9000.

The player needs to carefully navigate each level to find hidden passages, field drones, elite sentinels — drop troops, complete regular and rune challenges, and so on. All of this will significantly improve his attack and defense stats.

The list of monsters is extensive but not complete; some appeared in later games in the series, such as Doom Eternal. Let's list the main Doom demons:

In addition to the campaign, the game has an arcade mode, where there are no story scripts, but all game locations and many enemies to kill in a series without exposing oneself to bullets. For this, the player earns points and ranks on the leaderboard based on their performance.

In July 2017, a major update was released that changed multiplayer and made all expansions from the season pass available to all game owners. The progression system was revamped towards classic online gameplay. Now, Doom's multiplayer mode offers 18 well-designed maps, 18 types of weapons, 7 playable demons, and 7 game modes.

Modes:

Depending on the mode, starting conditions may vary. Let’s consider team deathmatch multiplayer. Players start with full health and half armor, stock weapons, and then must explore the map for better weapons, additional armor, and health.

During the match, they can use teleporters, jetpacks, and boosters (quad damage, invisibility, regeneration, speed), meaning they need to think strategically and plan their actions, not just shoot at each other.

There is also a demonic rune that transforms the player into a demon, allowing them to fight as one. Among the demons are Revenant, Baron of Hell, Mancubus, Pinky, Cacodemon, Harvester (an alternative to Summoner), and Stray (an alternative to Imp).

For each match, players earn points that accumulate into levels. The more active the player was (number of kills, assists, and other actions), the more experience they will gain. They can also complete various challenges that unlock access to certain features.