Excellent gunplay, constant ultraviolence, and a masterfully composed soundtrack that perfectly complements the guns and gore. The story is predictably shallow, but plot is not the reason one would decide to play this game. Multiple guns sharing the same ammo type discourages true experimentation, and among the games many weapon upgrade trees there are some that are strictly better than others. Additionally, I think the game could've used an extra enemy type or two during the final few missions, but none of this is enough to bring down one of the most fun shooters I've ever played.

(Played on Switch)

This game has one of the most accessible and most purely fun FPS campaigns I've ever played. No quicktime events, no stodgy dialogue, no lulls in the action. Just a non-stop satisfying gameplay loop of killing demons, healing up, and repeating that never gets old.

Although pricey, the Switch port is one of the best-looking games you can play for the system. I played 50% handheld and it never detracted from the experience.

Writing: 1/5
Gameplay: 5/5
Art Design & Visuals: 4/5
Voices & Sounds: 4/5
Atmosphere & Immersion: 3/5

There is a transcendent bliss that comes with the gameplay of Doom 2016. It has the most enthralling gameplay loop of any FPS I've played, and there is a wonderful sense of depth to its combat. The diverse hordes of enemies and their unique attributes, combined with an equally diverse arsenal at the players disposal leads to fast paced bloodbaths that are as strategic as they are action oriented. On higher difficulties players are asked to consider the attack patterns of multiple different enemy types, prioritize targets, watch their backs, stay mobile, choose the right weapon for any given moment, choose the right weapon MOD for any given moment, be cognizant of their ammo and health, be cognizant of the locations of powerups, health, armor, and ammo around the arena and choose when to grab them, choose when to pursue glory kills to recover health, choose when to chainsaw enemies to replenish ammo or just eliminate a problem, and choose when to use the BFG to avoid being overwhelmed. All of it feels incredible.

A story exists, but it is clearly a barebones backdrop for the action, which is fair enough. Environments are more visually appealing than I expected, but players may still feel some amount of visual fatigue by the end of the game. The soundtrack is... certainly fit for purpose. I confess that there were definitely times when it started to grate on me, but it suits Doom, and I greatly appreciated the occasional choral pieces in later areas as a refreshing break from all of the hard metal.

Doom is immortal. Its vision is fulfilled here in a way that the original game would have done if only it could. It is crystalized adrenaline, pure and brilliant.

Doom is pure, distilled, fun. Fueled by video game composer Mick Gordon, this reboot takes queues from the original game, Quake, and Halo to whip up one of the best, if not the best, first person shooter campaigns, period.

Long load times, and a handful of unfun enemy types sully an otherwise near perfect experience. Played on Ultra-Violence.


Personal Accolades - Golden Haro 2k18 4th Place Winner

Great gameplay at its core. The monster designs in addition to wide arsenal of weapons are nice and everything has its own use while feeling nice to use. I'm not 100% sure the gameplay is something that can carry things for the length of this game. (I had a similar issue with Doom 3 but the problems with that game are numerous on top of the length and I'm not getting into it here...) Bits like the rune challenges throwing the pacing off don't help matters.

Definitely something I think is better in bits. Maybe to play a few levels here and there and not through in a short period? Wanted to run through again before I started Eternal. I'm looking forward to that.