While the game does poke fun at the concept of a story pretty early on, the story itself is actually pretty present, with a lot of love & care put into it. You can choose to ignore it & “just kill” but I feel you get more out of it with a little understanding.
Ive been binge watching them. Seriously smart content. I'm jealous really, I can't write half as well and content like this is miles ahead of so many other things I've watched or made.
I respectfully disagree about the codex; I think from a pacing perspective it's a good compromise. Instead of stopping and reading for minutes, you come back and read it when you're ready for a break from combat. But still, brilliant analysis as always, really enjoying your content!
I don't think that you explicitly said this, but I really like how the meta, mythical, elemental, recurring presence of this game justifies the title. It's not called Doom 4 because that would reduce it to a link on a chain; instead, it's just Doom, a monolithic idea that stands alone.
Noah, this is all really well done, but I think you missed a very important detail about the plot. Or rather, why its there. You say its a misstep to have such a serious, drag plot, and even mention why its a good thing without realizing why. It's there for the joke. The plot is all there but neither you nor your character give a shit. You're there to break, so you break. You aren't taking part in the story, you're just rippin' and tearin'.
One of my favorite details is how whenever Samuel lures the Marine into one of these story scenes it's either under the promise of items or begins with an attempt to win him over with powerups. It's also kind of funny how the ending is literally just Samuel saying: "You did it! You win! The end! BTW I'm not the badguy but give me that demon sword, people need to keep their icecream cold back on earth, GG goodbye see you next game."
+TrueFriends HelpMoveBodies That's pretty much exactly what I took away from the "story" of the game aswell. I love how Doom Guy can convey so much contempt and rage over the stupidity of these humans without saying a word.
6:00 When you said "A force of Unbridled Avarice", it didn't make any actuall connection to the Doom Marine. He is a force, he is unbridled, but Avarice means extreme greed. He doesn't slay the countless hell spawn for material gain or reward, he destroys them all because that is what he wants to do. And nothing will stand in his way while he is still alive and kicking. Sorry if this comes across as really picky. It just erked me I guess. X) Anyways, keep up the great reviews.
Yeah, I'm aware of the error now. I once asked my parents what the word meant when I was a kid and they misidentified it, and I've gotten it wrong ever since. I'm going to be working with an editor in future videos to help me catch stupid mistakes like that.
Im not sure if you -really- got the old DooMs. They really weren't that brutal or fast paced, and the combat loop didn't really "reward mercilessness" so much as other games. It was a lot slower and more methodical than people give it credit for; the core gameplay loop was mostly just that of exploring the mazelike levels, hunting keys and health and ammo. It was all in the map design. I think people exaggerate the fast twitchy nature of DooM, when compared to modern tactical stuff, and often kind of confuse it with things like quake and serious sam which are more similar. DooM 4's sort of battle arena and regenerating health via aggression was a big step in a different direction. A good direction, but not the same as the classics.
The first Doom was definitely not the balls-to-the-wall action game that people seem to remember. The enemies weren't that numerous nor individually dangerous, the monster closets weren't very intense, and the levels were fairly large, often requiring backtracking. Doom 2 was more reflex-based, thanks to new enemies and items, as well as tighter level design, though it never felt like facing demonic hordes. I feel as if Doom 3 and 4 were remakes of the first two games respectively, but by using exaggerations of their respective speeds.
I'm so happy to play a shooter like this again. The modern FPS tropes of regenerating health, two weapons only, and focusing on taking cover has become so mundane to me.Hope this game is a success sells wise.
DOOM is alternate history; it shows what games would have been like if there would never have been half life. It makes me hope the new game is a major success, because it's technologically intruiging.
I don't think the 'games without Half-Life' sentiment is true, HL is slower, but it's not the cover-camp scripted urgency of modern warfare style games. The new DOOM is what DOOM would have always been if it had stayed true to itself while taking appropriate influence from meaningful titles like HL.
***** I don't think he's accusing Half-Life itself as being those things because you're right, it isn't. It's that developers took some of the wrong lessons from Half-Life which steered the genre towards making narrative increasingly important. I agree with your second paragraph completely though.
Doom is now the third-most important shooter to hit shelves. Do games even sit on shelves anymore? I digress. Half-Life obviously changed the entertainment industry forever. It was and remains the most important PC game ever conceived, if not the most important video game ever made. Bioshock followed suit and took the concepts and heart Half-Life espouses to the masses with wide console releases. Levine and Irrational Games truly hit a home run. And Doom brings us full circle combining tasteful modern "leveling up" game mechanics, brilliant art direction, and furious sound design with lethal and ferocious game play. But Doom reminds us why we love this genre, why shooters always have been and always will be The Supreme genre available: brutal immersion and weight. Playing the avatar is just so much fun when done right. While the industry can't stop its collective circle jerk of dumbshit military "sim" titles with B-level voice acting and uninspired game play Doom reminds us that, hey, it is pretty fucking fun to chainsaw some asshole demon in two. What makes Doom even more fun is that the developers *know* what they have made is more than just a mechanically sound, kickass experience. It is a perpetual big middle finger to every other major studio working on Dumbfuck Shooter 14: Just Like 13 But Even Less Believable; Seriously, We Challenge You to Believe Any of This Shit Anymore. Doom will be remembered in any discussion of Modern Shooters, right alongside Half-Life and Bioshock. Not because it inherently blew any minds, like Half-Life and Bioshock, but because it reminds gamers that "fun" is still the main point here and that it put this industry in check while doing it.
I actually really loved the story. The game didn't try to stuff it down your throat, and the whole point of the Doom-Slayers interaction with that story is that he doesn't give a shit about any of it. That's the conceit of its inclusion. It made me want to know more about what was happening by not including too many details, while not sacrificing gameplay to serve that story. I thought that was rather tasteful.
+Noah Caldwell-Gervais I watched all of it. Well... you convinced me. I am one of those people that loved all the DOOM games till now, DOOM 3 and ROE included. This I like. Too bad for the terminals and bad story, but ... Well I will be buying this! Thank you!
Excellent video, as always! I do have a slight rebuttal I want to add on your points about the game's plot, however. The plot is dead simple, and the beats of it are fully established before the title card. The UAC is getting Clean Renewable Hell Energy from Hell™, and the lady in charge of getting it has had to work with enough ruinous powers to throughly corrupt her, as hinted at in the very first hologram you see in the game. Sam Hayden, or rather Dr. Robot, is carefully explaining through the entire game that everything that happened was for good, rational, civilized reasons. The Doom Guy hears this line, looks at one of the dead people all this has caused, and then punches the comm terminal Dr. Robot is speaking out of. Title Card. A year after playing this game, I came around to reading the original Conan the Barbarian stories by Robert E. Howard, and was a little amused how the theme of 'civilized injustice' vs. 'barbaric simplicity' was echoed in DOOM 2016. Hayden tells you about the civilized impetus this entire thing started, the Doctor Lady was the obvious corruption, and the Doom Marine is the rampaging barbarian who doesn't care about the the meaning of any of this because there is literally no good reason to fiddle with the forces of hell and these idiots have deluded themselves entirely too far. You mentioned that the game didn't really have to try to do any of this, and you're right. And I think that ties into what you said about how this game is a major re-examination of the structure of shooters today. A lot of games have this plot that's supposed to be intrinsically important, and DOOM 2016's plot I think is a hot take on the idea. You _can_ pay attention, but you don't have to, because the game makes the startling move to have a lot of plot available, but make absolutely no assumption that the player gives the slightest damn that it happens. Which I think is the most daring game design decision since the voice direction of JC Denton in the original Deus Ex, another game that had a lot going on, but made no assumption that you gave a shit. And if that's not leveraging the power of videogames, I don't know what is.
I too am terrible at finding secrets. I found maybe 1/4 of them and only one classic map. I don't know if you know this but you can actually play the classic maps outside the campaign. Anyway I totally agree DOOM is one of the most entertaining FPS campaigns I have played in years and one of the best of all time. I absolutely adored the momentum of the game, RIP AND TEAR indeed!!
This game is so much fun. Sidenote. I'm so grateful to have found your channel. Many youtubers are verbose in their discussion, but few have such an eloquent way of expressing their love for this medium. Cheers
Your writing and speaking is so strong that it's vaguely reminiscent of Alan Watt's lectures. Truly an impressive analysis video. I've enjoyed seeing your takes on the DOOM series.
I think my favourite thing about the game is how well the weapons work together. The rapid pace lead to some amazing improvised tactics as you jump and weave around the area, stunning demons with the plasma rifle, chainsawing them apart for more ammo and then using the super shotgun when they get too close.
Excellent and poetic critique, thank you. Can't wait to play it. Deserves to be seen by more people. Probably will be the definitive critique of the game.
There are some areas where we disagree, but good review overall. I think the codex is preferential to the system you're talking about, because it lets the player decide when/if they want to get into the lore. Doing it your way would force the player to make a decision right at that moment, where the codex is available at any point, and you don't have to replay a level if you decide you do want to know what's going on. As a side note, if anyone hasn't read the codex stuff, it is pretty interesting. Especially the entries on the demons. The story is simple, and I think it has it's place in the game. The motivation of the villain is a bit more than what you laid out, here. *SMALL SPOILER* Right before the final boss fight, when you see her in hell, she says "they promised me so much...", which indicates she did all this for some sort of personal gain, not just because the demons told her to do things. They must have promised her something she REALLY wanted. Furthermore, I think (and I know a LOT of people would agree) that the minimal story is an actual benefit to the game.
Wow. This is really good. You should write for some gaming media outlets like PCGamer or Gamespot, if you don't already. You give really great commentary and intelligent insight.
I'm surprised people don't catch onto this sooner. The player, and DoomGuy are extensions of each other in their interest of playing the game and slaying demons. Doomguys disinterest in Samuel Haydens and Olivia Pierce's "plot" is a translation to how the player really doesn't care what's happening and is only there to play the game and slay demons. If you feel disinterested and uncaring for what's going on in terms of the story, then I believe that's what the devs were going for because DoomGuy feels the same exact way!
The joke stops being funny halfway through the game and they're not near as inventive about the individual gags as they need to be to keep the running joke anything but annoying. How many times do they expect people to enjoy that neither they nor Doom Guyington care about the story, before the issue becomes the story itself? Airplane and Monty Python kept themselves funny by pacing their running jokes with diverse gags meant to distract from the running jokes, making their return a surprise. Not so with Doom 2016 - the fact that you think it's due to "people not getting this sooner" shows intense arrogance on your part - no, son, you're just easily entertained.
This was an incredibly well spoken and critical review. I particularly enjoyed the dissection and analysis of the game in regards to: the relationship and comparison with previous Doom games, comparison with other triple A shooters and how Doom stands out, and discussion of the gameplay mechanics and how they make the game what it is. Best video review of a game that I've ever seen. 10/10
Hey there Noah! While I very much appreciate your insight on the DOOM series, I am also curious if you have any other insights on Shadow Warrior, a series that is also currently undergoing "90's FPS revival surgery". It just feels natural, to me, personally, that you could also, if you desire, share some thoughts on this topic, but that is up to you to decide and ultimately play if you haven't already. Keep up the good work!
+Bluehawk2008 I actually find it quite refreshing, it feels more intimate, live he's just talking to you without fancy editing or script. I mean sure I know he's reading from a script, but the lo fi style helps a lot to distract from that. I hope he never changes that
This is probably one of the best monologues about Doom I've listened to. You've captured what I feel is the spirit of what Doom is, was and, has always meant to be. At the end of the day Doom is like one of those action movies of yesteryear. It's an affair where you just turn your brain down to simmer and enjoy the ride. If you think about it too much you're bogged down by all the nonsense, but if you just sit back and run with it it's a feast for the senses. Collecting colored keys because you have to open the yellow door and who the hell knows why they're locked in the first place. Doom to me hearkens back on a simpler time. A time when we didn't have to be bogged down by things like hyper realism, reloading, loadouts, and vertical progression systems and all the other trappings of modern shooters. Unbridled carnage keeps you moving. Rip and tear indeed.
This is unavoidably subjective in nature, but the feeling that the original Doom gave me was more similar to Doom 3 than Doom 2016. I know that many people enjoy the reboot of the series, while I suffer from my personal nostalgia for the past games. It’s unfortunate that this nostalgia gets in the way of my enjoyment of the games. I simply was hoping for a different experience. The feeling of gameplay is more like Unreal Tournament than Doom to me. And the level design feels like neither Romero nor Karmac... but more like playing an American McGee level on god mode (slight exaggeration, but you get the point, right?). To me, this is a complete departure from what I believe Doom’s true identity to be. It’s a hyper-focus on one of the many facets of Doom. The extreme nature of combat of some of the original Doom levels in hell were great, because it was different from the other levels, and it worked you up to it. It made you fear a certain enemy until you thought you could handle them, and then threw many of them at you at once, bringing the fear back by overwhelming you. The point being that the original Doom experience needed Romero’s levels for McGee’s levels to work. The variable pacing and rhythm is what keeps things interesting. Atmosphere is important as well... and it’s lacking definition in the reboot. It’s like every are is a re-skin of E4M1 being played in god mode. I know I am being overly reductive, but the fact is that I can’t remember the levels in Doom 2016... I just blew through them and there was nothing that stood out. The fear responses built in my brain in Doom 1, 2, and 3 have resulted in that if I go back any play the levels, I will remember where things are. The design of the levels that utilize lighting, sound, and the surprise of enemies that always posed a threat were always memorable in a way that was almost effortless.
Like I said, I can't judge it until I have my hands on it, but honestly I'm not really into the whole idea of arenas. One of my absolute favorite features of the original Doom games is you didn't have to kill any monsters if you didn't want to. You could basically just run through the map and avoid everything, which is what I often do because I enjoy playing games for speed instead of for kills. Idk, I don't know the exact rhythm of this new game but it *seems* to me like the game has destroyed any real chance of speedrunning, and of completing the game in a short amount of time (it typically takes me less than an hour to beat either of the first two Dooms, with Doom 1 I can beat it in about 15 minutes if I'm trying really hard). I don't know, when you remove the ease of speedrunning and turn it into a series of funnels with arena-based fighting stuff, it kind of reduces the game entirely to "casual play". I'm not saying casual gaming is a bad thing, I'm just saying that a major component that gives a game replay value to me is when a game allows you to go from being a casual player to being a more "hardcore player". Guitar Hero, for example, had difficulties that allowed it so that you could be playing easy songs on easy mode, and by the end of the year you're getting 5 stars on the hardest songs on Expert mode. Doom allowed you to casually shoot at monsters and look for keys, but allowed experienced players to run through the map and clear it in less than a minute. Half-life 1 I think is one of the best examples of a game allowing expert players a lot of freedom without hampering the experience for less experienced players. I can't tell because all I've seen is this video and Campster's stream of the game (he was asked about you on stream BTW and he said he watches your videos and thinks they're great, but that's paraphrasing). But idk, this game looks like fun but doesn't look like it can provide the same replay value that makes Doom 1 and 2 so essential as games in my possession. They're my most played games simply because it's so easy to start, beat, restart, and re-beat those games in the course of an afternoon. Great video btw!
+Malmrose Projects Doom and to a lesser extent Doom 2 were very time, place and particular people. They were lightning in a bottle. This game looks fun but Doom hasn't been Doom since the mid 90's. It's just a case of tastes and styles changing.
***** Well I think Doom 3 fits right in with what I want out of Doom, which is a fast rhythm of combat, projectile-dodging based mechanics and the ability to traverse a labyrinthine design at your own pace. This new Doom definitely has the first one, I don't recall any projectiles from gameplay footage I've seen but I'm sure it's there. What isn't there is the ability to go at your own pace, it seems like in the new game you're forced to go at the game's pace, which is the opposite of what made Doom and early shooters special to me. It was around the time of Halo 1 where shooters started to trend away from going at your own pace, and that's also when they started to decline in quality for me, even though I loved a few shooters up until COD 4, that was the last shooter I really loved.
Malmrose Projects I think that may have been due to the limitations of the hardware at the time. I know that Doom was always meant to be a fast past keep you on your toes run and gun. I just think at the time they were limited by processor power. They weren't able to render a ton of sprites on the screen or include decent AI so you ended up with a limited amount of enemies. That said have you played Hard Reset? It's a great fps with a very old school feel to it.
***** I'm sorry that I offended your delicate gamer sensibilities by liking a game. It's ok to cry, I know that it hurts when you see that someone likes a game that you didn't like. There there, it's gonna be alright
Out of pure coincidence I installed my Doom BFG edition on steam when the new Doom dropped. This has made me want to check it out even more now. Thanks for this comparison!
Also, one of my professors was actually working on this for a while before the cancellation you mentioned. I really want to sit and play this with him.
I really enjoyed your unique take on reviewing this game, and I especially enjoyed your heavy metal analogy, although being a lifelong metal fan/musician has desensitized me to the harshness of the genre. :D Good work, sir.
I love the way he narrates, in fact, id pay him to narrate when my and the wife get jiggy. " Acting llke the alfa male he is, he slides it in. Like a Eskimo child sliding down a snowy hill. A earthworm moving through its tunnel. Once a mere child, his wife, has now become a true woman. If not at base but at heart. "
Hi, i need to draw the attention to a particular statement; at 5:21 Noah says: '''DOOM I and II could not on a technical level ever come close to any kind of realism - so they never tried'' - that is simply not true. The creators of Doom I and II were very concerned with realism, and wanted to get away from the arcade feeling of video games, on the contrary to what the narrator says. The very genre of 3D first person shooters was about the realistic feeling at the beginning, and that ball started rolling with DOOM I and II. The creators of DOOM II got rid of the whole idea of collecting points via artefacts, top charts, and the 'starting with three lives' thing - none of those were present in DOOM II exactly because the creators, like John Romero, strived for realism, and tried to move as far away from the arcade approach as possible. I recommend to everyone to watch any of the interviews with the original creator of Doom, John Romero - there are several on youtube, he is just an awesome dude who can really talk about videogames for what they are. Also I would recommend to Noah to stop clinging to modernism in his critique practice.
Thanks for a perceptive and clearly argued analysis, as always (I especially liked your comparison of DOOM to heavy metal music). Doom 2016 being such a "devotional" reboot in relation to its genre-defining predecessors is both unexpected and fascinating in ways that, among other things, nicely illustrates the need for thoughtful discussion of gaming culture. If even something as seemingly simple as a Doom game can get *this* gleefully self-referential, critics such as yourself really do have their work cut out for them... ;) In thinking about what DOOM means for the genre I tend to come back to an old pet peeve of mine, which is the common characterization of the original Doom games as "twitch shooters". While Doom 1993 is certainly *faster* than some modern shooters (heavily scripted and cover-based as they often are), at least in my own experience the sprawling levels, huge number of enemies, relative scarcity of ammo and limited pre-mouse look controls of the first two games actually encourages a quite methodical play style while punishing unnecessary risk-taking. Simply running straight into a room full of demons could easily get you killed in old Doom (especially on the higher difficulty settings), whereas Doom 2016 is all *about* running into a room full of demons... I'd argue that the "real" twitch shooter comes onto the scene with games like Quake III - something of a revisionist throwback in its own right - and has its singleplayer equivalents in later "old school" shooters such as Painkiller and to some extent Serious Sam (significantly, the battle arena was never a huge part of Doom 1-2's levels but it's a fundamental structural component of many of these games - including Doom 2016, as you discuss in this video). While ostensibly being grounded in the history of FPS design, what's emerged as "arcade" or "twitch" shooters in recent years is (perhaps inevitably) a modern twist on the genre which is less faithful (but also less conservative) than what is often assumed. And there's of course nothing wrong with that, especially when the end result is as good as DOOM...
I liked the lore and story. I enjoy grounding elements, the universe in the game takes itself seriously, even if the Doom Slayer or the player doesn't.
Excellent writing, as usual. Though I think the production values on this video were a bit lacking. I understand you wanted to strike while the iron was hot on this one, so didn't have a ton of time to get it out and be relevant during the post-release fervor. But maybe take a little extra time to edit out the mouse clicks and check your camera focus for the ending Thanks Yous.
WhiteZero Then you should know mouse clicks & poor focus are par for the course. Though a lot of ppl do seem to be upset about the clicking. I didn't even notice.
TheSoulHarvester Not upset at all. Just that the clicks are WAY more prevalent in this video than past ones. And c'mon, focus issues have never been that bad. It's healthy to have constructive criticism for a thing you love.
+WhiteZero Sorry it took me a minute to get around to replying-- I really agree, the production values are pretty out of step with how I want my channel to be. What happened was that Doom came out Thursday night, and I also had to work 18 hours of pizza (I only work weekends now, but Doom hit me right in the schedule) from Friday to Sunday. So I didn't really sleep all weekend, a couple cat naps here and there, but I had been up for 40 hours by the time I hit 'publish'. So, on the one hand, it's sloppy and that's a totally valid thing to say. I'm doing another video this month, though, and I'll make sure it'll be cleaner. On the other hand, this is pretty much what the games crit equivalent of speed running looks like and I think I did all right by that.
Now I really have to get this ... though I'll have to wait for a hefty sale. Hey id software -- No chance of releasing a couple of levels as shareware? Like in 1993?
Did you ever end up getting it? I just finished my first playthrough & I’m kicking myself for sleeping on the game for so long, whilst also happy that I get a brand new follow up so soon after.
23:38 Aerial Badger Release? If I heard that correctly, I think he/she needs to be supported on Patreon for the name alone! A very enjoyable critique. If only more game journalism could be done this way.
The only thing I disagreed with was when you said the new plasma rifle feels like DOom3's plasma rifle. Thats one thing in 25 minutes talking about DooM. 10/10 would share this video with friends again.
+Engel I completely agree. The plasma rifle in Doom 4 worked nothing like the plasma rifle in Doom 3. In fact the plasma rifle and shotgun were the only guns I liked more in doom 3 than doom 4. Then you got the super shotgun so the shotgun meant literally nothing any way. lol
TheSoulHarvester That makes sense if he didnt use the word 'feel'. But it really doesnt matter, I'm not going to continue to nitpick on one thing I didnt agree on :P
+Jarek you liked the Doom 3 shotgun more? Didn't that thing just not function at all unless you were 2 inches away from whatever you were trying to shoot? I think it was 2004 that shotguns went from the tight-spread short-to-medium range devastation of half life 1 and halo 1 to the feeble point-blank melee weapons of doom 3 and halo 2.
Great review, seriously great - everything in this review was a clarifying idea, something I'd thoroughly enjoyed playing this game, but until this analysis haven't understood why
You could up your audio quality by leaps and bounds if you threw your vocal track in something simple like cool edit pro, zoomed into the wave form and identified any breath points to highlight then silence, and then ran it through a 4.1 compressor. You'd sound super robust and clean.
I just beat the game so I could watch this review. And boy howdy is this review accurate. It's really amazing how much boldness Doom 2016 has. To be bold and to be smart about it. They were clever in how they kept up the game's pace, action, and rhythms- and at first did so even narratively. It really is so bizarre how that got turned around in the story. They're so clear on their intent with the story early on that it just seems like someone in the higher ups just HAD to have intervened. The second the game starts exposition, Doomguy just chucks the screen away. It's such an amazing moment that I really thought Doom 2016 could be making a huge statement and could turn the tide of shooter narratives a bit. Maybe nothing so dramatic, but it felt like they were really trying to make a point with that- a point other developers would have closely listened to if they didn't back pedal on it. Less talk more rock! But then the later sections happen where you're stuck in a room listening to some no-body rattle off about nothing. You can't shoot, you can't explore, you just bounce around his office waiting to kill again. What happened?! In that way, Doom disappointed me, but it's only one comparably small way. (Also no skipping cutscenes, that's another misstep.) The rest really is clever and classic. A great mix of contemporary and retro that I do hope other devs are paying close attention to. This kind of shooter is still fun, even after so many years. And a lot of people are hungry for them.
Great analysis as always Noah. Between the Doom reboot and Wolfenstein The New Order, there's a really strong resurgence going on for single player focused shooters. Maybe iD will reboot Quake at some point to complete the trifecta.
I started playing the original Doom games only a little before this new one was announced, and I have to say I don't like the new one as much as others seem to. I think the first difference that struck me was the inclusion of small "cutscenes" in the new game. Stuff like picking up a key card, taking the time to show ripping off a comms panel, or that dreadful part where I was jumping around Hayden's room for 5 minutes while he exposition'd at me. 1990s Doom is just, here's the first level, go kill until you beat the episode. Need a key? Just run over it. I can even breeze through the stat screens in less than a second if I spam click. The second thing (and maybe I've just played too many crazy wads) is the lack of enemies. There was no time in new Doom I remember where I felt I was about to get overwhelmed like in some custom Doom wads I've played on the originals, which can contain literally 100 enemies for me to fight against at once. They were revenants and hell knights with a couple cyberdemons mixed in and beating them after about 50 tries was amazing. That wasn't even the full level. I know it's probably a tech thing but still, it's just something that make the original Dooms much better imo. The third, on the subject of wads, was the abysmal level creator. Compared to the freedom of being able to draw maps directly with linedefs and sectors, in any shape I can imagine (even including faux-3D rooms over rooms with sourceports), and fill those maps with as many enemies as I please, the snap map was frustratingly limited and frankly boring. I'm surprised at the praise it was given in this video. I suppose the intention was nice, but pre-made sections fitting together like a jigsaw, only to be filled with 12 demons maximum (without messing around with the janky coding system)? That's just nothing like the Doom I've come to know with the originals. It has been a long while since I tried the snapmap though, so maybe they've updated it to be more... creatively free? Either way I'm having much more fun creating a dumb wad for Doom 2 than I could ever squeeze out of snapmap. It's not a bad game I'll admit, and I did have fun when I first played it. But it's not as fast, or challanging, or potentially crazy as the old classics. I've never had any motivation to come back to new Doom after beating it once and messing with the snapmap for maybe 5 hours, but I'm still playing Doom 2 wads, even while watching this.
i believe that the story is very important to the overall feel of the campaign. The story is not there to explain the situation to players and to immerse them into the world, but to contrast what the characters in the story wants the player to do versus what the player wants to do. The story is there for parody ONLY. It is not there to be taken seriously, but to enhance the surrealism of what you are doing in the game. If it was not there, I believe the total impact of the game would be blander.
What a great game. Definitely my favorite so far of 2016. I never preorder and never buy games on day one of release anymore. In fact I always wait for a sale but I just couldn't wait this time and bought Doom a day after it released and I have not been more pleased with a game in a very, very long time. Also this was a great vid Noah. Your turn of phrase is spectacular. I especially like your insight about the game being a ritual. Now that was some good writing, well done sir!
incredibly well spoken!!! best intelligently informed commentary on a video game I've heard in ages. polished, well written and thought provoking...this is how game journalism should b. the only minor minor minor complaint is the shitty "title card" drawn by a child. Type something, use an interesting font, think about composition, ANYTHING would be better than a piece of printer paper with poop shaped into words on it. seriously though, as far as content goes, you get an A+
I'm pretty sad that I don't have the budget for a computer to play this on, so I won't get a chance to play it possibly for years. I'm a huuuge Doom fan (my first memory as a kid was playing Doom and being terrified, and I've kept up with the series throughout the course of its lifespan). I even did a full retrospective on all of the games they've released. If you ask me though, if there's a *most important* thing that Doom needs to get right, it's the shotgun. The first Doom transformed the first person shooter as a genre with the introduction of a shotgun. It became the "default weapon" for long sections of the game, especially during E1, and the reason why it became a default was because it felt so satisfying to use. The impact of each hit against an enemy was felt because of the "game feel", and I think that's one of the key factors in determining the strength of a new Doom re-boot. For example, Doom 3's shotgun *also* feels very satisfying to use. By contrast, the shotgun in Doom 64 isn't very satisfying and is, in many ways, more similar to the Quake shotgun than the Doom shotgun, which reflects Doom 64's design philosophy of trying to be more like Quake (because Quake was the most recent popular shooter at the time and Doom 64 wasn't developed by id). So it's impossible for me to know how I feel about the new Doom until I get my hands on the game and actually use specifically the shotgun - it's typically the standard weapon in a shooter, and it's the one that I think games have the most incentive to get right. Because really, all I ask of a game is that if it's going to be repetitive (emphasizing shooting for example), then I want the repeated action of killing monsters to feel great every time.
"Doom 3's shotgun also feels very satisfying to use." How so? It is badly underpowered unless you shoot it point blank. The machine gun is much more efficient and is therefore the default weapon in that game. Once you get the SSG, D3's regular shotgun becomes pretty much useless.
I use the regular pump action or chrome shotgun in L4D2 and forgo double pistols or the desert eagle despite it being silly to do that as you are much weaker... However it is far more satisfying finishing a tank as it is closing in on you by a single bullet from a pistol than with some powerful weapon. Same with the shotgun from Doom 3
Ryan Duncan That's one way of looking at it. You should have a blast using only the default pistol, then... ;) Personally, I find no satisfaction in having to make do with the shortcomings of a shitty weapon. In the original game, no weapon is shit. Even the weak pistol has its use against the zombies in order to save shotgun ammo. For the Doom 3 shotgun to do significant damage, you have to get real close, which totally defeats the purpose of a ranged weapon. And as a melee weapon, the chainsaw is much funnier to use.
"Doom is a ritual and players are invited to accept communion at its alter"
Great line.
Doom is a pie eating contest where the prize is more pie.
Mehdi Husain Perfect description of this game.
I plagiarised Matthew Weiner talking about writing for television :)
You should write this somewhere, amazing.
And the pie is pie flavor
And the pie is on fire...
While the game does poke fun at the concept of a story pretty early on, the story itself is actually pretty present, with a lot of love & care put into it. You can choose to ignore it & “just kill” but I feel you get more out of it with a little understanding.
Not often I hear quite this level of wordsmithing about a game, especially one like doom. Thanks!
+Slow Wolf Gaming would recommend some of his other videos as well.
Ive been binge watching them. Seriously smart content. I'm jealous really, I can't write half as well and content like this is miles ahead of so many other things I've watched or made.
I respectfully disagree about the codex; I think from a pacing perspective it's a good compromise. Instead of stopping and reading for minutes, you come back and read it when you're ready for a break from combat. But still, brilliant analysis as always, really enjoying your content!
I never expected YOUR Doom video to beat everyone else's to one of the first.
Man, what a professionally done critique. Very well organized and written.
I don't think that you explicitly said this, but I really like how the meta, mythical, elemental, recurring presence of this game justifies the title. It's not called Doom 4 because that would reduce it to a link on a chain; instead, it's just Doom, a monolithic idea that stands alone.
Yes, exactly. People want shit to fit in a neat and tidy package at all times. No. This is Doom. Deal with it.
Love how he just beats the hell out of the upgrade bot thing, lmao. Doomguy needs therapy cause his anger issues have anger issues lmao.
His anger issues is what's so lovable about him :D
He's a great guy,
just don't let him be designated driver if there's gonna likely be a traffic jam... @__@
The new DOOM reminds me so much of the new Shadow Warrior. They both try to be as old school as possible, whilst having modern gameplay.
Noah, this is all really well done, but I think you missed a very important detail about the plot. Or rather, why its there. You say its a misstep to have such a serious, drag plot, and even mention why its a good thing without realizing why.
It's there for the joke. The plot is all there but neither you nor your character give a shit. You're there to break, so you break. You aren't taking part in the story, you're just rippin' and tearin'.
One of my favorite details is how whenever Samuel lures the Marine into one of these story scenes it's either under the promise of items or begins with an attempt to win him over with powerups. It's also kind of funny how the ending is literally just Samuel saying:
"You did it! You win! The end! BTW I'm not the badguy but give me that demon sword, people need to keep their icecream cold back on earth, GG goodbye see you next game."
Jaxxoon R That sums it up so well.
+TrueFriends HelpMoveBodies That's pretty much exactly what I took away from the "story" of the game aswell. I love how Doom Guy can convey so much contempt and rage over the stupidity of these humans without saying a word.
Yes, you're right, but what you and the Noah missed though, is that the plot is quite heavy if you read the codex.
JustASuscriber I'm saving all of the Codex for when I 100% this save file, which I'm doing today. Just one more data log.
6:00
When you said "A force of Unbridled Avarice", it didn't make any actuall connection to the Doom Marine. He is a force, he is unbridled, but Avarice means extreme greed. He doesn't slay the countless hell spawn for material gain or reward, he destroys them all because that is what he wants to do. And nothing will stand in his way while he is still alive and kicking.
Sorry if this comes across as really picky. It just erked me I guess. X)
Anyways, keep up the great reviews.
Yeah, I'm aware of the error now. I once asked my parents what the word meant when I was a kid and they misidentified it, and I've gotten it wrong ever since. I'm going to be working with an editor in future videos to help me catch stupid mistakes like that.
It's all good man. I need to learn to keep my OCD out of the comment section. Haha. XD
Like I said, keep it up. This review was fantastic.
irk*
Im not sure if you -really- got the old DooMs. They really weren't that brutal or fast paced, and the combat loop didn't really "reward mercilessness" so much as other games. It was a lot slower and more methodical than people give it credit for; the core gameplay loop was mostly just that of exploring the mazelike levels, hunting keys and health and ammo. It was all in the map design. I think people exaggerate the fast twitchy nature of DooM, when compared to modern tactical stuff, and often kind of confuse it with things like quake and serious sam which are more similar.
DooM 4's sort of battle arena and regenerating health via aggression was a big step in a different direction. A good direction, but not the same as the classics.
The first Doom was definitely not the balls-to-the-wall action game that people seem to remember. The enemies weren't that numerous nor individually dangerous, the monster closets weren't very intense, and the levels were fairly large, often requiring backtracking. Doom 2 was more reflex-based, thanks to new enemies and items, as well as tighter level design, though it never felt like facing demonic hordes. I feel as if Doom 3 and 4 were remakes of the first two games respectively, but by using exaggerations of their respective speeds.
"The beads of the rosary and the bullets of the chaingun, put to the same purpose."
Damn, that's a fine turn of phrase, Noah. Well said.
Subscribed. Now THIS is games criticism
+Surgery Kult you should also check ACG channel
Okie dokie!
Shit yer and hes good
Now THIS is podracing!
Now THIS is shitposting!
Holy shit that opening dialog was fucking hardcore.
CLICK
Your correlation of DOOM's sensibilities to heavy metal is, quite simply, brilliant. Well played.
I'm so happy to play a shooter like this again. The modern FPS tropes of regenerating health, two weapons only, and focusing on taking cover has become so mundane to me.Hope this game is a success sells wise.
oh my god that doom comic voice was fucking hilarious.
Eric Smyrski I V A N T H E S P A C E B I K E R
DOOM is alternate history; it shows what games would have been like if there would never have been half life.
It makes me hope the new game is a major success, because it's technologically intruiging.
+MsLia32 i would want to have the prequel of this game . on how he defeated the titan .
The single player totally. The multi-player fell into the trap of making too many concessions to modern conventions of PvP design.
I don't think the 'games without Half-Life' sentiment is true, HL is slower, but it's not the cover-camp scripted urgency of modern warfare style games.
The new DOOM is what DOOM would have always been if it had stayed true to itself while taking appropriate influence from meaningful titles like HL.
***** I don't think he's accusing Half-Life itself as being those things because you're right, it isn't. It's that developers took some of the wrong lessons from Half-Life which steered the genre towards making narrative increasingly important.
I agree with your second paragraph completely though.
Doom is now the third-most important shooter to hit shelves. Do games even sit on shelves anymore? I digress.
Half-Life obviously changed the entertainment industry forever. It was and remains the most important PC game ever conceived, if not the most important video game ever made. Bioshock followed suit and took the concepts and heart Half-Life espouses to the masses with wide console releases. Levine and Irrational Games truly hit a home run. And Doom brings us full circle combining tasteful modern "leveling up" game mechanics, brilliant art direction, and furious sound design with lethal and ferocious game play.
But Doom reminds us why we love this genre, why shooters always have been and always will be The Supreme genre available: brutal immersion and weight. Playing the avatar is just so much fun when done right. While the industry can't stop its collective circle jerk of dumbshit military "sim" titles with B-level voice acting and uninspired game play Doom reminds us that, hey, it is pretty fucking fun to chainsaw some asshole demon in two. What makes Doom even more fun is that the developers *know* what they have made is more than just a mechanically sound, kickass experience. It is a perpetual big middle finger to every other major studio working on Dumbfuck Shooter 14: Just Like 13 But Even Less Believable; Seriously, We Challenge You to Believe Any of This Shit Anymore.
Doom will be remembered in any discussion of Modern Shooters, right alongside Half-Life and Bioshock. Not because it inherently blew any minds, like Half-Life and Bioshock, but because it reminds gamers that "fun" is still the main point here and that it put this industry in check while doing it.
The doom 4 plasma gun is nothing like the doom 3 plasma gun. The doom 3 plasma gun was the only gun I actually liked more.
Did you type this while wearing the hat?
@@Regularguy220 he typed this back when the FOV slider wasn’t important yet.
Love your videos.
You're part of a dying breed.
Much respect.
I actually really loved the story. The game didn't try to stuff it down your throat, and the whole point of the Doom-Slayers interaction with that story is that he doesn't give a shit about any of it. That's the conceit of its inclusion. It made me want to know more about what was happening by not including too many details, while not sacrificing gameplay to serve that story. I thought that was rather tasteful.
+Noah Caldwell-Gervais
I watched all of it. Well... you convinced me. I am one of those people that loved all the DOOM games till now, DOOM 3 and ROE included. This I like. Too bad for the terminals and bad story, but ...
Well I will be buying this! Thank you!
Did you bought it? Have you enjoyed it?
From now on all games need to have a quest where you put a spork in a sprocket to charge a demon locket.
Great video as always, thanks for making it.
Sounds like a quest for Guybrush Threepwood.
"YOU HAVE TO PUT THE SPORK IN THE SPROCKET TO CHARGE THE DEMON LOCKET!"
Sorry, it's just a fantastic quote.
I've been anticipating this video, so thank you for delivering, Noah!
+TheDOMAN127 YEs ty
Quake deserves a visit from your insight and native skills, Noah.
You are a wonderful person for having taken the time to make this video.
the beads of the rosary and the bullets of the chaingun. epic.
above all else, another great video. thank you professor.
This feels like the videogame influential equivalent of what Mad Max: Fury Road did in 2015.
A commentary on Doom worthy of the Wall Street Journal. No snark, that's a genuine compliment.
Fastest Noah video, 2 days after launch. Nice
This was an extremely well written and thought out review of Doom. I like your style and substance. Subscribed.
Excellent video, as always!
I do have a slight rebuttal I want to add on your points about the game's plot, however. The plot is dead simple, and the beats of it are fully established before the title card. The UAC is getting Clean Renewable Hell Energy from Hell™, and the lady in charge of getting it has had to work with enough ruinous powers to throughly corrupt her, as hinted at in the very first hologram you see in the game. Sam Hayden, or rather Dr. Robot, is carefully explaining through the entire game that everything that happened was for good, rational, civilized reasons. The Doom Guy hears this line, looks at one of the dead people all this has caused, and then punches the comm terminal Dr. Robot is speaking out of. Title Card.
A year after playing this game, I came around to reading the original Conan the Barbarian stories by Robert E. Howard, and was a little amused how the theme of 'civilized injustice' vs. 'barbaric simplicity' was echoed in DOOM 2016. Hayden tells you about the civilized impetus this entire thing started, the Doctor Lady was the obvious corruption, and the Doom Marine is the rampaging barbarian who doesn't care about the the meaning of any of this because there is literally no good reason to fiddle with the forces of hell and these idiots have deluded themselves entirely too far.
You mentioned that the game didn't really have to try to do any of this, and you're right. And I think that ties into what you said about how this game is a major re-examination of the structure of shooters today. A lot of games have this plot that's supposed to be intrinsically important, and DOOM 2016's plot I think is a hot take on the idea. You _can_ pay attention, but you don't have to, because the game makes the startling move to have a lot of plot available, but make absolutely no assumption that the player gives the slightest damn that it happens. Which I think is the most daring game design decision since the voice direction of JC Denton in the original Deus Ex, another game that had a lot going on, but made no assumption that you gave a shit. And if that's not leveraging the power of videogames, I don't know what is.
Nice Jethro Tull, my man
I too am terrible at finding secrets. I found maybe 1/4 of them and only one classic map. I don't know if you know this but you can actually play the classic maps outside the campaign. Anyway I totally agree DOOM is one of the most entertaining FPS campaigns I have played in years and one of the best of all time. I absolutely adored the momentum of the game, RIP AND TEAR indeed!!
AND TEAR!
This game is so much fun. Sidenote. I'm so grateful to have found your channel. Many youtubers are verbose in their discussion, but few have such an eloquent way of expressing their love for this medium. Cheers
You should've titled this video: Ode to Doom 2016 because that's exactly what it was
Glory kills are like a kickass drum fill and when it's over you move on to the next crushing riff.
Your writing and speaking is so strong that it's vaguely reminiscent of Alan Watt's lectures. Truly an impressive analysis video. I've enjoyed seeing your takes on the DOOM series.
'The beads of the rosary, and the bullets of the chain-gun; put to the same purpose.'
This kind of insightful, witty writing is why I subbed to Noah
I loved your statement of "the beads of the rosary and the bullets of the chain gun put to the same purpose"
I think my favourite thing about the game is how well the weapons work together. The rapid pace lead to some amazing improvised tactics as you jump and weave around the area, stunning demons with the plasma rifle, chainsawing them apart for more ammo and then using the super shotgun when they get too close.
You’re a wonderful person for making these!
The best part of Doom (2016) was when Doom Slayer yelled "It's Doomin' time!" and Doomed all over the demons
I hate this joke set up. It's not even a joke.
Excellent and poetic critique, thank you. Can't wait to play it. Deserves to be seen by more people. Probably will be the definitive critique of the game.
Nice Review. I enjoy your work.
There are some areas where we disagree, but good review overall.
I think the codex is preferential to the system you're talking about, because it lets the player decide when/if they want to get into the lore. Doing it your way would force the player to make a decision right at that moment, where the codex is available at any point, and you don't have to replay a level if you decide you do want to know what's going on.
As a side note, if anyone hasn't read the codex stuff, it is pretty interesting. Especially the entries on the demons.
The story is simple, and I think it has it's place in the game. The motivation of the villain is a bit more than what you laid out, here. *SMALL SPOILER* Right before the final boss fight, when you see her in hell, she says "they promised me so much...", which indicates she did all this for some sort of personal gain, not just because the demons told her to do things. They must have promised her something she REALLY wanted.
Furthermore, I think (and I know a LOT of people would agree) that the minimal story is an actual benefit to the game.
Wow. This is really good. You should write for some gaming media outlets like PCGamer or Gamespot, if you don't already. You give really great commentary and intelligent insight.
I'm surprised people don't catch onto this sooner. The player, and DoomGuy are extensions of each other in their interest of playing the game and slaying demons. Doomguys disinterest in Samuel Haydens and Olivia Pierce's "plot" is a translation to how the player really doesn't care what's happening and is only there to play the game and slay demons.
If you feel disinterested and uncaring for what's going on in terms of the story, then I believe that's what the devs were going for because DoomGuy feels the same exact way!
The joke stops being funny halfway through the game and they're not near as inventive about the individual gags as they need to be to keep the running joke anything but annoying. How many times do they expect people to enjoy that neither they nor Doom Guyington care about the story, before the issue becomes the story itself? Airplane and Monty Python kept themselves funny by pacing their running jokes with diverse gags meant to distract from the running jokes, making their return a surprise. Not so with Doom 2016 - the fact that you think it's due to "people not getting this sooner" shows intense arrogance on your part - no, son, you're just easily entertained.
This is by far the most articulate and well written review I've ever seen on UA-cam. I tip my hat to you, good sir! Well done! :)
Honestly the quality and frequency of your content output is outstanding.
Guys consider donating to Noah's Patreon!
This was an incredibly well spoken and critical review. I particularly enjoyed the dissection and analysis of the game in regards to: the relationship and comparison with previous Doom games, comparison with other triple A shooters and how Doom stands out, and discussion of the gameplay mechanics and how they make the game what it is. Best video review of a game that I've ever seen. 10/10
Hey there Noah!
While I very much appreciate your insight on the DOOM series, I am also curious if you have any other insights on Shadow Warrior, a series that is also currently undergoing "90's FPS revival surgery".
It just feels natural, to me, personally, that you could also, if you desire, share some thoughts on this topic, but that is up to you to decide and ultimately play if you haven't already.
Keep up the good work!
Is the long-take audio complete with mouse clicks a deliberate lo-fi aesthetic choice?
+Bluehawk2008 I love the intros.
Not the intro, the actual review itself is raw audio.
Bluehawk2008 No, I realize that. Like you said, lo-fi, like his intros. So I would say it is all got a certain lo-fi feel.
+Bluehawk2008 You have to admit, that reading the whole text, without stopping and keeping up the tone is quiet a feat. All in one take O.O
+Bluehawk2008 I actually find it quite refreshing, it feels more intimate, live he's just talking to you without fancy editing or script. I mean sure I know he's reading from a script, but the lo fi style helps a lot to distract from that. I hope he never changes that
well written, and well read, much better than most reviewers on UA-cam. good luck with the channel
one thing that really impressed me about the original doom secrets, is they retained the lighting system of the original game.
They did? I remember watching a video showing the E1M2 maze and it was all fullbrights.
you should write a book about gaming
Had a feeling you'd be covering this. Always glad when you post new videos!
"Not just a space marine, but THE space marine,"
The Ultramarines disagree.
Love your vids, keep up the good work!
+MadmanRobi you mean those green ghost marines that look like knights that you see in the hell levels?
+4T3hM4kr0n! No, I'm talking about the Space Marines from Warhammer 40,000. They're pretty cool.
Hah, pussies they are! They need bulky armors to protect their delicate flesh, whereas Doomguy rips and tears with a bare belly...
Psalm696969 plus they have Cato sicaris a man with the voice of the love child of gravel spilling into a tube and a chainsaw
This is probably one of the best monologues about Doom I've listened to. You've captured what I feel is the spirit of what Doom is, was and, has always meant to be. At the end of the day Doom is like one of those action movies of yesteryear. It's an affair where you just turn your brain down to simmer and enjoy the ride. If you think about it too much you're bogged down by all the nonsense, but if you just sit back and run with it it's a feast for the senses. Collecting colored keys because you have to open the yellow door and who the hell knows why they're locked in the first place. Doom to me hearkens back on a simpler time. A time when we didn't have to be bogged down by things like hyper realism, reloading, loadouts, and vertical progression systems and all the other trappings of modern shooters. Unbridled carnage keeps you moving. Rip and tear indeed.
upvoted for the great jethro tull track ;)
This is unavoidably subjective in nature, but the feeling that the original Doom gave me was more similar to Doom 3 than Doom 2016.
I know that many people enjoy the reboot of the series, while I suffer from my personal nostalgia for the past games. It’s unfortunate that this nostalgia gets in the way of my enjoyment of the games. I simply was hoping for a different experience. The feeling of gameplay is more like Unreal Tournament than Doom to me. And the level design feels like neither Romero nor Karmac... but more like playing an American McGee level on god mode (slight exaggeration, but you get the point, right?). To me, this is a complete departure from what I believe Doom’s true identity to be. It’s a hyper-focus on one of the many facets of Doom. The extreme nature of combat of some of the original Doom levels in hell were great, because it was different from the other levels, and it worked you up to it. It made you fear a certain enemy until you thought you could handle them, and then threw many of them at you at once, bringing the fear back by overwhelming you. The point being that the original Doom experience needed Romero’s levels for McGee’s levels to work. The variable pacing and rhythm is what keeps things interesting.
Atmosphere is important as well... and it’s lacking definition in the reboot. It’s like every are is a re-skin of E4M1 being played in god mode. I know I am being overly reductive, but the fact is that I can’t remember the levels in Doom 2016... I just blew through them and there was nothing that stood out. The fear responses built in my brain in Doom 1, 2, and 3 have resulted in that if I go back any play the levels, I will remember where things are. The design of the levels that utilize lighting, sound, and the surprise of enemies that always posed a threat were always memorable in a way that was almost effortless.
Like I said, I can't judge it until I have my hands on it, but honestly I'm not really into the whole idea of arenas. One of my absolute favorite features of the original Doom games is you didn't have to kill any monsters if you didn't want to. You could basically just run through the map and avoid everything, which is what I often do because I enjoy playing games for speed instead of for kills.
Idk, I don't know the exact rhythm of this new game but it *seems* to me like the game has destroyed any real chance of speedrunning, and of completing the game in a short amount of time (it typically takes me less than an hour to beat either of the first two Dooms, with Doom 1 I can beat it in about 15 minutes if I'm trying really hard). I don't know, when you remove the ease of speedrunning and turn it into a series of funnels with arena-based fighting stuff, it kind of reduces the game entirely to "casual play". I'm not saying casual gaming is a bad thing, I'm just saying that a major component that gives a game replay value to me is when a game allows you to go from being a casual player to being a more "hardcore player". Guitar Hero, for example, had difficulties that allowed it so that you could be playing easy songs on easy mode, and by the end of the year you're getting 5 stars on the hardest songs on Expert mode. Doom allowed you to casually shoot at monsters and look for keys, but allowed experienced players to run through the map and clear it in less than a minute. Half-life 1 I think is one of the best examples of a game allowing expert players a lot of freedom without hampering the experience for less experienced players.
I can't tell because all I've seen is this video and Campster's stream of the game (he was asked about you on stream BTW and he said he watches your videos and thinks they're great, but that's paraphrasing). But idk, this game looks like fun but doesn't look like it can provide the same replay value that makes Doom 1 and 2 so essential as games in my possession. They're my most played games simply because it's so easy to start, beat, restart, and re-beat those games in the course of an afternoon.
Great video btw!
+Malmrose Projects Doom and to a lesser extent Doom 2 were very time, place and particular people. They were lightning in a bottle. This game looks fun but Doom hasn't been Doom since the mid 90's. It's just a case of tastes and styles changing.
*****
Well I think Doom 3 fits right in with what I want out of Doom, which is a fast rhythm of combat, projectile-dodging based mechanics and the ability to traverse a labyrinthine design at your own pace. This new Doom definitely has the first one, I don't recall any projectiles from gameplay footage I've seen but I'm sure it's there. What isn't there is the ability to go at your own pace, it seems like in the new game you're forced to go at the game's pace, which is the opposite of what made Doom and early shooters special to me. It was around the time of Halo 1 where shooters started to trend away from going at your own pace, and that's also when they started to decline in quality for me, even though I loved a few shooters up until COD 4, that was the last shooter I really loved.
Malmrose Projects I think that may have been due to the limitations of the hardware at the time. I know that Doom was always meant to be a fast past keep you on your toes run and gun. I just think at the time they were limited by processor power. They weren't able to render a ton of sprites on the screen or include decent AI so you ended up with a limited amount of enemies. That said have you played Hard Reset? It's a great fps with a very old school feel to it.
***** I'm sorry that I offended your delicate gamer sensibilities by liking a game. It's ok to cry, I know that it hurts when you see that someone likes a game that you didn't like. There there, it's gonna be alright
***** 2edgy4me
Lovely critique. Your approach is intelligent, insightful, and thought-provoking.
Out of pure coincidence I installed my Doom BFG edition on steam when the new Doom dropped. This has made me want to check it out even more now. Thanks for this comparison!
Also, one of my professors was actually working on this for a while before the cancellation you mentioned. I really want to sit and play this with him.
I really enjoyed your unique take on reviewing this game, and I especially enjoyed your heavy metal analogy, although being a lifelong metal fan/musician has desensitized me to the harshness of the genre. :D Good work, sir.
I love the way he narrates, in fact, id pay him to narrate when my and the wife get jiggy.
" Acting llke the alfa male he is, he slides it in. Like a Eskimo child sliding down a snowy hill. A earthworm moving through its tunnel. Once a mere child, his wife, has now become a true woman. If not at base but at heart. "
Hi, i need to draw the attention to a particular statement; at 5:21 Noah says: '''DOOM I and II could not on a technical level ever come close to any kind of realism - so they never tried'' - that is simply not true. The creators of Doom I and II were very concerned with realism, and wanted to get away from the arcade feeling of video games, on the contrary to what the narrator says. The very genre of 3D first person shooters was about the realistic feeling at the beginning, and that ball started rolling with DOOM I and II. The creators of DOOM II got rid of the whole idea of collecting points via artefacts, top charts, and the 'starting with three lives' thing - none of those were present in DOOM II exactly because the creators, like John Romero, strived for realism, and tried to move as far away from the arcade approach as possible.
I recommend to everyone to watch any of the interviews with the original creator of Doom, John Romero - there are several on youtube, he is just an awesome dude who can really talk about videogames for what they are.
Also I would recommend to Noah to stop clinging to modernism in his critique practice.
A reviewer, who can formulate his thoughts clearly, eloquently, actually has a point and can speak well? How did I not find this channel before?
Thanks for a perceptive and clearly argued analysis, as always (I especially liked your comparison of DOOM to heavy metal music). Doom 2016 being such a "devotional" reboot in relation to its genre-defining predecessors is both unexpected and fascinating in ways that, among other things, nicely illustrates the need for thoughtful discussion of gaming culture. If even something as seemingly simple as a Doom game can get *this* gleefully self-referential, critics such as yourself really do have their work cut out for them... ;)
In thinking about what DOOM means for the genre I tend to come back to an old pet peeve of mine, which is the common characterization of the original Doom games as "twitch shooters". While Doom 1993 is certainly *faster* than some modern shooters (heavily scripted and cover-based as they often are), at least in my own experience the sprawling levels, huge number of enemies, relative scarcity of ammo and limited pre-mouse look controls of the first two games actually encourages a quite methodical play style while punishing unnecessary risk-taking. Simply running straight into a room full of demons could easily get you killed in old Doom (especially on the higher difficulty settings), whereas Doom 2016 is all *about* running into a room full of demons...
I'd argue that the "real" twitch shooter comes onto the scene with games like Quake III - something of a revisionist throwback in its own right - and has its singleplayer equivalents in later "old school" shooters such as Painkiller and to some extent Serious Sam (significantly, the battle arena was never a huge part of Doom 1-2's levels but it's a fundamental structural component of many of these games - including Doom 2016, as you discuss in this video). While ostensibly being grounded in the history of FPS design, what's emerged as "arcade" or "twitch" shooters in recent years is (perhaps inevitably) a modern twist on the genre which is less faithful (but also less conservative) than what is often assumed. And there's of course nothing wrong with that, especially when the end result is as good as DOOM...
Best review of any game I've ever seen. Eloquent and excellently put, incredible job.
I liked the lore and story. I enjoy grounding elements, the universe in the game takes itself seriously, even if the Doom Slayer or the player doesn't.
Best game analysis I have ever heard (and I've been a gamer for more than 20 years now).
I am very impressed :)
Noah, I love your videos and the writing within. Keep up the good work man, and I'll continue watching faithfully.
Excellent writing, as usual. Though I think the production values on this video were a bit lacking. I understand you wanted to strike while the iron was hot on this one, so didn't have a ton of time to get it out and be relevant during the post-release fervor. But maybe take a little extra time to edit out the mouse clicks and check your camera focus for the ending Thanks Yous.
+WhiteZero you must be new here
+TheSoulHarvester Umm... watch every video with the Patreon "Thank You" section, you'll hear WhiteZero read off on every one
WhiteZero Then you should know mouse clicks & poor focus are par for the course.
Though a lot of ppl do seem to be upset about the clicking. I didn't even notice.
TheSoulHarvester Not upset at all. Just that the clicks are WAY more prevalent in this video than past ones. And c'mon, focus issues have never been that bad.
It's healthy to have constructive criticism for a thing you love.
+WhiteZero Sorry it took me a minute to get around to replying-- I really agree, the production values are pretty out of step with how I want my channel to be. What happened was that Doom came out Thursday night, and I also had to work 18 hours of pizza (I only work weekends now, but Doom hit me right in the schedule) from Friday to Sunday. So I didn't really sleep all weekend, a couple cat naps here and there, but I had been up for 40 hours by the time I hit 'publish'.
So, on the one hand, it's sloppy and that's a totally valid thing to say. I'm doing another video this month, though, and I'll make sure it'll be cleaner.
On the other hand, this is pretty much what the games crit equivalent of speed running looks like and I think I did all right by that.
Really liked this review. Only thing is the clicking. It feels like a Powerpoint presentation instead of a critique piece.
Now I really have to get this ... though I'll have to wait for a hefty sale.
Hey id software -- No chance of releasing a couple of levels as shareware? Like in 1993?
there is a demo for those who dont know
Did you ever end up getting it? I just finished my first playthrough & I’m kicking myself for sleeping on the game for so long, whilst also happy that I get a brand new follow up so soon after.
low budget editing and presentation aside this was a very well written and put together review. nice job.
23:38 Aerial Badger Release? If I heard that correctly, I think he/she needs to be supported on Patreon for the name alone!
A very enjoyable critique. If only more game journalism could be done this way.
Actually doom has a pretty good backstory.
The only thing I disagreed with was when you said the new plasma rifle feels like DOom3's plasma rifle. Thats one thing in 25 minutes talking about DooM. 10/10 would share this video with friends again.
+Engel I completely agree. The plasma rifle in Doom 4 worked nothing like the plasma rifle in Doom 3. In fact the plasma rifle and shotgun were the only guns I liked more in doom 3 than doom 4. Then you got the super shotgun so the shotgun meant literally nothing any way. lol
+Engel He was referring to how it looks, I think, not how it works.
TheSoulHarvester That makes sense if he didnt use the word 'feel'. But it really doesnt matter, I'm not going to continue to nitpick on one thing I didnt agree on :P
Engel Fair enough, maybe he did mean it operates the same.
+Jarek you liked the Doom 3 shotgun more? Didn't that thing just not function at all unless you were 2 inches away from whatever you were trying to shoot?
I think it was 2004 that shotguns went from the tight-spread short-to-medium range devastation of half life 1 and halo 1 to the feeble point-blank melee weapons of doom 3 and halo 2.
Great review, seriously great - everything in this review was a clarifying idea, something I'd thoroughly enjoyed playing this game, but until this analysis haven't understood why
I must admit as great as the first half of the new Doom was I found the constant arena battles in the second half really tedious.
You could up your audio quality by leaps and bounds if you threw your vocal track in something simple like cool edit pro, zoomed into the wave form and identified any breath points to highlight then silence, and then ran it through a 4.1 compressor. You'd sound super robust and clean.
I just beat the game so I could watch this review. And boy howdy is this review accurate. It's really amazing how much boldness Doom 2016 has. To be bold and to be smart about it. They were clever in how they kept up the game's pace, action, and rhythms- and at first did so even narratively. It really is so bizarre how that got turned around in the story. They're so clear on their intent with the story early on that it just seems like someone in the higher ups just HAD to have intervened.
The second the game starts exposition, Doomguy just chucks the screen away. It's such an amazing moment that I really thought Doom 2016 could be making a huge statement and could turn the tide of shooter narratives a bit. Maybe nothing so dramatic, but it felt like they were really trying to make a point with that- a point other developers would have closely listened to if they didn't back pedal on it. Less talk more rock! But then the later sections happen where you're stuck in a room listening to some no-body rattle off about nothing. You can't shoot, you can't explore, you just bounce around his office waiting to kill again. What happened?!
In that way, Doom disappointed me, but it's only one comparably small way. (Also no skipping cutscenes, that's another misstep.) The rest really is clever and classic. A great mix of contemporary and retro that I do hope other devs are paying close attention to. This kind of shooter is still fun, even after so many years. And a lot of people are hungry for them.
Great video, as always! I'd love a Dead Space video from you as well. There's no good series analysis on UA-cam that covers all the three main games.
Great analysis as always Noah. Between the Doom reboot and Wolfenstein The New Order, there's a really strong resurgence going on for single player focused shooters. Maybe iD will reboot Quake at some point to complete the trifecta.
I started playing the original Doom games only a little before this new one was announced, and I have to say I don't like the new one as much as others seem to.
I think the first difference that struck me was the inclusion of small "cutscenes" in the new game. Stuff like picking up a key card, taking the time to show ripping off a comms panel, or that dreadful part where I was jumping around Hayden's room for 5 minutes while he exposition'd at me. 1990s Doom is just, here's the first level, go kill until you beat the episode. Need a key? Just run over it. I can even breeze through the stat screens in less than a second if I spam click.
The second thing (and maybe I've just played too many crazy wads) is the lack of enemies. There was no time in new Doom I remember where I felt I was about to get overwhelmed like in some custom Doom wads I've played on the originals, which can contain literally 100 enemies for me to fight against at once. They were revenants and hell knights with a couple cyberdemons mixed in and beating them after about 50 tries was amazing. That wasn't even the full level. I know it's probably a tech thing but still, it's just something that make the original Dooms much better imo.
The third, on the subject of wads, was the abysmal level creator. Compared to the freedom of being able to draw maps directly with linedefs and sectors, in any shape I can imagine (even including faux-3D rooms over rooms with sourceports), and fill those maps with as many enemies as I please, the snap map was frustratingly limited and frankly boring. I'm surprised at the praise it was given in this video. I suppose the intention was nice, but pre-made sections fitting together like a jigsaw, only to be filled with 12 demons maximum (without messing around with the janky coding system)? That's just nothing like the Doom I've come to know with the originals. It has been a long while since I tried the snapmap though, so maybe they've updated it to be more... creatively free? Either way I'm having much more fun creating a dumb wad for Doom 2 than I could ever squeeze out of snapmap.
It's not a bad game I'll admit, and I did have fun when I first played it. But it's not as fast, or challanging, or potentially crazy as the old classics. I've never had any motivation to come back to new Doom after beating it once and messing with the snapmap for maybe 5 hours, but I'm still playing Doom 2 wads, even while watching this.
Spot on commentary. Very well done. You articulated what makes this new Doom so good.
i believe that the story is very important to the overall feel of the campaign. The story is not there to explain the situation to players and to immerse them into the world, but to contrast what the characters in the story wants the player to do versus what the player wants to do. The story is there for parody ONLY. It is not there to be taken seriously, but to enhance the surrealism of what you are doing in the game. If it was not there, I believe the total impact of the game would be blander.
Hey man awesome video for a truly awesome video game. One tip, increase the volume of the mouse clicks please.
What a great game. Definitely my favorite so far of 2016. I never preorder and never buy games on day one of release anymore. In fact I always wait for a sale but I just couldn't wait this time and bought Doom a day after it released and I have not been more pleased with a game in a very, very long time. Also this was a great vid Noah. Your turn of phrase is spectacular. I especially like your insight about the game being a ritual. Now that was some good writing, well done sir!
incredibly well spoken!!! best intelligently informed commentary on a video game I've heard in ages. polished, well written and thought provoking...this is how game journalism should b. the only minor minor minor complaint is the shitty "title card" drawn by a child. Type something, use an interesting font, think about composition, ANYTHING would be better than a piece of printer paper with poop shaped into words on it. seriously though, as far as content goes, you get an A+
I'm pretty sad that I don't have the budget for a computer to play this on, so I won't get a chance to play it possibly for years. I'm a huuuge Doom fan (my first memory as a kid was playing Doom and being terrified, and I've kept up with the series throughout the course of its lifespan). I even did a full retrospective on all of the games they've released.
If you ask me though, if there's a *most important* thing that Doom needs to get right, it's the shotgun. The first Doom transformed the first person shooter as a genre with the introduction of a shotgun. It became the "default weapon" for long sections of the game, especially during E1, and the reason why it became a default was because it felt so satisfying to use. The impact of each hit against an enemy was felt because of the "game feel", and I think that's one of the key factors in determining the strength of a new Doom re-boot. For example, Doom 3's shotgun *also* feels very satisfying to use. By contrast, the shotgun in Doom 64 isn't very satisfying and is, in many ways, more similar to the Quake shotgun than the Doom shotgun, which reflects Doom 64's design philosophy of trying to be more like Quake (because Quake was the most recent popular shooter at the time and Doom 64 wasn't developed by id).
So it's impossible for me to know how I feel about the new Doom until I get my hands on the game and actually use specifically the shotgun - it's typically the standard weapon in a shooter, and it's the one that I think games have the most incentive to get right. Because really, all I ask of a game is that if it's going to be repetitive (emphasizing shooting for example), then I want the repeated action of killing monsters to feel great every time.
"Doom 3's shotgun also feels very satisfying to use." How so? It is badly underpowered unless you shoot it point blank. The machine gun is much more efficient and is therefore the default weapon in that game. Once you get the SSG, D3's regular shotgun becomes pretty much useless.
I use the regular pump action or chrome shotgun in L4D2 and forgo double pistols or the desert eagle despite it being silly to do that as you are much weaker... However it is far more satisfying finishing a tank as it is closing in on you by a single bullet from a pistol than with some powerful weapon. Same with the shotgun from Doom 3
Ryan Duncan
That's one way of looking at it. You should have a blast using only the default pistol, then... ;) Personally, I find no satisfaction in having to make do with the shortcomings of a shitty weapon. In the original game, no weapon is shit. Even the weak pistol has its use against the zombies in order to save shotgun ammo. For the Doom 3 shotgun to do significant damage, you have to get real close, which totally defeats the purpose of a ranged weapon. And as a melee weapon, the chainsaw is much funnier to use.
Good video; can't wait for the inevitable dissection of the inevitable doc/sequels.
Well, you've sold me on this. Fantastic video.