Some consider Doom to be the best first person shooter ever made. This is not an opinion I share. An argument could certainly be made that Doom is the most important or most influential first person shooter ever made. But calling it the best seems a bit of a stretch considering how much shooters have improved in both presentation and gameplay over the past few decades. Even in the 90s Doom was eventually surpassed by Half Life, which had great action but also managed to have a well paced and compelling narrative on top of that, something which Doom lacks.
Having said that, while many shooters have surpassed Doom, people still come back to it even to this day, and there’s a few reasons for that. Part of it is nostalgia, something which I don’t have for Doom, as I didn’t play it growing up. I was technically alive when Doom first came out, but I hadn’t quite been born yet. But even beyond nostalgia, Doom offers a nice straightforward gameplay loop of shooting enemies and making your way to the exit. Personally I like shooters that provide a bit more context and weight to what’s going on, which is why I like Half Life so much, but for people who just want to get straight to shooting the baddies, Doom certainly provides that.
The sprite based graphics also have a certain elegant charm to them, and it’s a bit nicer to look at than some of the awkward early 3D games like Quake. The enemies are also iconic and memorable, and pretty fun to fight. And the game does have a little bit of environmental storytelling here and there, which is a nice touch, though it’s nowhere near the levels of depth that Half Life would reach later.
Personally I’m not a fan of Doom, as I think it’s a bit too archaic and simplistic for my tastes. But I can understand why some people still like it, and I can respect it for everything it accomplished, and the impact it’s had on first person shooters and gaming in general. Even though it wasn’t for me, Doom is still an important game that everyone should try at least once.
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