It’s Time For Doom

The Intro

Title: Doom

Release year: 1993

Developed by: id Software

Genre: first-person shooter (FPS)

Platform replayed on: PC

Before there was Doom (1993), there was Wolfenstein 3D.

That was the first line of my blog on Wolfenstein 3D.

Wolfenstein 3D title screen — *Wolfenstein 3D (1992)*

It’s time for Doom.

Doom title screen — *The Ultimate Doom (1995)*

I’m not sure exactly when I first played Doom. I remember as a teenager in 1995, my family upgraded to a 486 computer. And I know that we got Doom II with it. It may have been that I played the original Doom after this—it’s all a bit blurry now…

It doesn’t really matter. I just remember there were a few years there in the mid-90s where I played a whole lot of Doom and Wolfenstein 3D. I’m not even sure why, as I’ve never been a huge FPS fan. But as I recalled when replaying Wolfenstein 3D, these games were probably the first 3D games I played—up until that point it had been 2D platformers, point-and-clicks, and roleplaying games.

Of course, Doom did get a lot of attention for its violence and satanic imagery. I don’t think that had much of an impact on me, as I was just happy to have another computer game to play. I do remember it was trendy though with the few video gamer friends I had at the time (a time when video games were still growing in mainstream popularity).

Like with Wolfenstein 3D, the goal was simple in the first episode of Doom, titled “Knee-Deep in the Dead”: escape!

The Game

I had to do a bit of research on the plot (I know—Doom and plot don’t really go together, but I was curious). In the future, you take on the role of an unnamed space marine (affectionately known as “Doomguy” in the fan community), working for the Union Aerospace Corporation (UAC).

You’ve been sent to Phobos, one of Mars’ moons, to investigate an urgent request for military support. While the UAC has been operating radioactive waste plants on both Phobos and Deimos (Mars’ other moon), it has also been conducting inter-dimensional experiments.

Long story short, the experiments have been going wrong, and Phobos has been overrun by a demonic horde (Deimos has disappeared). Upon arrival, the rest of your marine squad is wiped out, so it’s just you…

…and the demons.

Doom facing an Imp — *An Imp is all that’s standing between me and the level exit*.

Doom is split up into four episodes (three in the original version—a fourth episode was added in the 1995 release of The Ultimate Doom), seeing Doomguy taking on Hell itself, before returning to defend Earth (where Doom II picks up from).

Doom episode select screen — *Back to where it all began.*

The controls are simple and customisable. Basically, you’re moving (you can now run), shooting, and opening doors and operating switches. I played through Wolfenstein 3D with keyboard only, but for this Doom playthrough I used a mouse/keyboard combo.

The heads up display (HUD) shows you your health and the ammo you’re carrying. It drops the score and number of lives shown in Wolfenstein 3D, but adds the types of weapons you’re currently carrying and the ammo for each one (different ammo types being a new feature).

One immediate difference in the levels from Wolfenstein 3D is the inclusion of elevation in Doom. You can now climb stairs or take elevators, and enemies can be attacking you from higher and lower grounds.

Doom climbing stairs — *Getting your steps in*

Doom shooting at an enemy on higher ground — *How’d you get up there?*

Despite this, you can’t aim high or low—just like Wolfenstein 3D. You still need to line your target up in the centre of the screen (regardless of whether they’re above or below you) and fire.

And that brings us to the weapons of Doom. In the first episode, “Knee-Deep in the Dead”, you start off with the pistol. Now, this made sense in Wolfenstein 3D where the protagonist BJ Blazkowicz takes out a prison guard and takes his sidearm. But for Doomguy, who’s a space marine on a combat mission? What, did he leave his heavy weapons on the shuttle?

Doom dead space marine — *Launched an assault on the demon horde and all I brought was my pistol.*

However, it doesn’t take long before you’re able to drop the pistol for what is still possibly my favourite FPS weapon of all time: the shotgun. Again, I wonder if a shotgun makes sense in space in the future, but I digress. It packs a lot of punch, and is very satisfying to fire.

Doom picking up the shotgun — *Ah, there it is.*

In later levels, I picked up the chaingun, and then the rocket launcher.

Doom chaingun — *Look at the size of that thing!*

It wasn’t until the final level that I chose to use the rocket launcher.

Doom also features similar pickups to those in Wolfenstein 3D, such as ammo and health. But it also features armour, which essentially is a health boost.

Doom picking up armour — *Extra protection is always welcome.*

There are also other useful pickups, like the very situational radiation suits and light amplification visors.

Doom radiation suit — *Probably needed to be wearing a radiation suit from the beginning, just saying…*

Doom light amplification visors — *Need a light?*

The level goals are simple: find the exit.

Doom level exit — *It says “exit” right there on the sign!*

Once you find that exit, you’re greeted with a performance review.

Doom level finish screen — *That par time is outrageous!*

It’s not complicated, it’s not long, but how does Doom hold up after thirty years? Let’s get “Knee-Deep in the Dead” and find out!

The Replay

Starting Doom, you’re once again greeted with that iD sense of humour when selecting a difficulty level.

Doom difficulty select — *Hurt Me Plenty*

Upon starting the first level, it wasn’t the visuals that were instantly nostalgic for me—it was the music. Take a listen to this clip, and if you played Doom in the 90s, tell me this doesn’t instantly take you back to your time blasting demons:

I quickly realised that it is the music and the sound effects which bring me back to that time. In fact, I could barely remember the level design. Playing through the first episode, it was almost like playing a new game! About the only memory I had was of the final boss battle.

Doom Episode One final boss battle — *I remember these two.*

But before we get to that, there were seven other levels to get through (see, I’d even forgotten about the secret level…).

I spent the first level familiarising myself with the controls. I had chosen to play on the middle difficulty level (Hurt Me Plenty) and without using the cheat codes I used so liberally in the 90s (IDKFA and IDDQD will forever be imprinted on my brain).

Towards the end of the first level, I found what I was looking for: the shotgun!

Doom finding the shotgun — *Time to holster the sidearm*

And doesn’t Doomguy look happy about it:

After “taking my time” with a level time of just over two minutes, it was time for things to heat up.

Doom episode 1 level 2 firefight — *Here they come!*

Into the second level (The Nuclear Plant), there is an immediate firefight, and a non-linear level to explore.

Doom episode 1 level 2 start — *Choices—left, right, or straight down the middle*

This was the first level that required a keycard to complete.

Doom red keycard — *That looks important.*

The third level (Toxin Refinery) was the first level I died in, succumbing to the nuclear waste.

Doom dying — *Pro tip—avoid the nuclear waste.*

So it was time to start the level again with the pistol. But it wasn’t long until I was reunited with the trusty shotgun. In general, I never had trouble managing ammo throughout the first episode—there’s plenty of it. I think that very much fits the theme of Doom too. It’s not survival horror (though there are elements of this genre present), but run-and-gun style. It wouldn’t have been fun to be constantly searching for ammo.

This level felt like it raised the difficulty level too. It was from this level on that I was nervous to press buttons or pick up important items due to the possibility of a wall to give way revealing a horde of demons. Sometimes the lights go out too.

Doom ambush in the dark — *Jump scare in the dark!*

Sometimes, pressing a button would activate something not immediately visible, which leads to either anxiety or anticipation, depending on whether or not you get ambushed.

The levels became quite sprawling, with a nice mixture of internal, narrow, claustrophobic corridors, and wider, open areas. There is a map feature, but I didn’t find myself ever needing it or wanting to use it.

Doom tight corridor — *Not much room to manoeuvre*

*Lots of room. And lots of exploding barrels.*

Up until this point, the enemies had either been the possessed former humans shooting at you, or the fireball-hurling imps. That soon changed.

Before I knew it, I was halfway through the first episode of Doom. The game plays really fast. Literally, as Doomguy’s movement speed is high. I think this is why some of the larger levels felt longer than they were. There were a couple of levels that had me backtracking after picking up keycards, but the longest level time I had was about fourteen minutes (it felt a lot longer).

Doom map of Phobos showing levels — *Working my way through the levels*

There were still new surprises in the second half—like the Spectre, an almost invisible hellspawn.

And despite the ever increasing hordes, there were moments of respite, allowing you to gear up. If you take the time to look and explore, that is.

Doom combat armour — *Look what I found—combat armour!*

The levels keep you guessing, and you’re constantly trying to either find the keycards or trigger an opening to an otherwise seemingly dead end.

The lighting (or lack thereof) plays a part in the later levels in the first episode. There are moments of total darkness, or ominous pulsating lights going on and off, leaving only the fire of your weapon providing a temporary light source.

Doom exploding barrel — *Creating some light*

The difficulty progressively increased as I made my way through the levels, without feeling like I was struggling to adjust. There were a few more deaths, but no long periods of frustration.

Doom ambush death — *Ambushed opening a door when really low on health…*

The most challenging sequence for me came in level six (Central Processing), after pushing a button and unleashing a small army in close proximity.

It was time for the chaingun!

Level six was also where I picked up the backpack, allowing for a higher ammo capacity. I never really got close to running out of ammo before this, and for the rest of this episode of Doom, I had copious amounts.

Doom backpack — *Not that I needed any more ammo…*

The final level is short, as it’s not long before you end up with two Barons of Hell right up in your face.

Doom Barons of Hell — *What? Not happy to see me?*

Taking out the rocket launcher, it didn’t take me too long to dispatch these two right back to Hell.

Doom killing the Barons of Hell — *Victory*

Surprisingly, for a game with little plot, the first episode of Doom finishes with a plot-twist cliffhanger.

Doom end of episode one — *Wait, I didn’t win?*

So after surviving Knee-Deep in the Dead, is Doom deserving of its legacy and success?

The Verdict

The comparisons between Doom and Wolfenstein 3D have been inevitable. The release of Doom was only about a year and half after Wolfenstein 3D. From my perspective, I replayed Wolfenstein 3D just over six months ago, and I definitely played through Doom with a comparative lens on.

Doom is the better experience. It’s the combination of the audio and the visuals, with the survival horror gameplay elements. Wolfenstein 3D was seriously impressive visually for its time. However, the audio wasn’t as memorable, and it didn’t feature the horror atmosphere introduced in Doom. The use of lighting, the ambush of enemies, the claustrophobic environments, and the off-screen demonic monster sounds create an atmosphere of tension and apprehension.

Doom low on health — *Turning a corner with 3% health left—the tension doesn’t get any better than this.*

I enjoy survival horror games, and it wasn’t long after these two games were released that we had the Resident Evil and Silent Hill series. When I found myself creeping around dimly-lit corridors, low on ammo and health, hearing the nearby, eerie sound of an evil entity, I was reminded of my survival horror gaming experiences with those two series.

I found the first episode of Doom easier than the first episode of Wolfenstein 3D. I think it was the more liberal provision of health pickups and ammo. In Doom, I took a lot of damage at times, but a handy health pickup was more often than not just around the corner (sometimes literally). I felt I had to be more precise with my runs through levels in Wolfenstein 3D, to avoid taking damage, to ensure I could make it through to the end.

I think Doom has the more interesting level design, with the addition of elevation being an obvious visual improvement. But it was also the rising and lowering platforms, the use of shadows and darkness, and the mixture of open environments with narrow passageways.

Doom firefight — *Waves of enemies in interesting environments*

To summarise, Wolfenstein 3D is a game; Doom is an experience.

Regardless of my preference though, both the Doom and Wolfenstein franchises have seen continued success, with Doom Eternal (2020) and Wolfenstein: Youngblood (2019) being the most recent releases. Both franchises have also had recent board games released. But I haven’t played many of the sequels (and none of the board games, despite being a board game fan).

These games provided a lot of entertainment in the 90s for me, but it wasn’t enduring. I think that’s largely due to my preference for other genres of video games, rather than a reflection of Doom and Wolfenstein 3D.

I will give both first episodes credit though. After finishing “Escape from Wolfenstein” and “Knee-Deep in the Dead”, they both had me coming back for more! And if these old games can keep you coming back, then they’re well deserving of the “cult-classic” tag in my book.

[While researching for this blog, I watched IGN’s playthrough video with John Romero, creator of Doom. This was released in 2013, twenty years after Doom came out. Worth a watch!]