Doom is the antithesis of so much of what the Switch excels at.
Brash and bloody with thundering music and a cold heart, Doom is the digital representation
of idle doodlings from a 15-year-old boy.
One trait it does share in common with Nintendo’s more family-friendly offerings, though, is
gameplay that’s as refined and exciting as anything out there.
Combat is relentless, empowering, and downright thrilling in Doom, pushing this year-old port
above the lesser aspects that make up the rest of this diabolical adventure.
First, Switch owners are probably wondering how Doom holds up technically.
Starting life on the Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC in May 2016, Doom always emphasized
smooth action over high-end graphics.
And, for the most part, Doom Switch is every bit as easy to play.
The framerate holds up during almost every fight, and the few dips usually only happen
during bloody executions so it doesn’t hamper the killing fun.
There is one glitch I encountered a number of times, though.
The music drops out and the sound effects become dulled at seemingly random points.
Things get back to normal during the next load screen but it’s a definite headscratcher
when things go silent.
If handheld is you've preferred method of Switching, Doom looks just as good on the
small screen.
But it’s a much better game on a television.
Granted, my vision isn’t top-notch, but I struggled to make out the smaller enemies
and couldn’t hit airborne foes to save my life.
Doom is just so fast and frenetic that it’s hard to do it justice in handheld mode.
Thankfully, there aren’t any motion controls, so if your eyes are sharper than mine, there
aren’t any control hurdles to overcome.
Now to get the real selling point.
The action in Doom is the polar opposite of the many plodding, duck-behind-cover-while-you-regenerate-your-life
shooters out there.
Fights are so fast it’s like you’re a jacked up rabbit being slingshot head first
into a demonic battle.
Movement is the key to success in that stopping leads to quick deaths.
Enemies pour into the battlefields and you have to sprint through tunnels, leap across
chasms, shinny up ledges, and leap off glowing trampolines to stay one step ahead of your
determined pursuers.
The brilliant innovation of Doom that pushes you to stay on the offensive comes from the
hand-to-hand executions.
Once you stagger an enemy with enough bullets, they glow blue and orange, and that’s your
chance to smash their heads in.
Doing so gives you extra life, so when you’re near death, it’s better to rush in to perform
an execution than cower away from danger.
That risk/reward system is the key to Doom’s tenacious hook.
Fights are long and nasty affairs that require you to think fast and move even faster to
quell the relentless horde.
Your arsenal is more than enough to stay on top.
There’s a shotgun, plasma rifle, chaingun, and more, each with their own unique strengths
and weaknesses to ensure you use every weapon.
I really loved how I couldn’t just rely on one or two guns the entire campaign.
Ammunition is a short supply so you’re forced to bounce between guns so you’d better master
each and every one.
You wouldn’t want to face off against a boss with just a gauss cannon if you’ve
haven’t disposed of a few dozen enemies with it beforehand.
As great as the combat is, though, none of the other elements can live up to its impressive
heights.
This is an ugly game.
I know hell and Mars aren’t supposed to be the most beautiful places, but the artistic
design was downright boring and repetitive for most of the campaign.
The levels look so similar that I often got lost.
Plus, the compass and map aren’t great at pointing you in the right direction so I spent
a lot of time wandering around.
It’s a serious letdown going from the crazy combat to bumbling around nondescript locations
trying to find the next fight.
The game also slows down when you upgrade your gear.
Guns and your armor can be infused with new abilities which sounds fine but I had no interesting
poking around in menus when there were enemies waiting to be killed.
I would have preferred an upgrade system like Ratchet & Clank.
In that franchise, guns automatically upgrade when you kill enough enemies with that gun.
It’s the perfect way to inject more variety into your arsenal while incentivizing reasons
to switch which guns you use without slowing things down with menus.
There’s also a story about Mars, hell, demons, and portals to mysterious places, but the
narrative clashes with the combat, too.
This is a game about speed.
The music is loud and raucous, the enemies quick and deadly, and I got amped up in each
and every fight.
My heart was racing and my blood was pounding and then... a cutscene?
Holographic people talking about whatever?
Come on!
There’s a time and a place for story and it’s not when you’re slaying demons by
the truckload.
It’s incredible how the combat in Doom is so exciting but every other aspect contradicts
that design approach.
Maybe I’m impatient, but when I’m immersed in a superfast game, I don’t want to spend
time in menus or listen to a by-the-book story or stare at a map to figure out where to go
next.
I want to rush into the next battle head first as I wonder what kind of afterlife demons
have.
The campaign is a long one.
It took me about 12 hours and I didn’t find most of the secrets strewn across levels.
There’s plenty of reason to go back two or three times to thoroughly humiliate demons
and perfect your combat tactics.
But if you want more, there’s a multiplayer mode.
Sadly.
it’s not nearly as exciting as the main offering.
There’s little to separate this from other shooters so it just feels kind of flat compared
to the great campaign.
I would much rather dive back into a harder difficulty setting than trade rockets with
some dude living in Des Moines.
So, Doom is a little uneven.
But ID Software nails the most important part: the combat.
As long as it’s fun to slay demons, it doesn’t matter too much that the rest of the adventure
fails to live up to that high standard.
I can only say that I liked Doom but it’s a no-brainer if you’re itching for some
first-person action on your Switch.