It’s strange to think that the first-person shooter genre was sort of saved by the classics. Yet after Wolfenstein: The New Order came DOOM, and here we are! Developer id Software produced one of the most addictive and fun shooters in a while, building off the core established in the breakthrough original while updating it with some modern sensibilities. The result was a critically-acclaimed game that was extremely entertaining.

What DOOM sets out to do is provide an experience that is predominantly engaging through the gameplay. That doesn’t mean the story is lacking, of course. It’s your pretty typical sci-fi story that is used to explain the context for fighting demons from Hell. The strength, though, is that the story isn’t the focus. Outside of what are effectively loading screens to set up the next bit of action, cutscenes aren’t present. Someone speaks at you to give you the narrative, and there are a lot of ways that the environment you explore tells the tale, too. But even the DOOM guy you control doesn’t seem interested. (The game literally starts with him smashing a computer screen that was trying to get him to read the story.) So it’s not that it’s not there; it’s just that it’s not the point.

The action is the purpose of the game. On the most part, it plays like any smooth first-person shooter, you’ve picked up. Controls are fairly standard. There’s not much to the control scheme that should be unfamiliar to anyone who has ever played a game of this genre. There are additional RPG-like elements accessible through menus and secret pick ups that can increase character or weapon stats, but it’s a small part of the game and similarly not complicated.

It is the chaos and speed of combat that creates the high octane action. Often, shooters create a scenario in which players must hide or seek cover in order to restore their health. In the midst of the fight, you need to slow down. DOOM takes the opposite approach. Low on health? Get in close for a “glory kill,” a pre-rendered clip of an execution take down of a weak enemy. That results in health (and sometimes ammo) to explode from them. Ammo running dry? Rev up your chainsaw and attack! Chainsawing enemies gives you a refill on ammo!

Sure, it’s all very “gamey,” and they aren’t necessarily interested in fitting all these components together organically to maximize immersion. It’s DOOM. The end result is a game in which standing still will get you killed. Movement is the name of the game. Finding the right balance between keeping your distance and rushing in to attack can be tricky, and it will depend on the types of enemies present, but once you figure it out for a stretch, you just wind up in this easygoing, smooth, murderous flow, sending those demons back where they came from.

It’s not hard to argue that DOOM is pretty “metal.” From its core premise of shooting demons until they go back to hell to its heavy metal soundtrack. It’s a blast of game that manages to breathe new life into an old, tired genre. It doesn’t necessarily do anything amazing, but it excels at what it does. Can’t ask for more out of a video game than hours of fun.

Reductive Rating: It’s good!

Available On: Windows, Stadia, XBox One, PS4, Switch

From: id Software