izigame.me

One of the few games of the last decade that made it into my exclusive collection of "permanent titles to revisit from time to time". It's a game that fits so well with my personal taste that I believe, as long as my interest in games lasts, i'm likely to continue playing Doom 2016.
The game essentially revitalized a dormant breed, unleashing an epidemic of new classics and even giving rise to a new subgenre of heavy metal.
It was the best thing to happen to single-player shooters since, i don't know, Half-Life 2? F.E.A.R? It was like a glorious return to the old conventions of the genre and at the same time a breath of fresh air that swept away all the mediocrity that had permeated almost two entire generations.
Nothing more poetic than the franchise whose imitators in the past used as a reference, becoming once again the creative force redefining what an arena shooter would be in today's gaming landscape.
Doom rescued the sense of practicality and clarity of old and solid design principles, and on top of that brought something unique, sharp, and so full of personality that I hesitate to mention games like the Shadow Warrior reboot and Wolfenstein: The New Order, which paved the way for the franchise's return.
Doom is its own beast. A leviathan of technical competence and creative passion that we hadn't seen in a long time within the AAA segment. It not only modernized an old and outdated design but created something special.
They built the ultimate power fantasy. The holy grail of ultra-violent catharsis.
Every aspect of the game was meticulously crafted to encompass the unstoppable spirit of the guy who loves tearing demons apart.
Every line of dialogue, every short and subtle animation, every sound, every button you press, every violent dance you participate in, serves to elevate the experience of being this killing machine.
The music REACTS to what you do, deliciously synchronizing with the combat's aggression and explosiveness.
They created one of the most iconic characters without him saying a word.
Doom Slayer is the best of silent protagonists.
Amidst impeccable, infinitely replayable pacing; Dense and industrial atmosphere; Polished, frenetic, and elegant combat overflowing with adrenaline and impact, and with all the necessary chess pieces to create an endless freshness; Intuitive to perfection controls, agile movement, a variety of excellent weapons, great sound design; Thunderous and incendiary soundtrack; Sharp graphics and art direction, and a subtle and clever sense of humor permeating the entire experience... I can't think of almost anything I could describe as a problem or something that bothered me.
Everything works exactly as it should. Everything falls into place.
I didn't play much multiplayer or with the map tool, so it might not be good.
Some people seem not to understand how the game's combat works, maybe due to their own incompetence or because of the game's tutorialization, which may not be very effective for everyone.
The levels have an extremely intuitive design, requiring no use of interface aids or maps to navigate. You explore organically and naturally absorb the layouts, discover secrets, and never get lost. At least at the beginning, the level design tends to be perfectly integrated into the environment, but by the end, it's hard to argue that the complexity of the scenarios decreases considerably in favor of increasingly frequent combat setups in arenas.
However, when you reach that point, you'll already be having so much fun with the fights that you won't care.
The game knows how to balance its moments of quiet time between exploration, non-intrusive narrative, and segments of combat with varied complexity.
It's a game that gets under your skin. You embody the feeling of adrenaline and pulsate along with the music. Before you know it, you're in the zone, several hours have passed, and you're almost at the end of the game.
It's always like this.
And best of all: It's a game with a subtle sense of humor.
It's magnificently dumb. And I love that they embrace that.
I've played an abyssal amount of shooter games in my life. I can say that few times have I found something executed with such clarity and competence. DooM 2016 It's a game that may be surpassed in various ways, including by mechanically more stimulating games (like Eternal or Ultrakill), but it's a game that will never get old. As long as it's working, 30 years later, it will still play as well as it does now. Just like Half-Life and F.E.A.R.
Time flies. Almost ten years have passed since the release of this masterpiece, but the feeling of appreciation remains.
But i'm biased to speak. The game seems to have been made for me.