After much tease from the initial sneak previews at QuakeCon and the incredibly short teaser trailer, Bethesda has finally unveiled Doom during their 2015 E3 Showcase.
With this new title, Id Software has worked very hard on delivering a classic old-school vibe, with the gameplay presentation showcasing the protagonist punching, kicking and blasting his way through hordes of enemies and demons. This along with a preview of the chainsaw dismemberment, the game is set to include some pretty gruesome finishing animations. Included is a gameplay video showing the protagonist removing limbs, stomping skulls, and snapping necks.
But as well as the gore and fast paced combat, there’s a lot more going with Doom in its bid to hark back to its original demon killing roots. In its bid to appease the fans, gameplay relies heavily on killing enemies to earn health back, meaning that modern cover shooting mechanics will not be implemented within this title.
Doom has also been confirmed for competitive multiplayer and user generated content. With the new service ‘Doom Snap Map’, players can create and share new maps and gameplay modes. In a post-show interview with Adam Sessler and Morgan Webb, Executive Producer of Id Software Marty Stratton spoke about the fundamentals of the original Doom games, stating that essence of speed, big guns, and killing demons are all important aspects in creating this new title.
“We started this Doom with the idea of ‘push forward combat’ and we didn’t want players to feel on their heels at all, or let you regenerate your health when you hide,” he said during the interview. “Doom is about killing demons and playing the game. There’s a juvenile fun to the way it works, and the way our enemies work and the way our guns work, and it all just becomes this ballet of combat that is really fun.”
Within the interview, Stratton made the comparison of the game being like “Bruce Lee, on a skateboard, with a shotgun” with gameplay heavily focused on speed and mobility. Stratton has also confirmed that the studio is aiming for 1080p with 60FPS across all platforms
Doom is expected for release Spring 2016 on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC. In the meantime, feel free to check out the newest gameplay trailer that was unveiled after the conference.
