2) DOOM
DOOM is to shooters what Mario is to platforming games. Quite simply, the FPS genre owes its roots to two titles from the same studio, and while Wolfenstein might have been the first, DOOM is the game that is best remembered for popularizing the genre.
Yet, its status as the Godfather of shooters hardly ensured anything but a tremendous weight of expectation for the much anticipated 2016 reboot. Sure, from the moment we saw the arm-snapping melee combat during the game’s first tease, we knew the team at iD had cottoned-on to what made DOOM, DOOM. But nothing could have prepared us for just how good this reboot was going to be, and man is it an awesome game.
DOOM perfectly captures the essence of the original game by doing more than merely updating an old gameplay formula. It adds innovation in the right places, fusing modern mechanics such as upgradable weapons and abilities with old-school fast-paced combat, and the result is one of the best pure gameplay experiences in years.
DOOM is all about pace and frenetic combat. When things get tough and players find themselves low on health, there’s no shying away from combat to regain health or scurrying around trying to find health points; the game encourages offence and spurs you on to keep attacking. We absolutely love it for that, and Doom serves as a nice reminder that the genre’s strengths have always been about pure gameplay.
But don’t believe all the nonsense you’ll hear about DOOM being void of a decent story because there’s plenty of wider reading to be found throughout the game that helps to bolster its narrative. No, it isn’t on the same level as some of the other titles mentioned in this list, but there is a plot to enjoy here to complete the eerie tension that both its gameplay and aesthetic so brilliantly convey.
If you’re a fan of the genre, you must play DOOM.
