Single player (story) game mode (Doom (2016))

the campaign takes 13 hours

Single player DOOM campaign: speed and brutality.

Hugo Martin flips a switch.

We are sitting in a small cinema at id Software's studio in Richardson, Texas. We just tried out the starting level of the DOOM single player campaign and will very soon test ourselves at a later level. But for now, we sit in a darkened room and watch the friendly creative director of DOOM showcase his prowess. And believe me, there is something to see.

Martin turns to face us, holding the controller in his hand. “I'm not playing for the sake of beauty right now,” he says before starting. - I will play as if I were alone here. I like to play at the speed limit. It may seem to you that I am just flying through the levels without looking. But I always play like that. "

He's not joking. Martin likes to use the "Bruce Lee Skateboarding with a Shotgun" analogy - that's it. We watch Martin race across the Lazarus level from the middle of the game; it takes place in the glittering Martian complex OAK, captured by hellish demons. At first, it all starts quite ordinary - Martin knocks down cannon fodder, walking along a shiny corridor, which soon becomes slippery from the blood and intestines of demons. But then he finds himself in one of those many places that the DOOM team calls "skate parks": a multi-level open arena full of hellish spawn, among which there are very serious guys like fat mancubuses and irrepressible revenants.

This is where the real show begins. Martin seems to be everywhere at once. He jumps to the upper level and fires plasma at the demon. He jumps down to the level below and shoots from a modified rocket launcher at the explosives standing behind the knight of hell wandering towards him. Then a machine gun enters the scene to shower the crowd of enemies with lead at once. Martin stuns one demon, another, then rushes forward to brutally finish off the first, and sends the second to the forefathers with a burst of a modified combat shotgun. Then, as he promised us earlier, Martin flips a switch - that's what id calls an instinctive, near-instant weapon change that players can hone once they get comfortable with the radial menu. One, two - and the weapon selection wheel does not even have time to appear on the screen. “When you do that, you feel like lightning,” Martin smiles. “You flip the switch, and then right away ...” - and Martin imitates the sound of firing in a burst: “pew-pew-pew”. Very affordable.

But Martin isn't just showing off to us. It demonstrates something we haven't seen in action yet: a player development system. id was not ready to reveal the mechanics behind this system, but wanted to show how players can customize their abilities to suit their playstyle.

In this case, Martin is focused on speed. He made several decisions that will allow him to get things done faster. Change weapons? Faster. Choosing weapon mods? Faster. But (considering that Martin is a fan of brutal murders) the best part is that his character gets a temporary boost on every brutal kill. And this effect, by the way, is cumulative: the more such kills you commit in a row, the more you accelerate. And in case even this speed is not enough, Martin turned his fighter into a walking vacuum cleaner, which sucks health and cartridges to itself from afar. Now Martin does not need to be distracted from a series of killings in order to run after what fell from the demons (well, except for the entrails).

If you are not in a hurry, do not worry. The Brawler can be customized in many different ways, and most importantly for id Software, the chosen settings can then be changed. I wanted to you, say, at some particularly brutal level to sacrifice maneuverability for the sake of protection. No problem, change the settings! Or, let's say you want to fly through the level at full speed - change to health! “You never have to regret your choice,” promises executive producer Marty Stratton. "We want you to feel cool with any playstyle." Stratton then adds that there are no minor enhancements to DOOM - every enhancement earned is of great benefit.
With a kind word and a chainsaw

As great as it was to see Martin play the game, it turned out to be much more interesting to play DOOM on our own. We started at the RaspRes level, the second in the game. We had to go through this Martian complex to a satellite dish to uncover the source of the invasion.

The first thing that caught our eye was that we are fast. We are the fastest of almost everything and everyone in the world of DOOM, Stratton confirmed. Which, in general, is logical for a game where movement is literally life. “You have to keep moving,” says Stratton. - Run, jump, cut circles around enemies. If you stand, you will die. " Stratton adds that movement is our only defense. There are no squats in the game, nor are there cover systems. The only way to hide from the demon is to move.

Of course, DOOM encourages constant movement in its players in every possible way. In the game, for example, you don't need to reload your weapon. And, in principle, there are plenty of cartridges for it - if you do not stand still and exterminate enemies. Here, by the way, brutal murders come in handy - these are not just fatalities in the first person, after them more cartridges and health remain from the enemies. The bottom line, according to Stratton, is that you don't have to be afraid to use all the weapons you have. To stay out of ammo, you have to try hard - for example, try to complete the game using only one weapon. “Always use the right tool for the situation,” Stratton advises. - There are only 10 missiles left? No need to save them, to hell! Shoot rockets. "

Even at the "RaspRes" level, a chainsaw, a special weapon, and, in combination, one of the two that is not in the radial menu (the second is BFG), appears on the scene. The chainsaw is tied to the controller cross, and it knocks everyone down with one stroke - but there are certain caveats. Firstly, it runs on gasoline, and gasoline is one of the few resources in the game that is not enough. Secondly, the larger the enemy, the more gasoline is consumed on it. But don't think of a chainsaw as a last-chance weapon. Its true benefit is that from an enemy killed by a chainsaw, cartridges simply flow like a river. “If you're low on ammo, look for someone you can kill with a chainsaw,” Stratton advises. Or, as Martin suggests to us, stock up on fuel for your chainsaw before you enter the arena. Then if you prefer to use a voracious weapon like the Rocket Launcher, You can always get a chainsaw and use it to replenish your ammo by chopping someone from the bottom of the food chain with it. “Think of her as an ammo picking knife,” Martin advises.
Straight to hell

"RaspRes" is a bloody, brutal, cruel and funny level. He helped us familiarize ourselves with the gameplay, giving us the opportunity with a pistol and a combat shotgun to pave our way through cannon fodder like leisurely paced obsessed and dexterous imps, as well as experience the arena for the first time (where we, let's not deny, were killed several times). But only in the "Kingdom of the Titan" we were truly tested.

The "Kingdom of the Titan" is a chronologically later level; he is in hell - or, more precisely, in the body of some long-dead gigantic creature lying in the depths of hell. This level greeted us with an endless stream of different demons, which forced us to move even faster and commit brutal murders not just like that, but strategically. Each time we stunned the demon, we got the opportunity to perform a furious finishing move, replenishing health and ammunition. Or you could finish him off with a shot from a distance. Or leave him alone for a quarter of a second to pour lead on his comrades, and then return and still finish off. Each brutal kill depends on the context - we have rarely seen two identical kills in a row - and it is always executed with lightning speed, without disrupting the flow of the battle. We regret one thing - we never managed to stun the demon next to the wall. “Walls also influence atrocities,” Martin told us. - If the enemy is near the wall, do a brutal kill. Then you smash his head against the wall. "

We also studied in detail the weapon modifications, which change weapons in the most interesting ways. The mod for remote detonation for the rocket launcher is an incredibly useful thing, it helps both to inflict damage in the area, and to undermine an armored or shielded demon from the rear. The mod for a triple volley for a shotgun is ideal for clearing the space around you - another thing is that the ammunition is melting before our eyes. You can shoot charged shots from a pistol - this increases the damage, but decreases the rate of fire. The assault rifle can be equipped with a modification for firing micro-missiles. They scatter like a fan and it is convenient to hit several enemies at once at a medium distance with them. Stunning shots for the plasma gun were also very useful - they helped us out more than once when we were surrounded by powerful enemies. These mods are very easy to activate (just press the left trigger on your controller), and almost every weapon has two different mods, giving you a flexible approach to any situation. Mods can also be changed in real time at the press of a button - for example, players can quickly switch the shotgun between burst and micro-grenade modes if needed.

You will definitely need all these weapons for battles with a rich assortment of enemies that you will meet on your way. “Enemies demanding a strategic approach are the hallmark of Doom,” Stratton says of the variety of demons. The more we played, the better we began to understand how and on which enemy each weapon acts in each specific situation. We spent only 90 minutes on a single player campaign, but in the end we learned more or less what we need to survive both in the cold corridors of the Martian complex OAK and in the sticky depths of hell. Of course, we did not manage to become such masters as Martin - in order to learn how to flip a switch, an hour and a half is not enough - but DOOM quickly made it clear that success in it does not depend on chance, but on skill, and by this the game is noticeable different from other modern shooters. DOOM isn't just about killing demons. He is in the style of these very murders. In the decisions you make for them. And in the speed with which they are performed.

“When you play Doom, you’re your own fighter,” says Stratton. Based on what we have experienced and seen while watching Martin's unique playing style, this is the case.

Campaign levels: Intro (presumably starting with it)
- Argent Tower
- BFG Division
- Blood Keep
- Blood Keep B
- Electro Tower
- Genesis Surface
- Hangar
- Lazarus
- Olympia Engineering
- Olympia Shipyard
- Olympia Surface West
- Polar Core
- Resource Ops
- Resource Ops Foundry
- Surface
- Titan

Thompson1929
Thanks, interesting article)