DOOM (2016): RIP, TEAR, AND NEVER STAND STILL

9.0 of 10 bananas. The reboot that made shooters fast again: no cover, no regen, just you moving forward through Hell.

By the Alpha. PS4 disc listing. Updated Oct 14 2026.

Honest note: This is not a fresh hands-on playtest. I built this verdict from launch reviews, critic consensus, patch history, and what is known about the game today. If I put real hours in on stream, I will update the score and say so.

Platforms: The Amazon button is the original 2016 DOOM for PS4 (Bethesda Softworks, US release). At my check the listing showed very low stock, so it may sell out. DOOM is also on PC through Steam, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch, and the PS4 disc plays on a PS5 with a disc drive through backward compatibility.

Sit with me a moment. Young gorillas think calm means slow. Not here. DOOM taught me a different calm, the calm of a hunter who never stops moving because stopping is how you die. In the opening minutes, a man starts explaining things over a monitor, and the Doom Slayer shoves it aside. The game agrees with him.

What It Wants To Be

id Software's 2016 reboot strips the shooter back to motion and aggression. You charge through a Mars research base and into Hell itself, and the game rewards you for getting close. Stagger a demon, finish it with a glory kill, and it drops health. Run low on ammo, use the chainsaw, and it drops ammo. Fighting is how you heal.

What Works

That loop is pure. Every arena turns into a dance of dodging, switching weapons, and diving in for the kill. The Super Shotgun is a legend. Levels hide secrets and classic map rooms for anyone who looks. Mick Gordon's heavy soundtrack drives every fight, and critics at launch called the campaign one of the best shooter campaigns in years.

What Breaks

Listen well. The multiplayer was the weak part at launch and never matched the campaign. The story is thin on purpose, so if you want lore you have to read logs. Arena after arena can blur together in the back half. DOOM Eternal later built a deeper, harder version of this loop, so some players will want to start there.

Who Should Play

Play if you want a pure, fast, single player shooter with no fat on it. Skip if you need cover, stealth, or a big story. If Eternal felt too busy for you, this is the cleaner cut.

Related: DOOM Eternal, DOOM: The Dark Ages, Titanfall 2.

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