id Software, a game development company, released Doom + Doom II in major online game stores on August 8, 2024. This is a mash-up of the original hits Doom (1993) and Doom II (1994).
On February 1, 1991, programmers John Carmack and John Romero, game designer Tom Hall, and artist Adrian Carmack came together and founded id Software. id Software innovated the computer game market with games like Commander Keen (1991) and Wolfenstein 3D (1992). However, they felt they could do better, and in May 1992, they started to work on Doom, a fast-paced sci-fi first-person shooter, starring a lone space marine against the hordes of hell. They added elevation and variation in environments and enemies. It was a hit, with over 3.5 million copies sold by 1999. Later they released Doom II, which added new enemies, weapons, and maps. Unlike the original Doom, Doom II was sold in stores, selling 1.8 million copies and grossing $75 million in the U.S. alone.
After multiple lackluster entries in the series Doom had a massive reboot in 2016. Named simply Doom the special releases of the game came with remakes of the original 2 Doom games The new re-releases included local co-op, along with better graphics and pre-included expansions.
First, it’s important to mention that owners of the previous re-releases of Doom or Doom II on Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and 5, Nintendo Switch, Epic Game Store, the Microsoft Store, Steam, and Good Old Games are eligible for a free upgrade, which is a wonderful thing to do, bringing it back to a new audience but not harming previous owners of the two. The collection includes all the previous content in the original two 2019 versions and all the new content. There is online and local multiplayer with cross-play, a new death-match map pack that includes 25 new maps, new “Legacy of Rust” episodes, new demons and weapons, a mod menu, and finally the “Id vault.”
The new multiplayer is simple to understand; you select if you want LAN, online, or local, and then you choose if you want to play co-op or deathmatch. Co-op is simple; it’s just the single player but in split-screen. The deathmatch option lets you choose which episode to play and then the map you want to battle on.
The new “legacy of rust” expansion is amazing. It has 16 total maps spread across 2 episodes, The Vulcanic Abyss and Counterfeit Eden, with 1 secret map in each. Not only is it very challenging, but the level design pushes the Doom engine to its limit with many new textures and over-the-top geometry.
Another addition is the mod menu, which allows you to download user-created maps. However, this feature seems limited to certain versions of the game, notably the Nintendo Switch version.
The “Id vault” covers scraped and concept art for monsters, weapons, items, props and FX, hud and menus, and textures. Some enemies in “Legacy of Rust” are based on cut sprites like the original Arachnatron sprites and the beta Lost Soul, now the mind-weaver and the ghoul. The two newer weapons also pay homage to the incinerator which is made from an unnamed photo scan or the calamity blade which uses the other side of the toy gun used to make the BFG. There are also things like cut skies, the early cut helmet hud texture instead of the iconic hud, or the early cut weapon referenced as “Dark Claw,” scrapped so early on it never got anything more than a helmet hud icon and a ground item sprite.
Players seem to like the new re-release, as most of the reviews on the official Doom + Doom II steam page are positive, with over 20k positive reviews and only 700 negative. Reviewers talk about performance problems on PC and how there’s an undeniable bias towards console players. However, all the new content is amazing, and the choice to switch back to the original 2019 versions via Steam version history was a welcome addition.
Even though this re-release isn’t needed, it’s amazing how they can somehow add so much new content to Doom after over 30 years. If you’re a fan of precise fast-paced shooters you’ll love Doom+Doom II. The amount of new and existing maps, enemies, weapons, and content just solidifies the idea that this could be the definitive version of Doom and Doom II.
