AtimZarr1

I killed it. It's a demon in a Doom game and Revenants are supposedly in constant pain and agony according to the 2016 Codex anyways.

DLC 2 still has mixed reviews on Steam: 62% overall and 63% recently - so basically reception to it has remained the same since it came out. I wouldn't say it "ruined Doom" though, it was just a weak pay-off to Eternal due to a variety of gameplay and story reasons. I'm willing to move past criticisms on its (lack of) ambition since the covid excuse is reasonable for its development cycle. Although the gameplay philosophies and story directions of DLC 2 were eyebrow-raising, so I hope they take lessons to heart and course-correct on their next entry. I think I was too harsh initially towards Hulshult/Levy's tracks - they're actually great. I still prefer Mick's interpretation of Doom - but the new composers did a great enough job. Blood Swamps, World Spear, and DLC 2 Credits music live rent-free in my head.

I was hoping for the next title to be a reboot based on Quake 1, but it's not entirely surprising that they would continue Doom with its proven success - plus with the continued cross-promotions and recently released Mighty Doom, so it was clear they wanted the franchise to remain relevant. "Year Zero" is an interesting title, possibly a working one as Fallout 76 was referred to as Fallout Worlds in that same document. My immediate thought goes to a 2016 prequel set during the Slayer's time on Argent D'Nur - as that was certainly year zero for the Sentinels. However, it wouldn't exactly be a "year zero" for our hero - maybe as his start as the Slayer, but his story began on Phobos. Plus, I recall Hugo Martin expressing hesitancy about the idea for a DLC set between 2016 and Eternal because it would be awkward in terms of power level or explaining why he loses his weapons again - I feel like that would be applicable here. Not like either of these considerations strongly contradict the initial thought of a Year Zero set during Argent D'Nur. A more out-there alternative interpretation of the title, aligned with the current year being Doom's 30th anniversary, makes me wonder if they could possibly do a modern remake of Classic Doom to make it aligned with 2016/Eternal. It's a shaky thought though, I don't think id Software would be interested in "redoing" something as classic (or abstract) as Doom, and it might come off as quite similar to Doom 2016. Another interpretation, if we view 2016 as a redo of Ultimate Doom and Eternal as a redo of Hell on Earth - is if Year Zero could perhaps be a "redo" of Doom 3 set in the past, featuring a different protagonist and another try at action-horror. Not sure how that would work realistically though, or if they would be willing to part ways with the Slayer in the next "big" Doom game. Perhaps I'm just hesitant to accept a "Year Zero" because I would honestly prefer a Doom Eternal sequel over a prequel, and that's if they absolutely had to pick Doom over Quake. Granted, the document doesn't contain any information about the then-unreleased Quake remasters - I'm not quite certain if they would appear there or not based on how developmental timelines go, but perhaps it's a sign that things could change. So maybe there's still hope for Quake. That said, I'm not complaining about more Doom either - it's my preferred franchise. I wonder if we'll see an announcement later close to December because of this year's significance - but that also seems unlikely to me because I feel as if QuakeCon would've been an opportunity to announce something for a new game. Although if Starfield got delayed by about two years according to the document, maybe we can apply the same delay to Year Zero - and if so along with past release timings, that would suggest a cinematic/gameplay reveal for Year Zero this year (2023), followed by a release in 2025. I'm 50/50 on that timeline, mostly hesitant because they skipped the opportunity at QuakeCon - so the only other opportunity would be announcing the title at The Game Awards, which is just three days before Doom's anniversary - so perhaps that could be aligned well enough for them.

When Doom 2016 opened up with the Slayer awakening from a sarcophagus, we could view that as a metaphor for the franchise itself. With The Ancient Gods DLCs having the Slayer put back into the sarcophagus (and dealing with the Dark Lord, the overarching antagonist of the newer Doom titles), I perceive it as id Software putting Doom back to rest, for now. They could have spin-offs like Mighty Doom, but I don't think they'd go as far as to change the protagonist since the Doom Slayer has been quite successful. With that said, I think a new Quake reboot would not only be rewarding for long-time Quake fans, but also give id Software an opportunity to work on something other than Doom since the past 15 years or so. Doom Eternal had already dialed the push-forward combat design of Doom 2016 up to 11, and it's difficult to see how they can push things further past Eternal's already hyper-active and complex resource-management of a gameplay loop. They could dial it back, but I don't know if that makes sense for them to do right now. A new Quake reboot would give them an opportunity to be flexible with the game design since they can afford to make changes without worrying about disappointing fans who preferred Eternal's combat loop. Not only that, but they can explore new design spaces in trying to resurrect Quake. If anything, I could envision something between the purity of Doom 2016 and combat management of Doom Eternal for a Quake reboot - a simpler heavier approach but still involving active gameplay choices, since I think if Hugo Martin is still game director, he would go for that at some level. A Quake reboot based on Quake 1 would also make a lot of sense, since that's the only Quake without any real dedicated follow-up. They also released the Quake 1 remaster a short while ago, which could be an appetizer similar to how Doom 3 BFG was an appetizer before Doom 2016. The real consideration is whether making a Quake reboot makes "sense" from a financial point of view compared to just making another Doom game, since Quake has certainly struggled in its last few entries. And despite Doom Eternal coming to an end, they've still been cross-promoting the brand with Doom Slayer appearing in Fortnite or developing the Mighty Doom spin-off. There was that job posting for id Software from a while back about working on an established FPS brand with "sci-fi" and "fantasy" elements, which could either mean Doom or Quake. I think a new Quake game would be great, but I wouldn't complain about more Doom - as I'm more into Doom than Quake anyways. I just think Quake deserves a modern re-imagining and there are a few signs that would have it make sense, but I wouldn't be surprised if it turns out their next game is indeed another Doom sequel. I don't think it's likely at all, but these recent sci-fi horror titles and remakes have me low-key wishing for a Doom 3 remake as well. With their modern tech and gameplay design sensibilities (relative to their mid-2000 era), I think another go at Doom 3 as a proper action-horror would be incredible and an opportunity to do the original concept justice.

As some may know, Mighty Doom is getting released next month (funnily enough about a year since after this post was made). I don't know why it took this long to release, I was beginning to suspect the game was quietly canceled. This year will be Doom's 30th anniversary, so maybe it has something to do with that. As a recent update was added to the game, I figured I should record some updated high-level gameplay footage too. I go through the menu systems, daily events gameplay, and the final mission (Hell on Earth Pt. II). Some notable additions in this update include: a battle pass, weapon skins, destructible walls, shootable barrels, the addition of the Burst Rifle (from 2016's MP!), some new weapon powers in-run, and maybe the Mars Core maps randomly back in the daily Events levels. Here's the gameplay: Admittedly, I've been enjoying Mighty Doom recently more than before in bite-sized bits. Its major criticisms are still there like general repetition dragging longer gameplay and its sour-taste mobile-standard monetization set-up that drives its progression system. I can really only tolerate 15 minutes in a day, and that's just to complete the daily event levels. And not to mention that mobile game preservation in general is terrible, and this game being always-online doesn't help in that regard either. There's a decent chance this game might go the way of Doom Resurrection in how many years. On the upside, they do bother to add a few new ideas, like the fight-able Hell Priest bosses, enemy (boss) variants with extra/modified attacks like the ice Imps, and elemental damage and effects for each enemy and weapon. The developers have been trying to vary up the moment-to-moment gameplay with updated room layouts and enemy compositions, so I'll give them credit for effort there. Besides adding the battle pass and weapon skins, they've also added more environmental interactions this most recent update - you can destroy walls with enough damage, there are explosive barrels for you to shoot at, and there seems to be more hazards in rooms. Not to mention, drastically overhauling the gameplay with the added ability to move and shoot in an earlier version also helps it set itself apart from other Achero clones while also leaning more into the expected Doom gameplay. While it's easy to be pessimistic about its longevity (in both playtime and lifetime), I think the developers have shown signs of at least listening and trying, and I think that's commendable. Definitely worth a try if you're interested in having something on the side, but probably not enough on its own to be enjoyed at a deeper level, let alone be considered the main attraction for Doom's 30th anniversary.

If I recall correctly, the relevant namedrop was specifically at The Game Awards 2016.

Glad we finally get Mick's perspective on the subject. It's a long read but definitely worth it. It's a really damning statement, especially with the proofs provided. The fact he wasn't paid for months (and even still for "rejected" work that was used anyways), had to crunch for days/weeks, had delayed / absent follow-ups for communications, and was manipulated along the way several times only to be blamed solely in the end anyways is really shitty and puts id Software in a bad light. Marty in particular comes off as an ass. The way they mistreated and manipulated Mick so blatantly, as if they didn't want to work with him, comes off as bizarre. The timing of Mick's statement is also notable, since id Software is expected to reveal their newest game within the next year or so. This will definitely cast a looming shadow over that project (especially since the soundtrack in the newer Doom games have been an oft-discussed highlight), and hopefully Mick's statement catches on long enough for there to be some sort of amicable resolution. The fact that Marty's out-of-the-blue Reddit post is one sticking point they refused to relent on is absurd. Regardless, I still doubt we'll see a resolution where Mick and id work out their differences to re-release the Eternal OST proper unfortunately. I also wonder how this will reflect on Hugo, since he did comment a few times in Marty's Reddit post to quote its contents. Mick's statement also highlights another under-the-radar issue, specifically with id Software / Bethesda now in control of the r/Doom subreddit and Doom Discord. According to Mick, he reached out to an r/Doom moderator to take Marty's Reddit post down due to real-world harassment, which was obliged - but soon after re-instated, with the moderator blocking Mick. Marty's lawyers soon contacted Mick to tell him that taking down the post "greatly offended" Marty. With id Software / Bethesda in control of both typically fan-run message boards, they now have the ability to directly control what users can see posted about the companies on those boards. I don't see this changing anytime soon either but it is certainly concerning and something to keep in mind. Finally, I hope Mick's statement catches on and he is able to recover his professional reputation and stave off at least some off the harassment. It sounds like an incredibly frustrating and shitty situation all-around. I don't understand why id Software mismanaged and mistreated Mick so poorly, it comes off so absurd and ridiculous. I do wonder if they'll release a counter-statement or if they'll just hope this all blows over by the time they promote their next game. In any case, I wish Mick all the best. He deserves a lot better.

Seems that Mighty Doom has been quietly released worldwide now as well, not sure when that happened (if anyone here could verify, that would be appreciated). Will be interesting to see what other people's thoughts are on the game. For myself, it's been a decent-ish game to play on the side with standard mobile-style monetization and practices that suffers from general repetitiveness. The most recent app update (October 3) just had some campaign re-balancing and general polishing. Notably, they still haven't brought back the Mars Core stages, missing the last two Talent upgrades (Suit Boost and Timed Rewards), and promotional images still feature the Arachnotron and Dread Knight despite not appearing in the game. In regards to issues brought up during early testing, they addressed some of them. They have added the ability to shoot and move at the same time, attempted to increase the variety of room layouts and enemy compositions, and have reduced the number of floors per stage from 50 to 40. Issues with monetization (i.e. $100+ currency purchases and cash-only outfits with unique effects), mobile practices (i.e. watching ads to revive), and nerfed reward gains have (unsurprisingly) remained unaddressed. They have even added additional sales bundles since last time, so that's something to keep in mind. I made an updated review post a while back on the Console Doom subforum, so you can read that if you're interested in learning more. Otherwise, you can try out the game yourself now.

"Corrax Entry 7:17" (and the quote itself) is from Doom 2016, specifically the opening text of the game. They re-used it in Doom Eternal's DLC because it's meant to callback to the beginning of that game (i.e. the Slayer being sealed away). The theory falls apart for that reason alone. I do think id Software's next title is probably in 2024, but I think it's more likely to be Quake than Doom. Doom Eternal's DLC ending was fairly conclusive, they recently released the Quake remaster, and I imagine id Software wants to work on something other than Doom (as they have been working on that for almost 15 years now).

I think so as well. The Doom Slayer's conquest against Hell began in the First Age (i.e. Doomguy in Ultimate Doom), an epic battle took place during the Third Age involving a Baalgar/Cyberdemon (i.e. final boss in Doom 3), and both the Spider Mastermind was prophecized to return in the Fourth Age and the Barons of Hell are noted to be the the "current royal guard of the unknown Dark Lord of the Fourth Age" (i.e Doom 2016).

E3M9 - Warrens I realized I hadn't tried any of the secret maps outside of E1M9, so I was using the console commands in GZDoom to skip to each of them to try them out. When I got to E3M9, I thought I had made a mistake or something and quickly checked if I inputted the right info or not. Probably one of my favorite secret maps now.

I wasn't planning on covering any more updates for Mighty Doom, but interestingly a recent patch has a few large-scale undocumented changes - including the ability to finally move and shoot at the same time. That's a significant game-changer (if rather hilarious to read for any Doom fan) as Mighty Doom's early access build since its availability last year always had the perplexing "move or shoot" mechanic. This change makes the game significantly easier and more fun to play, although the issues with general repetition still plague the overall gameplay. At the very least, it does suggest the developers are willing to make changes to the game to improve overall feel and flow - so that's commendable. Another significant change is the addition of Events, at long last. The Events Page had been locked since the game's early access launch over a year ago and it wasn't clear either what it was supposed to be exactly. Currently, they seem to be 2-3 daily challenges with added gameplay modifiers. From a gameplay perspective, they're a bit more incentivizing to login for compared to something like the daily login rewards or quests. However, their delivery is a little lackluster. Currently the challenges are just 20 stages with one "positive" modifier and one "negative" modifier, both of which are quite insignificant. For example, a debuff modifier might be extra damage and speed for Cacodemons or that melee-only enemies will spawn. These modifiers don't really mean much in the moment-to-moment gameplay and it fails to create a more varied experience which I presume is the reason for these to exist in the first place. Video Gameplay of Events + Moving and Shooting (about one minute in for gameplay) Three more minor changes that I may as well mention is the inclusion of elemental damage types, changes to bosses, and a UI update. Elemental damage is pretty interesting as different weapons / enemies will have different effects depending on the elemental type. For example, the previous "blue imps" that tossed multiple fireballs now toss "iceballs" that slow the player down. Or you can unlock a "Lead Poisoning" upgrade in a run that causes your Heavy Cannon's bullets to inflict a damage-over-time effect on enemies. An interesting change that adds a bit of flavor. Most bosses are now somewhat more tougher with more aggressive or unique attacks. For example, the Whiplash boss variant now tosses multiple zig-zagging projectiles that are surprisingly tough to avoid. Some of the bosses can continue to be exploited, like the Tentacle boss that still is out-of-range of the player or the Doom Hunter boss that doesn't turn to face you in the first phase (so you can just run past him to avoid his auto-shots). Finally, there's a UI update to add a lot more color to the game menus. Nothing much to say regarding this, besides that it just makes the game shinier to look at. Interestingly, they also added Daisy to Doomguy's shoulder on the loading screen. I do wonder if a UI update like this suggests the game may be planned to be released sometime in the near-ish future. Perhaps possible news at QuakeCon? Anyways, to highlight the UI changes and to remind everyone what kind of game Mighty Doom is, here's a screenshot from the in-game store: I also included screenshots featuring the UI update at various points in the original post, although just as links.

The Doom Slayer does have brown hair, it's just really dark for whatever reason. The opening cutscene makes it look much darker than it's supposed to be. Here are two images to highlight his hair color: Doom Slayer's face in-game Doom Slayer's face concept art Besides which, the purpose of the Sentinel Prime cutscene was to show that the Doom Slayer is Doomguy, hence why he's wearing the Classic armor. The ARC broadcasts also refer to the Doom Slayer as Doomguy - a nickname usually associated to the Classic protagonist. That's reinforced in Quake Champions when the Slayer's Classic skin is referred to as "Doomguy", while the Doom 3 skin is referred to as "Doom Marine". I don't see how this explains that the Doom Slayer isn't Doomguy. The Doom 3 marine is a different character who saw a tablet carving of Doomguy during his own adventure. Following the games chronologically and with some headcanon, we can assume Doomguy became Doom Slayer after Doom 64 - and the tablet in Doom 3 (released between Doom 64 and Doom 2016) is a brief glimpse into that fate, where Doomguy had become a legend among an alien civilization for his battle against the demons.

After the negative reception to Doom 2016's multiplayer for "not being Doom / being too generic" (among other issues), especially in the context of the much more favorably received campaign - id Software decided to aim for Doom Eternal's multiplayer to be "more Doom" and "more unique". So they took the gameplay loop of the campaign (Slayer vs demons with a gameplay focus on resource management and fast-paced combat) and made that the basis for the multiplayer - so the result is the 2v1 Battlemode and the absence of traditional Deathmatch. When asked why there was no Deathmatch pre-launch, id Software said in interviews that they wanted to make something different in the multiplayer market. They also said that Doom Eternal wasn't designed or balanced with Deathmatch in mind, particularly they believed that the fast-paced nature of the game would mean the player with better reaction skills would always dominate. Another point to consider is that Doom 2016's Multiplayer (and SnapMap) were made in partnerships with other studios. With Doom Eternal however, they decided to tackle the multiplayer in-house - so it's likely why Battlemode is much smaller-scaled than Doom 2016's multiplayer was and why they simply couldn't add additional gameplay modes. And based on game director's Hugo Martin design philosophy, it seems they wanted to stick with their guns and commit to what they developed with Battlemode, rather than trying to pivot partway through due to demand. It'll be interesting to see what id Software does for their next game in regards to multiplayer. Personally, I'm exhausted of the controversies and issues associated with newer Doom games' multiplayer modes - especially how they seemingly commit to multiplayer but not other modes (dropping SnapMap for Doom Eternal or focusing most of 2016's post-launch support on multiplayer updates rather than fan-demand for singleplayer DLCs). Although I imagine if id Software does make a new Quake game, they could advertise it with "true traditional Deathmatch" since that's what Quake has been associated with and they've already tried two different multiplayer spins with Doom - so it might be a chance to go for something more classic inspired. TL;DR - (1) Doom 2016 multiplayer was criticized for being too generic, (2) Doom Eternal wasn't balanced with multiplayer in mind, (3) Doom Eternal's multiplayer was developed in-house, and (4) they wanted to commit to making Battlemode succeed rather than trying to pivot with traditional Deathmatch

--- INTRODUCTION Hey everyone, Mighty Doom is a new mobile Doom spin-off based on Doom Eternal that's been in early access testing in Canada and New Zealand for almost over a year at this point. There was a previous thread on the Doom Eternal subforum where I wrote a few posts commenting on its development. Due to some ridiculous changes regarding monetization and hitting a wall in terms of difficulty, I took an extended break from the game. However with my new phone, I'm actually able to record video gameplay of Mighty Doom without any crashes - previously, I just took screenshots. So I have recorded over an hour of no-commentary gameplay going over all the stages and taking a brief look at different menu features. Since it's been a long time since I covered this game and considering this is a mobile Doom game, I decided to create a new thread here on the Console Doom subforum. Since this is an always-online mobile game, the game's long-term longevity is questionable - so I wanted to document as much as I could, as well as offer my thoughts on the game. Screenshots: Loading Screen Main Page MONETIZATION First, I wouldn't recommend the game just on the basis of its blatant monetization on an unreleased early access game. It's typical mobile-style monetization - able to spend upwards to $100 on in-game currency, various resource bundles, and skins with different gameplay effects. You can watch advertisements daily to earn additional currency or boost the auto-resource generator - and can even watch an advertisement to revive once during gameplay. The auto-resource generator was updated to be time-limited to encourage you to login more often - which is also the role of the daily login rewards. There's also a VIP pass you can purchase (no option to buy with in-game currency) to earn additional rewards from completing stages. One of the updates increased the cost of unlocking upgrades while also reducing stage completion rewards to make the game even more grindy. That's the kind of mobile game that Mighty Doom is. Unlike the previous mobile-exclusive Doom games, this isn't aimed at being a creative spin like the Doom RPGs or a standalone demake like Doom Resurrection. It's a modern mobile title that's cashing in on Doom Eternal's success and it's an always-online game that likely won't be preserved in the long-term. It's really unfortunate that this is the case, and is a strong reason not to engage with the game. Bundles and Deals Lootboxes for Crystals or Keys Crystals for Cash Coins for Crystals GAMEPLAY Mighty Doom is a top-down shooter where you advance through stages - fighting demons, dodging attacks, and unlocking upgrades. Most notably, you cannot attack and move at the same time, meaning you need to strategize when to reposition and when to stand and attack. Besides that, the actual moment-to-moment gameplay is mostly faithful to the spirit of Doom. In the later stages, you often fight a diverse group of demons each with different attacks and behaviors, which can be quite fun if not a bit overwhelming in some arenas with tight spaces. I actually like the gameplay, but it does suffer from being repetitive for three reasons: (1) enemy compositions usually aren't diverse enough from room-to-room, (2) you primarily rely on just one weapon, and (3) the rooms are bland in layout. One of the hallmarks to any Doom game is the level design - exploring the environment for secrets or using it to your advantage in combat. Mighty Doom lacks that - each room is a small rectangle with some boxes randomly littered about. It makes every fight feel same-y, and there isn't any interesting ways to approach combat. It would be like if Classic Doom was just a series of rooms with some blocks around and all you had was a Chaingun. It might be fun for a little bit, but it'd wear out really fast. There are a few damaging surfaces like spikes or interactive moment tiles like teleporters, which are nice opportunities for change but are too few and far between. You can also see the patterns of enemy spawns repeating themselves really quick as well, while there are fights later on that are diverse - many of them unfortunately are not. And finally, you use just one weapon with two alternates - a secondary weapon and a melee weapon. However, both of those alternate weapons are a one-time use with a cooldown, meaning you're just using the default weapon for the majority of gameplay. All of these issues contribute to an overall sense of repetitiveness. Gameplay Screenshot Settings Page DIFFICULTY Mighty Doom is divided into five primary stages, each with 50 rooms (with one exception). The health and damage output of the enemies increases per room advanced, meaning eventually everything turns into a bullet sponge that kills in a few hits. Initially, I liked that the game seemed mostly skill-based since you could just avoid all the projectiles and play smart with spacing in the environment. But my enjoyment got reduced when I slowly found out about the stat increases with each room completion. When you hit a difficulty wall from that, it's really demoralizing and was one of the primary reasons I stopped playing for a long time. The solution is supposed to be grinding earlier stages to unlock more permanent upgrades, but the issue is that the upgrade acquisition rate seems to be incredibly slow. There's a gearing system, but I've barely made any significant interactions with it in ages - it feels like upgrading and unlocking gear is really slow. There's also a talents system with passive upgrades that can be purchased with coins. Of course, this is one of the systems that became more grindy in one of the upgrades. Overall, the difficulty feels quite artificial and it's really slow to try to use the "solution", which is likely on purpose to encourage players to spend on currency. MECHANICS Enemies have a chance to become staggered when near-killed, allowing you to melee them for a Glory Kill that restores health. Other than that, there's no way to recover health in combat. One of the purposes of Glory Kills in Doom 2016 / Eternal is that they are a strategic way to recovering health from enemies. If there's no way to reliably stagger enemies, then healing in combat is basically random. There's no medikits to pick up either, so your health recovery is effectively dependent on random chance, which isn't fun when you're low on health. If you do die, you have 5 seconds to revive yourself once per game - either by watching an advertisement or by spending the crystal currency. This mechanic is even worse once you realize that when Mighty Doom initially was available for testing, the revival effect was free because "the Slayer's rage lets him keep fighting". Which was a flavorful second chance, but the current implementation is desperately pushing you to make a quick decision to watch an ad or spend currency (that you can spend real money on). It overall leaves a sour taste each time you play. Every few room completions usually come with an unlock. First, you earn experience every fight which can unlock the ability to choose one of three random upgrades. They are themed by weapons, glory kills, and other general upgrades. I actually like this mechanic, although most of the builds tend to be linear. Every few rooms completed gives you a small room where you can unlock one of two upgrades offered by a friendly Sentinel - either a minor boost or healing. Previously, the healing was a chance to gain armor instead, but currently there's no longer a way to acquire armor in the game. Finally, defeating a boss room either gives a Supply Bot or a Seraphim - the former gives you a random spin for one upgrade while the latter gives you a offer where you get a bonus at the cost of a penalty. Not a fan of the supply bot, I'd rather just be able to choose an upgrade, especially since most of the time it just gives experience. For the Seraphim, I also like this mechanic since it involves more interesting decision-making that could penalize you in future rooms. MONSTERS Here's an overview of all enemies so far. Most of the enemies have alternate versions, some have larger boss variants, and a few are boss-exclusives. Zombie - Very basic enemies that slowly move to melee the player. They're basically fodder and aren't very interesting. Considering you can't strategically trigger staggers like in Doom 2016/Eternal, their role in gameplay is diminished. Mecha Zombie - Fires a projectile in various directions. The lack of aiming means they are pretty much a non-threat, unless you aren't careful with positioning. They also have a close-range flamethrower attack, but it rarely ever occurs. Blaster Soldier - Fires a projectile in a straight line. They're simple but are pretty effective, and can be deceptively dangerous in larger numbers. One of the variants. One of the variants fires multiple projectiles at a time, making them even more dangerous in the bigger fights. Shield Soldier - Has a shield to absorb damage and attacks in melee. Lack of damage output means they don't seem to be really threatening and you can permanently disable the shield with just enough damage, so they're overall very ineffective. Hell Razer - Unleashes a tracking laser beam after a delay. These are easily the most dangerous enemies in the game - the tracking lasts for a long time and having to deal with a delayed attack is really problematic in most chaotic fights. One of the alternate variants fires multiple beams as well, which is even more absurd to deal with when there's so many other enemies to deal with. You can see in the gameplay how many times Hell Razers consistently put me at low health compared to any other enemy, and really I think it's the only enemy that needs to be nerfed. Tentacle - Hidden stationary enemies that melee when in range. They're really not threatening at all and I don't think I even took damage from any of them. The boss variant is hilariously bad though - while it remains revealed throughout the fight, its attack is limited in range - meaning you can kill it from a distance safely and it has no way of actually hitting. Imp - Tosses a fireball in a location after a delay. Because of how little space the fireballs take at a projected location and how long they take to fire, they're considerably less threatening than the similar Blaster Soldiers. One variant is a blue imp that tosses multiple projectiles, which can be surprisingly dangerous if you're not careful. Prowler - Tosses a fireball while also teleporting to avoid attacks. Previously, the Prowler used to shoot multiple projectiles before teleporting. In a recent update, they seem to teleport each time they take damage, which is incredibly annoying to deal with since you spend a long time trying to finish the last Prowler off in a fight after everything else is already dead. Pinky - Charges in a straight line while armored from the front. They're really tanky compared to most other enemies in the game, and because of the lack of mobility options, you can't quickly or reliably get behind to avoid the protective armor. Their attacks have long enough delays between each other, that they're really not a dangerous enemy. Lost Soul - Charges in a straight line. Just a lower tier version of the Pinky functionally. Interestingly, an alternate variant "wanders" around the arena in predetermined paths. That one is more interesting to play against and should probably be the default version. Considering you can't manually aim, sometimes trying to finish off these wandering Lost Souls can be a bit tricky. Cacodemon - Fires a projectile while also flying over unpassable terrain. A straightforward but decent enemy for its flying ability. Also has a bite attack, but that rarely is seen. One of the alternate variants fires projectiles that bounce off of surfaces, which is also interesting to avoid. Not much to say, but I like the Cacodemon overall. Whiplash - Fires a barrage of projectiles. This one is a bit weird since an earlier update had them attack with their whip at medium range like their Doom Eternal counterpart. Not sure why they changed it. One of the characteristics of the Whiplash is that it's supposed to be difficult to hit, but the one in Mighty Doom is a relatively easier to hit, so it loses that bit of its personality. Revenant - Shoots tracking missiles and flies around periodically. The missile is more Doom 3 than Classic Doom, so it's easy to avoid if you keep a good distance. In any case, the enemy isn't particularly threatening. Cyber-Mancubus - A boss-only enemy that fires frontal gases and tosses projectiles occasionally. Not really a threatening enemy and I defeated him without taking any damage. Seems to need to increase its speed and reactivity since it sat around and did nothing for a while for the boss fight. Not sure why there's no regular Mancubus. Hell Knight - Leaps at the player and performs melee attacks. Another simple enemy but fairly decent since it's more unpredictable compared to Lost Souls or Pinkies. Relatedly, there also used to be a Baron of Hell boss, which didn't seem to spawn during my playthrough. Not sure if it's a rare chance thing or if it got cut. Hell Priest - A Mighty Doom-exclusive boss enemy (based on the Hell Priests from Doom Eternal). Mostly just unleashes meteors on the arena, which isn't too difficult to avoid. I noted previously there was an close-range area attack, but that didn't get used in my recent playthrough. I think having a non-boss version that spawns meteors in regular fights would actually be interesting to have around. Doom Hunter - A boss-only enemy with two phases. It fires tracking missiles in the first phase, almost exactly like the Revenant since they're also really easy to avoid. The second phase occurs after taking some damage, where the Doom Hunter now charges in straight lines. Also pretty easy to avoid, so it's overall another boss that's pretty easy to deal with. Boss Variants - Many of the lower tier enemies have alternate boss versions, where you just fight one of them at a larger size. Sometimes, they have smaller versions to aid them or call down meteors during the arena. It's pretty amusing to see something like a Zombie boss or a Lost Soul boss. Also, there's an Arachnotron and a Dread Knight in the promotional wallpaper for the game, but I haven't encountered them at all. Maybe they're not implemented yet, I don't know. --- LOCATIONS Each of the five stages are based on different environments - Earth, Exultia, Nekravol, Doom Hunter Base, and Hell on Earth. Most of the stages play similar to each other, but of course the later stages are tougher and have more damaging surfaces present in the arenas. Interestingly, Nekravol is the only 20-floor stage - where you fight waves of enemies after passing a certain part of each room. Conversely, the other stages are 50 rooms where you just fight a single wave of enemies that spawn immediately. Not sure why it's different, but I think it's a good idea to help make different stages more unique from each other considering most of the rooms are going to feel same-y after a while anyways. There also used to be a Mars Core stage, but that got removed in one of the updates. Not sure why or if their plan is to rotate stages. --- MENU FEATURES Sentinel Batteries - To enter a stage, you need to spend 5 Sentinel Batteries of 20 that recharge over time. This is the typical "limited playtime" mechanic present in most modern mobile games. What makes it worse is that the earlier versions of Mighty Doom didn't have this mechanic present. And of course, you can spend crystals to refill Sentinel Batteries instantly, which can also be earned by spending real money. Coins and Crystals - These are the two currencies of the game. The coins are passively earned from defeating demons and are spent on upgrading gear or unlocking talents. You can unlock more coins by spending crystals. Crystals are Mighty Doom's "premium" currency that is also present in most modern mobile games, and of course can be purchased with real money. You can earn Crystals without spending money, but at a significantly slower rate. VEGA Mining - An auto-resource generator that gives coins and experience. Previously, there was no capacity on VEGA Mining, meaning if you left the game for a month, you'd have a month's worth of resources to pick up next time. In an update though, they placed a capacity on it that fills by the end of the day. The funny thing is that the previous implementation of VEGA Mining did actually convince me to check in once every few weeks, but the current implementation just soured the game enough for me to turn away for months instead. VEGA Mining Page Mail and Events - Both of these are unimplemented currently. Mail was a newer addition and it's pretty clear that it's supposed to be an intended way of delivering messages to the player. Events are interesting because the menu for them has been in the game since it initially released for early testing, but over a year later now, still no events have been put into the game. Events Page Mail Page Chapter and Daily Rewards - Completing stage milestones for the first time unlocks chapter rewards as a bonus. There's also a VIP Pass present in the Chapters Reward menu that unlocks additional bonuses from the milestones that can only be purchased with real money. The Daily Rewards are pretty straightforward, and in a recent update, are now cumulatively given (which is why I'm already on the sixth day of the reward despite not playing recently) rather than having the player actually log in each day to avoid resetting the daily reward count. Daily Missions Page Daily Rewards Page Inventory - The inventory menu allows you to equip and upgrade gear to increase your power. This seems to be a poorly implemented system though. I haven't had any significant interactions with gearing in ages, most of my gear has been upgraded from the earlier levels, and there isn't enough gear resources to actually upgrade the newer pieces, so they tend to be worse anyways. I also still have some slots unfilled despite being finished with all the stages. There's also a surprising lack of weapons, their drop rates are extremely low. I was excited to get the Combat Shotgun, but it seemingly shares the primary weapon slot with the Heavy Cannon - and that's too good to replace. You can also fuse three duplicate items of the same rarity to upgrade them as well, but that's also really rare and slow. This gearing system just feels too slow and as a result, I've basically hardly interacted with it at all. Inventory Page Equipment Page Talents - A menu of passive bonuses that can be spent with coins. For whatever reason, the bonuses are randomly given - so you can't actually choose which upgrades to pick. In the earlier versions of the game, it was actually relatively easy to progress in the Talents page. After one of the updates, they significantly increased the cost to Talent upgrades, to the point that I'm actually concerned the new player experience is probably going to be much more difficult. From the previous thread, I estimated the coin costs was increased by 10x, which is absurd. I doubt I would've gotten this far in the game if I had to overcome all that grinding in the earlier stages. Talents Page --- CONCLUSION Mighty Doom is a disappointment, featuring more negatives than positives unfortunately. On the one hand, I actually like the moment-to-moment gameplay of attacking enemies, dodging projectiles, using the environment to your advantage, and periodically unlocking upgrades within a run. I also think the cute aesthetic based on the collectibles from Doom Eternal fits the nature of being a mobile experience really well. The music is also pretty cool too and I like the renditions of pre-existing new Doom tracks (I think I heard a cover of Harbinger...). I think the game has potential if it was pivoted as a rogue-like Doom game featuring randomly generated maze levels, short but fast runs, and randomized unlocks and upgrades to keep gameplay fresh. But the gameplay is too repetitive and bland. Most of the rooms feel the same. Most of the fights feel the same. There's no exploration and most of the challenge comes from absurdly tuned damage and health scaling in the later stages. Progression relies too much on grinding earlier stages at a glacial pace. The upgrade system is poorly implemented and hardly worth interacting with. I don't feel compelled to keep playing, playing for an hour shows you everything the game has to offer. Doom games retain their longevity from having excellently crafted campaigns for you to explore and engage in - this game lacks that. It's just room after room after of the same 2-3 enemies at a time. Combat is simplistic, there isn't any choosing the right weapon for the right job, carefully triggering in-fighting to lay off pressure, or shooting at barrels to your advantage - every fight is approached with the same tactics. Not to mention the hilariously bad monetization present in the game - that is still in early testing over a year later. You can spend hundreds of dollars on in-game currencies. You're pushed to watch advertisements to gain other bonuses. Updates have made the game grindier and slower to encourage more spending for faster rewards. You can spend money on gameplay-altering skins or the VIP pass for bonus rewards - that you can't unlock through normal play. The game is so clearly interesting in cash-grabbing on Doom Eternal's popularity, that the whole package comes off as souring and off-putting. It's been almost a year after early testing has been enabled, and it's not really clear they can pivot this game to be something worth playing even after several updates. As it is right now, it remains a curiosity to try out but there's no compelling reason to stick with it in the long-term. --- Previous thread on the Doom Eternal subforum: