It’s simple - it’s a wonderful jumble of 3D levels and pre-rendered sprites.
You run, you shoot, you rip, you tear, you find keycards, and that’s about it.
#ORIGINAL DOOM PC GAME SERIES#
Yep, this looks like hellĭoom (2016) and Doom Eternal both try to retain the spirit of the series while updating the mechanics and giving the player more tactical options and control of the situation - as long as you stay aggressive, of course - but the Doom 64 team didn’t feel the need to reinvent the wheel. But that’s what makes it so cool to play in 2020, and why I’m so glad Doom 64 is back and available on so many platforms. So yeah, the classic Doom series went out on a very strange, very underappreciated note, with a strange-looking, underappreciated game that was often mistaken for just another damn port. It would be the last Doom game until 2004’s Doom 3, which substantially changed what it meant for a game to carry the franchise’s name until Doom (2016) rebooted the series yet again. Doom 64 had always been a strange beast, and was kept in the vault since its debut, with only a relatively small cult of hardcore fans remaining. The gameplay itself featured everything that made Doom great, while the aesthetics seemed only loosely based on what came before.
Midway did change one aspect of the series, however: Doom 64 didn’t look anything like previous games in the series, or even games that would come later. Doom Eternal review: one of the best shooters in years