Where is the Tension, DOOM? Where is the Horror?

Jo from GamersFTW writes: "A new gameplay trailer for DOOM has been released recently and has been met with mixed feelings. This game has been long in the making and fans really want it to be both new but still hold something of the classic games that we all loved so much. Don’t get me wrong, the trailer does make it look like it’s going to be pretty epic, what with all the chainsaw hacking and leg pulling."

[MrsNesbitt]

Give it a chance. I cannot wait for this, it looks so violent it's scarily breathtaking to watch. It's gory and fun, that's all I need.

[xer0]

Doom refreshes the FPS genre, with hand to hand combat, and crazy ballistic kills. Based on the footage so far, I am so excited for the pace and weapons.

We don't need tension... we just want to have fun playing an entirely new bread of FPS.

Doom FTW! :)

I hope they make a VR patch for the game, as that would be crazy!

[MrsNesbitt]

Couldn't agree more. I think a VR patch would be, as the kids say today, SICK! It's definitely a refreshing take, considering the saturation of FPS in the market at the moment!

[Nodoze]

Brings back fantastic memories of playing Quake. I am sure the pace of the MP for this will be insane!! I for one cannot wait. I have been bleary eyed and hooked since the first trailer.

[nveenio]

Tension and horror? Did this article author ever play the original? I never felt tension or horror besides, "Bah! Stupid controls." And that was just a product of the times, not a fault of the game.

[Trilithon]

Someone want to explain how a VR patch would work? Would the head camera (view) be independent from the aim controls (gun) no one seems to have any idea how a fast paced FPS would work through a VR helmet. not to mention it wouldn't be able to push a left and right camera at a high frame rate with decent graphics..

[thekhurg]

Does this website just complain? The last several QQ articles I've seen for various games have all linked to this site.

[Kleptic]

yep...doom was only ever about 'tension and horror' one time...doom 3...which most would argue is the weakest in the franchise...

thankfully...this new one so far seems to be going back to the originals for inspiration...

[Gaming101]

The only Doom with any horror in it was Doom 3 and its expansions. The previous ones were run and gun shoot em ups like this one is. If anything, this goes back to its roots and ditches the flashlight that can barely see anything (originally needing to be held on its own with no weapon... how dumb).

It's up to the designers to say what they want to create, so get rid of your own personal preconceived notions about what you think the game should be, because it's not your game to make. It's ID's, and it's their art.

[Lord_Sloth]

It's funny how many people forget DOOM's origins as an action shooter with a horror aesthetic. It was just a fun game where you ran around and shot demons. I miss games like that and I liked what I saw in the trailer here.

[skratchy]

Cover art nonsense aside, I agree. I haven't really played a Doom game since the N64, and that was atrocious. I am completely open to what they're doing, and they have a great developer working on it. I'll wait to pass judgment till I play it.

[filchron]

doom 64 was dank

[BongSmack]

probably better than doom on snes.

[GUTZnPAPERCUTZ]

Doom 1 and 2 were not horror, Doom 3 was one of the scariest games ever for me... so hopefully they find a fine balance between 1/2 and 3 as far as keeping it a semi fast paced shoot-em up but keep the tension and slower paced puzzle mission that will creep the crap out of you

[Bahamut]

I didn't really like Doom 3. It should have been called something else, it really didn't feel like Doom at all.

[Kleptic]

^couldn't agree more...Doom 3 tried something new, and wasn't very good at it (I'd almost say Dead Space was a REALLY good sequel to doom 3)...but it had almost nothing in common with the originals, which made me think it would've been a bit more tolerable having just been a new franchise...

[Bahamut]

Doom has never been about the tension and the horror anyway. Seriously, I've been playing it since I got my hands on the shareware floppy disk oh so many years ago...

Doom 3 is the only game that changed the formula, I'm glad they're returning to what made Doom "DOOM".

[DefenderOfDoom2]

The horror element in the original DOOM was the lighting . It was scary going thru levels hearing monsters and not being able to see them, thanks to awesome engine John Carmack created.

[Pongwater]

Yeah the only tension Doom 1 and 2 had was "Damn look at all those enemies", "Damn look at that big enemy and all those smaller enemies", and "Oh no I picked up a power up, the lights went out, and I can hear lots of enemies".

Glad Doom is returning to it's roots. Doom 3 did nothing for me.

[twinspectre1990]

what happends when it's too late???

[NerdBurglars]

I think a lot of people forget what the original game was actually like. Our references change so much. http://nerdburglars.net/has...

[IamTylerDurden1]

Are you f****** kidding? That trailer is a smattering of gory goodness and perfectly placed pixels. It's an adrenaline fuelled hellride of epic proportions. I think the Gears 4 needs some of that same octane, as it currently appears to be running on empty.

DOOM isn't a creeky ghost story or an existential art-house experience. This is a 40 sec trailer, i'm sure the earlier sections will have more tension and suspense. However, at its core DOOM is about double barrell shotgun goodness. It looks incredibly polished, that id tech 6.

[PhantomTommy]

We need to stop talking about Doom like it's a horror game. Doom 1 and 2 had you violently mowing down hoards of enemies while midi metal tracks played, it was not subtle or scary.

[psplova]

Exactly. I felt little tension and no horror when playing the first two...

[kotaku77]

I used to play doom back in the 90's, I did felt the tension, and it was pretty scary for the time

[PoSTedUP]

Yeah there was tension, possibly made up in my mind bc i was young. Was kinda suspenseful too. Doom 3 turned way more horror and that was cool too. Looks like they are going back to their roots a little which is better imo. The classic shotgun is crazy powerful, looks better than ever, and i cant wait to blast monsters into pieces in DOOM4. Bring it.

[AnotherGamer117]

I played the Doom's back when they were released but I was not a younster then - I actually played it on work computers - lol.

There was no tension for me and to try and turn DOOM into a Horror game (IMHO) is just plain stupid. Bring back the slaying of enemies in a visceral way - what the original doom brought to the gaming world.

[jacksons98]

100% Disagree. The original Doom was one of the scariest games during it's time.

[nveenio]

Then you're 100% wrong, unfortunately. :) Of course, there really weren't any scary games, so you're technically right. But I would have said that Heretic would have been "scarier," though it released a year later.

[DefenderOfDoom2]

DOOM was scary back then . So many developers today influenced by DOOM, said original DOOM scared them back then.

[jacksons98]

@inveni0
Heretic wasn't scary at all, it was much brighter and had a more of a fantasy / castle feel to it. Doom with the lights off and sound cranked up **yikes** I know it made me jump plenty of times

[nveenio]

Then I guess I was just older and not as easily frightened.

[FlameBaitGod]

Doom one was the first of its kind, so it was just just fun to run and shoot lol, it was something new to do. But if its just running and shooting through map's and that's it, I think i'll get boring.

The MP modes look fun tho, especially how you can create your own maps and game play modes.

[DefenderOfDoom2]

The original DOOM was also like a maze game with so many choices on where to go , find secret areas , ect ._. Tom Hall wanted DOOM to be like Super Mario . It was the combination of John Romero's and Sandy Pederson 's twisted , maze like level design that made DOOM 1 and DOOM 2 so fun to play !

Call of Duty Blacks Ops 3 level design is so boring , if you go to explore levels , you get a warning to get back on path .

Funny YouTube video to watch " If DOOM was made today" from a few years ago.

[skratchy]

Kind of. In hindsight it's not that crazy. But, as a kid, back in those days, it was pretty intense some times.

[FastRedPonyCar]

Took the words out of my mouth. Doom never was a scary game. Just mindless fun/shooting/blowing up things

I don't care for or need a rich story, compelling characters or anything like that. I want to just kick back and have FUN wasting everything on the screen.

[MartinB105]

Depends which version you're talking about. PS1 Doom had an awesome ambient horror soundtrack and no ability to save in the middle of a level, which made the game a whole lot scarier and tense than the PC version.

That's how I'd like the new Doom to be.

[Free_Fro]

so, you're asking to be shown the best bits of the game before it releases?

Where is this? Where is that?

--
xoxo

[Miraak82]

This is exactly how I imaged what a classic remake should be and look like ..... so few developers actually get it right ... I feel the nostalgia tingling through my bones

[ChrisJ6]

Nostalgia is a wonderful thing. It can make you forgot the bad points and place certain things on a pedestal above everything else. The only problem is when there's a sequel and suddenly it can't live up to the fond memories you have. It might not be the developers fault, they have tried there best but they just can't make you relive the past.

[nveenio]

The new Star Wars movie is a great example of this. They did the best they possibly could, but nostalgia is a hard thing to beat.

[twinspectre1990]

some people are using the word nostalgia like femminist using the word sexist

[_LarZen_]

As I see it it's more true to the original Doom. Fast and wild.

[pinkcrocodile75]

This guy needs a kick in the love spuds!

The author is best keeping thier mouths shut and waiting for the game to release. Making judgements on the trailer is ridiculous. Like judging a book by it's cover. What a cretin!

[Angerfist]

The game appears to be very fast pace compared to Doom 3. But the original dooms were fast and there also wasn't that much shock and horror in it.

So it's probably more like back to the roots for doom. I'm curious if Bethesda will bring BFG Edition to Xbox One BC like they did with Fallout.

[Lonnie18]

I love the look and feel of this upcoming DOOM release, amazing graphics, blood, gore. Now if I want horror I'm waiting for a Dead Space revamp staying true to the orginal.

[Paytaa]

Wait until you all play the Multiplayer. FPS grass roots are making their way back into the fold. I already pre-ordered the Collector's Edition based on the Alpha alone.

Can't wait for this game. It's literally how Doom should be in 2016.

[Der_Kommandant]

Now we need Quake and Unreal Tournament.

[Paytaa]

Epic is currently doing a new Unreal Tournament that is open for the community to help make changes and it looks quite good (PC only) but I share that they need to bring Quake back after Doom is out for a while. I loved Quake 3.

I miss classic arena shooters that were like a game of chess and cat and mouse where there was always a skill gap even without ranking.

Hopefully since Halo has gone back to it's arena roots and Doom seems to be doing the same it is a successful venture and pushes devs to return to this classic design but obviously with a modern twist.

[WeAreLegion]

Can confirm. The current build of Unreal Tournament is excellent.

Go to unrealtournament.com and download it.

[Somebody]

The demonic horde from hell is coming to destroy the world. A space marine ain't got time to feel any tension or horror. He only has time to pick up a chainsaw and mow them down.

[Der_Kommandant]

If a want tension and scares i play a survival horror game, DOOM was about mindless gory fun you can even see that in the first box cover.

[Shuckylad]

I always cranked up the difficulty for the scares and horror, that feeling came from knowing that what's awaiting me around the next corner is going to kick my ass as I'm low on ammo and health.

[Dark_Crow]

An understandable concern.

However, I never thought that doom games were horror oriented. They were great shooters and th tension was in not dying.

There was also a sense of exploration to find the secrets and grab everything in the level.

[fitfox]

while this is true, doom 3's horror edge makes one wonder why they seem to be going off in a completely different direction.

[Dark_Crow]

Doom 3 was viewed by a lot to be underwhelming.

I personally didnt dislike it but it didnt really feel like a doom game to me.

I actually might give it another go to be honest. Before DOOM releases.

[MRoONEPINCHx]

DOOM was a horror game ? no .. so excited for this release !

[LightofDarkness]

Doom wasn't "about" horror. Doom used horror imagery and inspiration to create it's visual style and themes (e.g. Aliens inspired setting, Evil Dead inspired zombies, Satanic symbols, 80s horror gore), but the gameplay was action, action, action (with light puzzle solving). This game does the same, but I'm not overly impressed by the look of the monsters and horror-themed imagery. It looks way too Blizzard-y and generic (like they're trying not to offend anyone).

The tension, from what I can tell, is exactly like it was in the first two. Health does not regenerate, and you just have to pray there's a medkit in your near future or you've got the skill to combat the next nasty surprise the game throws at you without getting killed. The finishers are there to supplement your health and ammo mid-fight, it's kind of risk/reward. If you stop in Doom you will die, so taking the few moments to jump into a hot area, stand still a moment and hopefully come out with better odds just makes the fights more interesting strategically.

I had my doubts but barring some lacklustre visual elements, this looks to be the best possible come back for the series.

[asadachi]

Joanne Paul, have you ever played Doom before? I am guessing you haven't and don't really know much about how the game is supposed to be played. Doom has never been about horror, gore definitely, but not about scaring people. Play the game and when you're running out of ammo and waves of demonspawn are upon you, think about the tension then. Until then, write about something else, maybe something you have some vague idea about.

[Gatsu]

Doom never was a horror game.

[wenaldy]

Huh, Doom never was about a Horror game, LOL. The authour is clueless.

[superchiller]

This is typical of most articles from GamersFTW, they're poorly written, poorly thought out, and just bad.

Story quality? WTF?
Like this website? No

[Nodoze]

She was nary a twinkle in someones eye while we were trudging through the depths of hell slaying demons. What doth she know of Doom...naught.

[Picnic]

Doom 3 certainly looked like an attempt to be a horror game, with its Silent Hill-like creatures.

I've never actually played a Doom game. I was always more a fan of Quake's medieval meets scifi feel. Until Quake 4 seemed to turn the series ludicrously generic.
Doom 4 looks light, nimble, darkly humourous in its action and beautiful enough to make me want to play a Doom game for the first time.

[Pillsbury1]

The original doom wasn't horror, it was about shooting things in the face.

[MWH]

I asked the same question sometime ago and some people called me crazy because to them Doom was funny and not horrifying. it seems we played two different versions of the game.

glad to know I wasn't the crazy one.. or at least i'm not the only one!

maybe Doom isn't a Horror game but it had a tense and terrifying atmosphere that evoked similar experience.

[esmittystud101]

Doom on Windows 3.1 was scary back then.

[IWentBrokeForGaming]

I've only found the concept of doom to be horror not the gameplay. There's other games to offer you "horror" if you don't like doom. Go enjoy the stale run, evade, collect batteries for my flash light, and hide... Stale game play that "horror" has become. I'm saddened and quite over that s#!t.

[RyanShutup]

No offense intended but it's pretty clear that the article writer started the franchise at 3. 1 and 2 were shlock rock cheese fests, this looks to being going back to it's roots. Super excited.

[sullynathan]

You should be complaining about the lack of good level design shown so far, the slowness and all the brown.

[Jeff4433]

We've seen a trailer that shows blood. That is all. I'm sure it'll have plenty of horror.

[Atomicjuicer]

Doom 3 still one of my favourite games. Hope Doom 4 campaign has soke decent atmosphere and horror. The MP can be arcadey but the story should have those moments of exploration and awe.

[Godmars290]

When was there any horror in Doom?

Or rather, where horror was easily to imply via a few pixel decorations like a solider staked some place, Doom never got close to what the likes of Resident Evil brought to game narrative in regards to horror.

This game is going to be a gore fest and that's about it.

[Dewitt]

Doom is going back to it's roots, Doom 3 was a shift for the game that didn't pay great dividends. Doom has always been about fast paced, over-the-top, endless killing.

[DefenderOfDoom2]

Well in original DOOM your character could run 50 miles per hour .

[BlackWolf12]

The original Doom games were never scary at all, they were purely action FPS games.

This is a throw back to those games.

Doom 3 was the only game to introduce horror elements.

Personally, I preferred Doom 3. I loved that game. So many I-just-shit-my-pants moments.

[roboteye]

He must be a Doom 3 fan.

[Savsky]

Don't understand the hype for this one. Maybe it's fueled by nostalgia.

[SUCKxITxEZ]

I was never the biggest Doom fan, but i loved me some timesplitters because the endless amount of maps i could make, and this game has a very similar looking map maker so that's what i'm excited for.

[Savsky]

The biggest problem I see is the recycled kill animations. And the gruesome kills are a selling point for this game. Not good news.

[PaleMoonDeath]

This is DOOM, horror and tension would get in the way of sheer Badassery.

[twinspectre1990]

I Agree with her, i'm afraid if this Doom will be more casual friendly.

I want the game to be more like labyrinth maps, find keys to open doors with their respective keys, no regen health, no health pack spam, tension, challenge, no hand holding and no watered down gameplay.

I mean I want the game to be more like the 1st Doom, but modern obviously without killing the key element of DooM and based on E3's video I think the game will not respect the old DooM mechanics :(

Key? now it looks like the game already tells you how to open the door with the "holographic demostration"

if you noticed once you have the health for example below 50% the game will activate the health spam (everytime you kill an enemy the game will give you a lot of Health Pack)

the game is only all about Kill, Kill and Kill and I don't want that it looks like a booring game with generic game mechanics

and to be honest I don't want the game to be like that :( but this is my thought and is me being honest 1000% :(

guys your thoughts?

[DefenderOfDoom2]

Reply to twinspectre1990

Yeah unfortunately i feel that the difficulty of the new DOOM will be toned down to cater to wider audience . Which i think is wrong way to go .

Also the level design will be easier also, again to cater to a wider audience . I think if they make the levels with hard ,puzzles , hard to find keys and secrets and traps ect.. ,it would be awesome. I think we will get a little of that , but nothing like the original DOOM.

[twinspectre1990]

Bathesda and ID have the opportunity to try giving us a difficult game since the game will sell alot and I'm sure of it
but they won't even try and that's what pisses me off
ffs you have alot of preorder why don't you try to give us a DIfficult game?

[overrated44]

This author is bitching about how the game isn't scary, when Doom 3 was released all people talked about was how it was trying to be a horror game and wasn't Doom. What do you want? Game isn't even out yet and people are mad about ANYTHING, give it a chance at least before you start throwing around criticisms.

[twinspectre1990]

well she doesn't talk only about the horror aspect

[overrated44]

Did you read the title? On N4G? The title that's right there at the top of the page?

[twinspectre1990]

If you want to know, I've read the article and not only the title
some people must learn to read the entire article and not only the title

[just-joe]

Did the writer only play Doom 3?

[mogwaii]

Everyone saying doom was never about tension and horror....it was about tension and horror just not in the classic sense, I remember playing doom 2 feeling very tense hearing demons in another room, opening a door wondering what was behind it then to find a whole heap of demons coming at me, that was tense and horrific.

[mochachino]

The trailer looked awesome! Very excited for this game. Particularly consider how great Wolfenstein was and how rare SP focused FPS games are these days.

Gamers complaining or a relatively unknown site (successfully) fishing for hits with a negative article...well that's new.

[Scottyxboxoneandps4]

Wow. How can he judge a game from its trailer? Trailers are normally shown like this to get people pumped, doesnt mean you see everything the game has to offer in 2 mins. This guy supposed to be a journalist? Should know better...

[pumpactionpimp]

Doom was never about tension, and horror. You're thinking of doom 3, which has as much in common with doom as duke nukes does with mario.

[filchron]

now THIS should be an AO-M rated game. I wouldnt want some deranged kids (or my kid if i ever have any for that matter) to accidently play it in VR like some people are asking for 😧

[plmkoh]

LOL no horror in Doom? You people need to replay it because there were plenty of scenes that were slow burning and full of tension, either from noises coming behind walls that would sudden drop down with hordes to kill in pitch black darkness or those invisible Pinkys that roamed around whilst you were navigating through a literal labyrinth.

The game may not be to standard today, but for the audience with more imagination 20 years ago this was definitely a horror game.

[rocketpanda]

Doom 1 and 2 were hardly horror in the sense that it was scary. It was a action packed shooting gore fest. Doom 3 tried to add some atmosphere to the horror and kind of succeeded. I think the writer has some rose tinted glasses on.

[IamTylerDurden1]

She's basing it off DOOM 3 ,clearly. This trailer is classic DOOM.

[Gaming4Life1981]

Give the game a chance, Doom 3 was good. Why should their be any doubt in this one?

Just wait and play the game before you doubt it.

[Liveevirdtset]

Clearly not someone who did their homework on the upcoming game, lead designer stated this would be a departure from Doom 3 tension and horror cramped corridors(of which I loved)in favor of its roots. massive complex level design aimed at exploration and intense trap design and combat. This design seems more in line with the original Quake series (again of which I love). this is why reviewers (as they call themselves) who clearly haven't been with the median the whole time missing most of the source material have no business writing reviews or opinion pieces, or opinions absent being informed (options require an informed, educational component propaganda does not).

[hemmo1986]

What a dumb article. First she's already judging the game just from trailers, huh? How's this make sense?

Secondly Doom 3 was more about horror than the original Dooms. The new game looks like they're trying to return Doom to its roots; which is over the top gore, fast pace gun-play and the player being outnumbered.

Looks good to me. Just have to wait and see. I'm not going to go wright an article about a game I haven't even played.

[ThePresentIsAgift]

There's always Doom 3/BFG, Resi HD/Resi 0 and some other decent games out there if you need that "classic" horror fix.

[GrmpyolGamer]

People complained that Doom 3 went to far away from the Doom formula because it was essentially a fps horror game and now Doom is going back to its roots as an over the top gore fest and people still complain. Make up your minds people!!!!

[Razuel]

this is a return to classic doom, not d3.

[IamTylerDurden1]

This trailer looked like the original DOOM but with stunning next gen skin. The visuals and fluid action are astounding, i'm blown away by the id tech 6.