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Doom first impressions, from Quakecon 2014: it’s gory

Doom Quakecon Reveal

Doom was just revealed at QuakeCon. Here’s what you need to know.

1. It’s Doom. Not Doom 4, Doom: Explosion Edition. Doom is an origin story, built to feel like, and play like the original games.

2. It features many of the same monsters from the original game. That includes the zombies and footsoldiers you might remember, alongside imps, revenants and cyberdemons.

3. It runs on a new version of the id tech, id tech 6. Internally, id call it id tech 666.

4. It’s set on Mars: it begins outside a UAC research facility that has been making unholy fusions of flesh and metal.

5. It’s fast paced. The combat id showed played remarkably similarly to the combat from the original games. There’s no cover mechanic or regenerating health. The game is about dodging projectiles and then getting in close to deliver a kill.

6. There’s a new melee combat system that allows id to showcase some insane levels of gore. When up close, players can rip open a demon’s heart, or tear off their jaw, or curb stomp their face into little bits.

7. The guns are brutal. After a particularly grueling shot, a demon’s legs are left standing, while the torso is turned into jam. They wobble a bit before falling over.

8. The chainsaw is back, and it is grotesque. In one section, the player saws multiple demons apart – they cower by holding up their arms. The player carves through their limbs before cutting them, forehead to groin.

9. The game is for PC, Xbox One and PS4. Id made a public commitment to reaching 60 FPS at 1080p.

10. There’s a small level of parkour involved. To help keep you moving, the game will help you mantle any small barriers, while you can use a double jump to leap over larger gaps.

11. It’s funny. In one sequence, to enter a locked door, the player tears off a corpse’s arm and uses it to activate a fingerprint panel.

12. It looks, feels, sounds and plays like Doom. Not Doom 3, not Quake 4. Doom. The original Doom. I’m in.