Doom, PS4, Xbox One and PC review: ‘an exhilarating journey to hell and back’

When a game publisher holds back review copies of a title until launch day, alarm bells start ringing. In nearly every case it's a sign that it just hasn't lived up to expectations. Thankfully, Doom is an exception.

Developers iD have not only made a game to appeal to devoted fans of the original 1993 shooter, but have done so with such bombastic style that it's sure to win over newcomers.

Doom casts players as UAC Marine, aka Doomguy, who wakes up to find a crazy scientist has opened the gates of Hell on a Mars facility. Your job is to track down the culprit, killing hordes of demons along the way.

In fact, 'hordes' doesn't quite do justice to the amount of baddies you'll blast through in the eight hour campaign. Within the first couple of hours, expect to shoot, maul, chainsaw and explode your way through a small army of spectacularly gruesome nasties.

While it may sound repetitive, the sheer amount of variation in the enemies, the breakneck speed of the gunplay, and a well-balanced armoury of weapons ensures it rarely get boring. Weapons range from a classic pistol – which does minimal damage but can be useful to get out of sticky situations – to the brilliantly old-school Super Shotgun, high-powered Heavy Assault Rifle or Rocket launcher.

Fan favourites such as the BFG 9000 and Chainsaw also return – the latter leading to some truly brutal finishing moves. Not that you're confined to just a chainsaw to unleash powerful finishes. Damage an enemy enough and they'll stumble, allowing you to swoop in and perform a devastating melee attack which rewards you with health and ammo.

As for those two vital items, there’s just the right amount of each littered around the arenas – you’ll always be searching for more during the intense firefights, forcing you to get up close and personal and take risks to survive.

All weapons can be upgraded – for example you can add explosive bullets to a shotgun, or a high-powered scope to a rifle. Weapon upgrade points can be found by exploring the levels’ many secret areas, or by wiping out as many monsters as possible. The latter is no easy task – these beasties come in all shapes and sizes, from fire-ball throwing Imps to Summoners who spawn relentless waves of foes.

Lesser humanoids – of which there are many – serve as fodder to quickly regain health and ammo, though their constant zombie-like droning can start to grate after a while. So too can Doom's core mechanic of locking a player in an area and keeping them there until every enemy has been wiped out. Some sections are particularly large, so it can become tedious searching high and low for the last remaining Imp.

Presentation-wise, Doom is an unparalleled success. Think The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay, brought into the next generation. It looks particularly stunning on PC.

Our test rig was powered by the brilliant nvidia 980Ti – which once again proved more than up to the job, allowing a steady 60FPS with all features maxed out at 1080p. Although some textures are slightly flat, the lighting effects are photo-realistic and the sheer amount of detail in enemies is a joy to behold. Add to the mix a techno-rock soundtrack that kicks in when the action heats up, and it all comes together very nicely.

Then there's Doomguy himself, who remains silent for the duration of the campaign. But unlike Duke Nukem – whose uncomfortable 2011 return in Duke Nukem Forever gave us a tired stereotype best left in the Nineties – Doomguy’s silent-but-deadly attitude still strikes the right chords. Little touches, such as clenching his fist when angry or slamming a computer screen, help flesh out his character – he’s simply unfazed by the entire situation.

It's actually away from the single player where Doom starts to stumble. While there's some fun to be had in multiplayer, it’s far too basic and linear – not to mention that it looks notably worse than the solo campaign.