Doom: The Most Metal Game You’ve Ever Played

Doom originally came out in 1993, and it was pretty metal even then. And while nothing quite beats going to hell and fucking up a bunch of demons on Mars, Bethesda Softworks’ re-release of the game in 2016 (yeah, I know I’m two years too late) is far more brutal than the original creators could have ever imagined.

The whole reason I purchased this game is because I wanted something with a ridiculous amount of gratuitous violence, and Doom offers just that: I would argue that its entire existence is for the act of causing as much mayhem and wreaking as much havoc upon your foes as possible. With weapons like the Super Shotgun, the Gauss Cannon, and the Big Fucking Gun, you can eviscerate your enemies in huge swathes of bloody carnage or systematically eliminate them through a series of execution-like melee attacks that rip limbs from bodies, tear heads in half, feed explosive hearts to oversized monstrosities, and gut beasts with their own teeth; and all of it through grizzly, high-definition detail. All the while, an aggressive, technical, adrenaline-pumping heavy metal soundtrack blasts behind you, making each glorious kill and each spout of gore so much more enticing.

It helps that this game follows a plot and that your path makes at least a measure of sense, that in some ways you care about the outcome and you feel like what you’re doing is at least kind of important. It also helps that your character, uh, Doom Guy, is pretty much just like any the players going through this game and just decides to break the shit that your guide Samuel is trying to save.

If you haven’t already played Doom and are looking for an excuse to get it, it’s only $30 on Steam — but I got it for $20 at GameStop. If you need more convincing, here is a review from the only YouTube personality I can stomach, and below is gameplay footage.