Welcome back to my dramatic play through of Doom the video game on the Nintendo Switch.

You can find all my previous posts in this project here if you are interested or need to catch up for some reason.

Knee-Deep in the Dead

I don’t think over the numerous times I’ve played Doom I’ve ever played it on anything but “Hurt me plenty”.

There might have been one occasion when I tried “Ultra-Violence” out of curiosity. But I quickly returned to the comfort of “Hurt me plenty”!

For me “Hurt me plenty” offers the perfect mix of difficulty and challenge.

But I’m older now.

Will this difficulty level still be that perfect mix. How will age have affected my reactions?

The other choice is whether to go to the dark side and use any of the available cheats.

Cheats that are made easily accessible from the pause menu.

Thinking back I’m pretty sure back in those early days of playing Doom for the first time I was aware of the cheat codes you had to enter to get one or two of those power ups. Memory fails me as to how I knew about them. It was either from a gaming magazine or a player guide at the time. Not knowing for sure which it was will haunt me. It will eat away until my mind convinces me that I had the player guide. I think it was a player guide, a small pocket one that was once on the cover of one of the magazines at the time. Just not that fancy official one.

I’m not going to succumb to the dark side. I don’t need cheats to be with my old friend.

I press start, and select almost without thinking “Hurt me plenty” and “Knee-deep in the dead”. It’s almost second nature. Muscle memory.

E1M1 Hangar

The screen fades away…

“Hello darkness, my old friend” Sound of Silence, Paul Simon

Within moments an alien corpse, and a barrel lie in front of me. A view that has greeted me countless times.

It seems strange that I can remember this first level along with the next two perfectly. The remaining levels I remember but not in as much detail.

I pick up the stat bonuses lying around the room and it’s connecting chamber. I take the chance to look out the window onto the Martian landscape and the beckoning “courtyard” promising a reward if I can get there.

After opening the first door I need to take out the marines in the next room with the pistol I’m armed with. I pick them off at a distance. Dodging any bullets they manage to fire off in reply before dying.

I need to take a raised path through acid pools that has an imp firing fireballs at me from a ledge at the far end of the room, and a marine charging towards me.

I dodge the fireballs and take out the marine, and then the imp.

It’s now safe to cross the room and take the secret exit outside to collect that promised reward.

Back indoors I open the door and take out the awaiting imps before they can land a fireball on me. I press the button to lower the platform the imp was on in the previous room.

Back tracking to the previous room I can now get the spoils revealed by the lowered platform. I have the shotgun.

Returning to the other room I press the button to open the exit and trigger the end of the level.

Still after all these years I only get a 66% complete on the secrets. There is one secret room I always miss. You’d think after all this time I’d be getting 100% and remember where that remaining secret room is.

E1M2 Nuclear Plant

The door opens and I have a room full of marines to clear.

I shoot the barrels. It’s a cliche decades later. But I still shoot the conveniently placed barrels in the room to help reduce the number of marines I need to shoot.

After I clear the room of threats I find the secret room before taking the stairs.

I like the way you can look out side and see tantalising power ups or cool weapons like the chainsaw sitting seemingly unreachable on top of pillars. Usually guarded by numerous enemies that you will have to fight through to get them. The hard part? Finding the secret door to allow you outside.

On reflection I think this is my favourite level of Doom. I get a lot of satisfaction playing it. Whether it’s the level design itself, or just the way it makes me feel. Maybe it’s the familiarity. I just find the level so comforting and enjoyable.

With the chainsaw in my weapons inventory it’s time to move onto another great bit of level design.

E1M3 Toxin Refinery

After blasting the marines that were waiting for me after I opened the door I head to the left and the only door I can open.

This first part of the level introduces the pinkish coloured demon. But before I get to meet this new hellish adversary I have to fight through a classic bit of game design that sees me grabbing a blue key card, the room going dark, and imps appearing en masse from secret rooms.

Doom isn’t one of those games you can play in silence.

The audio design is just as important as any of the visual clues.

For example on this level as you enter the passage way leading to one area you trigger a secret door opening. But your only clue this is happening is the audio of the door opening and closing in the distance.

Unless you run, you can’t get to the open door in time to get the revealed secret room.

But other audio clues you get are the almost grunting like noise the imps make. Often that’s the first clue you get that somewhere in front (or behind) of you awaits a fire ball.

“Set the demons free and watch ’em fly” KISS, War Machine

I love the level design in Doom. From the moment you start the game in E1M1 Hangar, where you are introduced to some elements of the game such as the use of height, lighting, lifts/platforms that go up and down. Which historically tell you this ain’t no Wolfenstein 3D.

Each level introduces some new hellish enemy, some new mechanic. It’s almost a gentle introduction that culminates in the later more complicated and deadly levels.

During the week it strikes me I played Doom on one platform I’d forgotten about.

I think describing it as played is a bit misleading. I had a play around with the Doom piano.

The Doom piano was this incredible project where a real piano had been converted to play Doom. Pressing the keys on the piano controlled what happened you did in game.

I think it was the Eurogamer expo or something like that down in London circa 2013/14 when I helped promote a video game called Fist of Awesome by being dressed up in a bear outfit.

Throughout the weekend folks could have a photo taken fake punching me the bear. Which was then shared on social media promoting the game.

Oh the game was a retro style side scrolling beat ‘em up in the style of Streets of Rage, where as a lumberjack you fought against the ruling bears!

It was a great weekend. I met some awesome developers. Plus I got to play around on the Doom piano.

For the first time in the game I have a decision to make that effects the path I take through the game. Press the button in front of me or track back and press the other one. If my memory isn’t letting me down I haven’t back tracked to the other button in a long long time.

I know the buttons take me to different levels. But which ones I can’t remember. Like so many times before I press the button in front of me instead of back tracking to the other one.

Onto the next level…