The new Doom is having a tough time with Steam user reviews
Great expectations.
The new Doom launched in multiplayer open beta form last week - and it's having a tough time from Steam user reviews.
At the time of publication, Doom's multiplayer had a "mostly negative" Steam user review rating. That's from a whopping 12,267 user reviews. 7634 of those user reviews are "negative", as Steam puts it. 4633 are "positive".
Most of the negativity stems from id's new Doom not feeling much like id's old Doom. Common complaints include the weapons not feeling punchy enough, movement speed not feeling fast enough, and an objection to the inclusion of things like loadouts and progression. I've seen Doom's rocket launcher picked apart, too. It doesn't do enough damage, players say.
The "most useful" Steam user review, posted by someone who's played the new Doom for over four hours, says it feels like "Master Chief with a squirtgun on a shopping cart". Here are a couple more examples:
It's worth pointing out there are a sizeable number of positive reviews, too. Most of these look at the new Doom from the perspective of a newcomer to the series. Is the multiplayer fun? For many people, the answer is yes, even if it doesn't feel entirely like old-school Doom.
It looks like the Steam user reviews were driven largely by player expectations, then. Those expecting an old-school arena shooter may have felt misled. Conversely, those going in fresh may have felt pleasantly surprised.
It's a rosier picture on console. On PlayStation 4, the Doom open beta has a four out of five stars rating, from 8355 ratings. On Xbox One it's four-and-a-half out of five stars, from 2336 ratings. Perhaps the difference in user reviews on console compared with PC shouldn't come as a surprise. Old-school Doom was, for most people, a PC game, so PC gamers will have a different set of expectations than console gamers.
Eurogamer's Ian Higton has spent some time with the new Doom and offers his own impressions:
With the Doom open beta coming to an end today, and the game out next month, it seems unlikely id will have enough time to make significant changes to the multiplayer ahead of release. And so many fans have turned their attention to the game's campaign in the hope it rekindles memories of the series' glory days. We'll have to wait until Doom comes out on 13th May to find out.
Did you play the open beta? If so, what do you think of it?
