Kill all your friends
Doom (2016), undeniable gem that it was, had one glaring and oft-maligned weakness: The multiplayer. The criticism was near-universal. Doom was a fast-paced and innovative shooter, and the multiplayer was an uninspired shoe-horned tack-on that didn’t live up to the excellence of the single-player campaign.
That’s why some eyebrows were raised when developer id Software confirmed that multiplayer would be back for Doom Eternal. However, it’s a new take. Dubbed “Battlemode,” one Doom Guy faces off against two people playing as demons. It’s like Evolve Lite.
Predictably, id Software is high on Battlemode, but the reasoning seems as though it checks out. In an interview with Video Games Chronicle, creative director Hugo Martin explains “We took the DNA of the ‘Doom dance’ — the loop of one Slayer versus many demons — and turned that into a competitive, social experience. When we had one Slayer on the battlefield and let players control the demons it felt really good. We’d rather provide players with an incredibly polished and engaging experience that’s really tight, than something that’s huge with a million modes –which is another thing we did in Doom (2016).”
Executive producer Marty Stratton chimed in “With Doom (2016) we didn’t give players a Slayer experience in multiplayer. We didn’t give them the Doom experience that they got with the campaign and that’s really what this is about. For players who came to Doom (2016) for the campaign, the multiplayer felt like a side cart. In comparison, Eternal is entirely what they want.”
It’s impossible to know how Battlemode will be received until it’s in players’ hands. Maybe it’ll be genuinely great, maybe it’ll be a novel but short-lived distraction. Whatever the outcome, at least id Software has the right idea by trying to recapture the feeling of single-player. After all, that’s why people are here in the first place.
Doom: ‘Own Tech Gives Us Enormous Advantage’ [Video Games Chronicle]
