DOOM (2016)

Introduction

DOOM (2016) is id Software's reboot of the classic demon-slaying shooter series, published by Bethesda Softworks and released on 12 May 2016 at NZ$39.95. It sends the Doom Slayer through a Union Aerospace Corporation research facility on Mars after an experiment tears open a portal to Hell, built around fast, aggressive, glory-kill-driven combat rather than modern shooters' cover mechanics. It sits at 96% positive ("Overwhelmingly Positive") across 119,104 English-language Steam reviews — among the highest-rated titles this outlet has covered. This review read the 100 most-helpful negative reviews of 5,318 total, plus a sample of the 100 most recent English reviews.

A rare near-consensus

The clearest finding here is simply how strong and how current the acclaim is. Recent English reviews run 98% positive — even stronger than the already elite 96% lifetime figure — which is an unusually clean signal that this game's reputation has, if anything, grown rather than faded over a decade. That's reflected in the negative sample too: unlike most games this outlet has reviewed, there is no single dominant complaint driving a meaningful share of the criticism, technical or otherwise.

A matter of taste, not a defect

The closest thing to a recurring theme, appearing in roughly a third of the negative reviews read, is that some players find the campaign's combat loop repetitive or simpler than its reputation suggests. "This is quite possibly the worst and blandest game that 'id' has ever put out," reads one detailed critical review, arguing the moment-to-moment fighting doesn't evolve enough across the full campaign. What makes this genuinely interesting in context is that it's close to a mirror image of what this outlet found reviewing the sequel, DOOM Eternal: there, a portion of veteran reviewers argued the follow-up added too much forced structure — mandatory resource-juggling, chainsaw dependency — compared to this original's looser, more instinctive combat. Read together, the two negative samples suggest a real design fork exists in this fanbase between players who want DOOM 2016's freeform simplicity and players who wanted Eternal's added systems, with neither side fully satisfied by the other game.

Minor, mostly historical technical issues

The most serious technical complaint this review found was concentrated at launch: a "Dev Mode" bug, present in a handful of May 2016 reviews, that could wipe save progress entirely if triggered accidentally or by a crash. "Great game, horrible 'Dev Mode' bug that will effectively erase ALL YOUR GAME PROGRESS if you accidentally hit the ~ key or get a system crash," reads one such review. This review found no recurrence of that specific complaint in its later-year sample, consistent with it having been patched. A single 2018 review separately describes a specific patch — adding niche Razer keyboard peripheral support — temporarily breaking the game for a majority of players before a fix followed; again, this review found no similar pattern recurring afterward.

Verdict

DOOM (2016) remains one of the most acclaimed shooters this outlet has reviewed, and the data backs that up cleanly: recent sentiment running ahead of an already excellent lifetime score, and a negative sample too thin and scattered to surface any single current, substantive problem. What criticism exists is mostly a matter of taste — some players wanted more variety across the campaign's full length — plus a couple of largely historical technical hiccups from years ago that don't appear to have persisted. An easy, confident recommendation for shooter fans of essentially any background.