Review 16: Doom RL

Doom RL

This one made a bit of a splash when it came out a few years ago. It's Doom, as a rogue-like RPG. Who would have thought that a first person action game would transition so well into a turn-based tactical shooter?

Fundamentally, this plays like a Rogue-like (turn based movement, stats, levelling up etc) though it avoids a lot of the heavy complexity that can plague the genre. The levels are fairly small, and there's not a whole lot of item interaction other than blasting bad guys. I've rarely had ranged combat feel so satisfying in a turn based game before though. There's a lot of nice little touches, like having to reload your shotgun between shots, the choice of running (lower accuracy but higher chance to dodge), a variety of guns (and an upgrade system) and a selection of traits.
You basically pick a trait at level 1. Each time you level up, you get another one, with some having earlier traits as prerequisites. Thus, you can play different "builds" even if the basic gameplay is fundamentally the same.
There IS a basic class system, but the differences are extremely minor. I usually end up defaulting to the normal "marine".

An interesting touch in getting the FPS feeling in the game is that you can dodge. When you move, there's a chance of the enemy targeting your previous location. Running and certain traits increase the chance, which basically let's you "strafe", just like if you were playing Doom. It's hard to explain, you'll have to see it to really appreciate it.

On top of the tactical choices, there's quite a few unlockable items, including a whole range of "Challenge" modes, such as playing with only one weapon type, reduced inventory etc. Each challenge usually gives you some small perk to make it slightly more survivable. For example, taking the shotgun-only challenge does mean you start with said shotgun.

I don't know if this is a game you could play for hours every day, for weeks on end. I do know that it's extremely accessible, very fun and good for occupying a bit of time on a rainy afternoon. It's also a game you can easily recommend to people that aren't rogue-like fans as such. Anyone who have any appreciation for turn based gaming or RPG's in general can probably enjoy this.

If I had to complain, there's a few minor issues. The game isn't entirely spoiler free. To make the most of the simple weapon upgrade/crafting system, you pretty much need to go look it up. The system works on a basis of "upgrade packs" but certain packs have no effect on certain weapons, so it can be a little frustrating.
The controls are generally sharp, but if you hit the keys too fast, it's possible to take multiple steps within sight of an enemy that just appeared, and get blasted repeatedly.

Graphics:
ASCII or some rather nice graphical tiles, taken from Doom sprites. It looks very nice, all in all, though a bit more variety in the level layouts wouldn't hurt.

Sound:
Grinding heavy metal tunes, that are mostly remixes of original Doom music. Oh yeah.
The weapon sounds are great too. The shotgun sounds completely merciless.

Controls:
By and large good, with the caveat mentioned above. You can play with the mouse, though I tend to prefer the keyboard instead, as it is harder to accidentally click the wrong place. The control scheme is fairly short in any event. The game only uses a small number of keys.

Gameplay:
Outstanding stuff, with quite a lot of replay. The difficulty levels help too. You can play on a lower level, if you want to make it further and explore, or ratchet up the difficulty if you really want to feel like you are invading hell.
On the upside, the higher difficulties will reward you with better weapons faster. On the downside, you'll be dead.

An outstanding game. It may be too short and too narrow for a truly "epic" score, but an easy 85% in my opinion. If you like turn based games, it's a must.