Doom 64

Developer: Midway Studios San Diego Publisher: Midway

Released: April 4, 1997 Rated: M 9/10

Though it may not have ever been truly forgotten, the modern day appreciation and acceptance of Doom 64 as an essential episode in the history of the franchise was pretty long overdue by the time Nightdive Studios got a hold of it for its 2020 remaster. Sequestered away on the N64 while the original duology got all the glory and accolades, with a borderline misleading name — it sounds like it could very well be a port rather than a completely new campaign — and not even the promise of an id Software production to be found on the box, Doom 64 spent years as the best kept secret of Doom fanatics and early N64 adopters, and while its quality is hardly in question at this point, a quick YouTube search of the the game’s name turns up a slew of videos with titles including words like “weird,” “underrated,” “gem,” and “forgotten.”

The ability of Doom to convey dominance and intimidation in its enemy sprites remains unmatched as we see my own standoff with a Cyberdemon in the bonus level “Cat and Mouse”

Despite having moved on to the 3D trappings of Quake by this point, id Software’s influence is still present throughout Doom 64, as they oversaw development while Midway’s San Diego team put things together. This may put it somewhere between a fan project and a proper threequel, but it still feels more like Doom 3 than, well, Doom 3. A set of over 30 new levels that look, sound, and feel like classic Doom with oversight from John Carmack and crew certainly feels like it’s earned that qualification.

Doom 64 starts right off at the series’ signature breakneck pace, showing off classic Doom weapons and sprite work that fit like an old pair of combat boots caked with demon pus. Chainsaws, shotguns, rocket launchers, and more fill out the arsenal against Pinkies, Hell Knights, Cacodemons, and plenty of your rank-and-file zombie marines. Structured around keycards, platforms, and labyrinthine, secret-laden level design on your way to the exit of each stage, it can feel a bit dated in execution depending on your enthusiasm for true boomer shooter gameplay, but fans of the franchise wouldn’t give a second thought to a Doom title being “dated.”

It’s hard to not feel badass as you stare down the barrel of the chaingun bathed in neon blue light.

On the other hand, “dated” was exactly the label Doom 64 had to beat upon its original release. With many of its contemporaries offering major technological advancements and gameplay evolutions, like Turok: Dinosaur Hunter’s massive levels and Goldeneye 007’s varied mission structure, Doom 64 was considered behind the times by comparison. Even id Software themselves had moved onto Quake (which also got an N64 port around the same time) with its 3D visuals. This is exactly why Doom 64 has aged so well, even if all these titles still have plenty to offer. The resurgence in popularity of the “boomer shooter” style makes this especially worth revisiting for those who enjoy stacks of colored keycards and hate regenerating health.

The peculiarities of the lighting, both good and bad, are on full display as early as stage 2, “The Terraformer,” with huge contrast between how certain areas are lit with colored lights versus more ambient lighting, but overall it’s still fairly dark and needs a lot of help to overcome the really underlit areas.

The only other mancubus in the room that has to be addressed with Doom 64 is the notorious issue of its brightness level. This game is extremely dark, which is mostly an intentional choice to match the dark, horror-adjacent vibes. Even the music in this entry is more tonal and fear-inducing, as opposed to its predecessors’ bombastic heavy metal riffs. But this issue is seemingly exacerbated by modern technology, as even with the menu slider all the way up, an additional adjustment to your actual TV setting is often needed to make Doom 64 visible when putting the original cartridge on a modern TV. The “light amplification visor” pickup only further highlights the intention, but this is one of a few games in the system library that has a serious issue addressed by updated releases.

The entire arsenal comes off as big and beefy when you fire them, from the shotgun and pistol to the BFG9000 and The Unmaker.

A minor gripe in the grand scheme of things, but one that must be addressed as it’s one way in which Doom 64’s reputation precedes it. Aside from that, it’s a wonderful thing to see when you can actually tell what you’re looking at. Many of the same building blocks are used to make these new stages, but familiarity only breeds further appreciation when the pieces are configured so expertly. Looking at every stage from the outside in is like examining the intricacies of a spider’s web, while traversing through them, eradicating every last bit of hellspawn scum is like sliding along each silken strand, with just enough time to observe the intricacies of the intricacies. And whether you’ve been caught up in this one before or are dusting it off after walking by it all these years, it’s absolutely essential material for any demon slayer worth their salt.

Continuing Legacy

Doom 64 has always been appreciated by fans, but has really gotten its flowers in recent years, due to both the general resurgence of the franchise since its 2016 reboot, as well as a 2020 remaster by Nightdive Studios. Doom 64 is included alongside the numbered trilogy, Doom (2016), and Doom Eternal in all collections, and the 2020 version is arguably the best way to experience the game due to the proper treatment of the visuals and some new levels added in by Nightdive.