Big Bad DOOM Slayer

Diving Into DOOM

The first-person shooter is a staple of the gaming industry, but despite my interest in games like Destiny, Call of Duty, and Apex, I never gave the 2016 DOOM much thought. I got a demo, hopped into the first level, and got lost wandering around instead of going to the objective. Then a friend gifted the game to me during a Steam sale and underneath the fast-paced, heavy metal action of DOOM 2016 lies a subtle, but genius piece of narrative game design. 

Final Boss BFG Kill

Just Die Already

There are three boss battles in DOOM beginning with the Cyberdemon in Lazarus Labs. By the time of this encounter, you have slaughtered many a demon and you know what to expect from the game: It’s fast paced and it’s brutal (as in cut your enemies up with a chainsaw brutal). That’s why it comes as no surprise when you have to defeat the Cyberdemon twice before it actually dies.

The second boss - the Hell Guards in the Necropolis - follow a similar, two part pattern. You kill one boss and end up fighting two more demons of the same type before the battle is actually over. However, the final battle against the Spider Mastermind has only one phase which ends with the DOOM Slayer shoving the BFG into its mouth. This time it’s really over. It’s not coming back. The job is done. This perfectly communicates to the player that they have reached the end of their journey (at least for this installment of DOOM) and it shows some character development. The DOOM Slayer finally learned to stop taking chances and completely blow the boss to bits. It’s simple, it’s subtle, and it’s effective. In summary, it’s a good piece of narrative game design.