The gates of hell are officially open for fans of Id’s coming Doom reboot, and not everyone seems to be super happy about the game’s direction when it comes to multiplayer.
Doom’s open beta will run from today until April 17, and already users are taking to Steam to vent their feelings on Steam, giving the game a “Mostly Negative” response in the Steam Reviews section.
The negative reviews seem to mostly stem from the attempts to modernize Doom’s multiplayer by adding loadouts, customizable starting weapons, and player EXP, but people are also unhappy about the weapon balance, the overall speed of the game, and simply the fact that it doesn’t feel like classic Doom or other arena shooters.
Personally, I had a pretty good time with the open beta so far, but can definitely see where people are coming from. The game certainly does not feel like a classic arena shooter and some of the weapon balance does seem off. rocket launchers feel strangely weak, shotguns feel overpowered when combined with melee attacks, and the other weapons lack a certain “umph” that would make them feel appropriately satisfying.
We’ll see if Id and Bethesda are able to look at this feedback and find ways to address fan complaints before the game releases on May 13, 2016 for Xbox One, PS4, and PC. Personally, I’d like to see a few modes that exist outside of the player progression system that are just straight up classic Doom. No loadouts, no starting weapons, just weapon spawns, quad damage power ups, and fast paced mayhem.