The DOOM Open Beta is due to begin on all platforms (PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One) in a few hours, with the pre-load already available and the start date set for April 15 at midnight EST. However, we've noticed that the dedicated Steam page for the DOOM Open Beta has been already flooded with many negative user reviews.
As you can see in the snapshot below, the summary of reviews is "mixed" with only 68% of them recommending it.
Of course, these users have not played the DOOM Open Beta as it's not available yet, but they have all participated in previous beta/alpha events. The general consensus at this point is that the game's multiplayer just does not feel like a proper arena shooter, mainly because of the introduction of certain modern FPS features like loadouts.
We've selected some excerpts from a few of the most voted user reviews appearing on the Steam page.
- Horribly boring, horribly shallow, horribly not DOOM. It's clear that not a single person at Certain Affinity even knows what an Arena FPS is like and I'm starting to doubt anyone at Certain Affinity even grew up with DOOM. Why do I say that? Because anybody who did grow up with DOOM would know that putting weapon loadouts in the multiplayer for DOOM is a stupid, assbackwards idea. Maybe you shouldn't have outsourced the multiplayer to such an incompetant, unqualified studio, eh Bethesda? But I guess you're pretty incompetant yourselves if you thought Certain Affinity was the way to go in the first place. And multiplayer is portion of the game they're hyping up more than anything... what a damn joke. Lets all hope the singleplayer and snapmap are good.
- Arena shooter for the console crowd. Level up system plus loadout system plus low mechanical skill cap (slow pace, no player movement physics) equals Quake-like game on training wheels that rewards the player for playing a lot rather than for being good. But you can customize your guy and make him look shiny!!! That's kind of cool I guess.
- I had very high hopes that this would be the game that revived the Arena shooter. Sadly this game misses the mark on almost every checkbox.
In an Arena shooter everyone spawns with nothing. The weapons are hidden in areas of the map that are designed to provide conflict. The objective of the game is to control the map, control the weapons, armor, and powerups. That is what provided the tension in games such as Quake 3 Arena and Unreal Tournament. It's what made the game fun. The only progression that a player makes in the game takes place within the constraints of that individual map.
The DOOM Open Beta will be available until April 17, 11:59 PM EST. Let us know your opinion on the game in the comments.
About the author: With over two decades of experience in gaming journalism, Alessio Palumbo has led the gaming vertical at Wccftech since August 2015. He started working at a young age for Italian websites like Everyeye.it, Gamestar.it, Nextgame.it, and Multiplayer.it before kickstarting the indie English-language publication Worlds Factory as its founder and Editor in Chief. In the last decade, he has coordinated the overall output of Wccftech's gaming section, managed PR relations, assigned reviews, produced daily news coverage, edited gaming content as needed, and delivered game reviews. Arguably, his trademark content is the long series of exclusive developer interviews that have been cited by Wikipedia and by the biggest news media and gaming publications. His passion for technology also makes him knowledgeable when it comes to gaming hardware and tech. His favorite genres include RPGs, MMORPGs, and action/adventure games.
Follow Wccftech on Google to get more of our news coverage in your feeds.
