It took me a bit longer to beat this game than I expected, but I liked it quite a bit in many ways.
What I liked about it:
-I'm delighted how much the gameplay mechanics of Doom 1 and 2 are still intact in Doom 64. It made the transition to this game pretty seamless and I didn't have much issue getting used to the game's feel.
-While the game has the same weapons that are already available in Doom 2, I did get a kick out of the Unmaker weapon and I find it especially fun after finding all of the secret amulets.
-For the most part, I find a good chunk of the game's levels to be really solid, what became the highlights for me were the game's "Fun" levels due to them providing a really fun challenge along with the Lost Levels campaign the Remaster provides, which I ended up liking more than the main campaign in all honesty.
What I didn't like:
- While I can appreciate the game for trying to lean toward a more horror tone, and I think it worked better when the game first came out, I'm not exactly sure if it really works for this kind of game these days. I was shooting and killing demons in the same manner as the previous games without issues with ammo or the number of enemies, so I never was exactly terrified of the game's enemies. Along with this, I never really felt disturbed by the game's environments or the soundtrack, in fact, I felt kind of annoyed by how it tries really hard to be scary, but not at the exact same time when looking past the creepy songs and bleak environments.
-While I did enjoy most of the levels, the level design really took a nosedive toward the final part of the game. Many of the endgame levels felt way too confusing and cryptic to traverse through, to the point where I kept using a guide to know where the hell I was supposed to be even going or where to find the next keys, which is not exactly fun to do. It really kind of impacted my enjoyment because of how frustrating those final moments of the game are.
-This is more of a personal thing for me, but I would really advise new players to go out of their way to find the secret levels and acquire the amulets because, without it, I had an incredibly tough time dealing with all of the enemies in the final level for how overwhelming everything was. It especially didn't help that once the final boss showed up, I didn't have enough ammo to take care of it easily, so I had to resort to cheats to even beat it because the only thing I had to fight back was the chainsaw, which didn't really help for how BS some of the attacks were. Though when I replayed the level with the game's really useful password system, things were a lot smoother and felt more satisfied with the ending than I did before.
-The super shotguns reload animation is not as satisfying as in Doom 2's (This makes this game objectively worse because of it)
Overall, despite some of the major issues I have with the game, I still have a pretty good time with it. Even with the game's flaws, it's still very much the classic Doom gameplay I've come to enjoy, just under a new coat of paint and some minor additions included. It's a nice refresher from the setting Doom 1 and 2 provided, while still feeling familiar enough to where I was still able to enjoy it for the most part. I am glad I bought the remaster, only because of the amazing Lost Levels campaign and some other great additions.
What I liked about it:
-I'm delighted how much the gameplay mechanics of Doom 1 and 2 are still intact in Doom 64. It made the transition to this game pretty seamless and I didn't have much issue getting used to the game's feel.
-While the game has the same weapons that are already available in Doom 2, I did get a kick out of the Unmaker weapon and I find it especially fun after finding all of the secret amulets.
-For the most part, I find a good chunk of the game's levels to be really solid, what became the highlights for me were the game's "Fun" levels due to them providing a really fun challenge along with the Lost Levels campaign the Remaster provides, which I ended up liking more than the main campaign in all honesty.
What I didn't like:
- While I can appreciate the game for trying to lean toward a more horror tone, and I think it worked better when the game first came out, I'm not exactly sure if it really works for this kind of game these days. I was shooting and killing demons in the same manner as the previous games without issues with ammo or the number of enemies, so I never was exactly terrified of the game's enemies. Along with this, I never really felt disturbed by the game's environments or the soundtrack, in fact, I felt kind of annoyed by how it tries really hard to be scary, but not at the exact same time when looking past the creepy songs and bleak environments.
-While I did enjoy most of the levels, the level design really took a nosedive toward the final part of the game. Many of the endgame levels felt way too confusing and cryptic to traverse through, to the point where I kept using a guide to know where the hell I was supposed to be even going or where to find the next keys, which is not exactly fun to do. It really kind of impacted my enjoyment because of how frustrating those final moments of the game are.
-This is more of a personal thing for me, but I would really advise new players to go out of their way to find the secret levels and acquire the amulets because, without it, I had an incredibly tough time dealing with all of the enemies in the final level for how overwhelming everything was. It especially didn't help that once the final boss showed up, I didn't have enough ammo to take care of it easily, so I had to resort to cheats to even beat it because the only thing I had to fight back was the chainsaw, which didn't really help for how BS some of the attacks were. Though when I replayed the level with the game's really useful password system, things were a lot smoother and felt more satisfied with the ending than I did before.
-The super shotguns reload animation is not as satisfying as in Doom 2's (This makes this game objectively worse because of it)
Overall, despite some of the major issues I have with the game, I still have a pretty good time with it. Even with the game's flaws, it's still very much the classic Doom gameplay I've come to enjoy, just under a new coat of paint and some minor additions included. It's a nice refresher from the setting Doom 1 and 2 provided, while still feeling familiar enough to where I was still able to enjoy it for the most part. I am glad I bought the remaster, only because of the amazing Lost Levels campaign and some other great additions.