Doom 2016 is less than two dollars. Id’s superb reboot of its own 1993 FPS is currently available at a 90% discount thanks to Steam’s spring sale. With a current RRP of £15.99/$19.99 that discount brings the price down to £1.59 in the UK, or as I have already stated numerous times, less than two dollars in the US.
This is a preposterously good deal. Doom 2016 is probably the best singleplayer shooter of the last decade, reviving id’s genre-defining game as a muscular and propulsively aggressive shooter. Reversing the more scripted, Half-Life-ish leanings of Doom 3 (which Doom 4 would have continued had it not been cancelled), Doom 2016 is all about momentum and mechanics, centring around its ingenious glory-kill system where brutally executing enemies gives you the health you need to keep on killing.
It’s a furious, exhilarating 10-hour thrill ride, and I genuinely can’t think of many better things to do with (less than) two dollars. You can’t even get a cup of coffee for that these days. Besides a flat white won’t last ten hours and doesn’t let you stamp on an imp’s head.
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It’s worth noting that the sequel, Doom Eternal, is also on a 75% discount, bringing it down to £8.74/$9.99. Personally, I prefer Eternal’s more complex combat, especially since having mastered it through the Ancient Gods expansions. I’m aware this is a minority opinion, however, so please don’t rip out my eyeballs. In any case, the Doom deal is undoubtedly the better one, and you should start there before playing Eternal anyway.
There’s an obvious reason for these deep Doom discounts. Id Software’s latest entry in the series, Doom: The Dark Ages, releases in just two months, and it makes sense for id and Bethesda to try to create as many new Doom converts as possible before that game launches on May 15.
Like its predecessors, Doom: The Dark Ages once again seeks to reinterpret the 1993 original, reframing the Doom Slayer as a heavier, more grounded fighter partial to shields and melee weapons. Indeed, director Hugo Martin recently said that it’s theoretically possible to complete the game without using guns. You might not want to miss out on its firearms though, since all of them except the shotguns have been completely redesigned.
