Why has Doom remained so relevant +30 years in?

[Retro Doomer]

Well I may be a old timer at this point..

but I think Doom age rather well I can still play it and it still darn fun to do so.

Also to consider:
The Music slams and in the Ps1 Version the Ambience is just superb
Also the Level design was mostly good with the hidden areas in it making it worth exploring them.
And the weapon variety was quite good and its also simply put Iconic.

 

[Ikagura]

I don't wanna be a party pooper but there's also a Doom thread out there

DOOM THREAD

Some hot Doom modder drama this morning https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2025/10/many-developers-leave-gzdoom-due-to-leader-conflicts-and-fork-it-into-uzdoom/ tl;dr: Developer comes back to GZDoom after a hiatus, pushes a bunch of LLM-generated code without approval, told everyone to spin-off the...

retrogametalk.com

I don't mind seeing more than one Doom themed thread though.

 

[GaleComprehends]

John Carmack put literal arcane magic in it.

John Carmack blessed it with his holy battle axe.

 

[Retro Doomer]

I don't wanna be a party pooper but there's also a Doom thread out there

DOOM THREAD

Some hot Doom modder drama this morning https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2025/10/many-developers-leave-gzdoom-due-to-leader-conflicts-and-fork-it-into-uzdoom/ tl;dr: Developer comes back to GZDoom after a hiatus, pushes a bunch of LLM-generated code without approval, told everyone to spin-off the...

retrogametalk.com

I don't mind seeing more than one Doom themed thread though.

Also is that not about Doom in general and this thread more being specific on why Doom stayed relevant.
I am not sure this counts as a dublicate but who knoes.

 

[Ikagura]

Also is that not about Doom in general and this thread more being specific on why Doom stayed relevant.

It's still part of a subject regarding the game. It could've been asked within said topic.

 

[Retro Doomer]

It's still part of a subject regarding the game. It could've been asked within said topic.

And it could have been easily overshadowed as it is a General Doom thread,to make a separate thread is more effective if you have a specific question rather then have it drowned with all the other topics in the same thread.
When you generally want to talk about Doom than yea go into the General thread but for a very specific question like this one I think its fine.

 

[NoMoreCats_]

All of the above being said about its simplicity but I will note, I do think without DOOM's complementary campaigns like FINAL DOOM the modding scene wouldn't be as prevalent. They stretched DOOM thin enough at the time to show what it could really do, then came along community WAD's like Hell Revealed

 

[Metroid_Hybrid]

They just nailed it..
John Carmack, et al must have made a pact with devil; it's just so good!
Oh, and the track for E1M1:

Also, publicly releasing the source code was an absolute Chad move..

I've actually been playing the Doom Classic Complete for PS3 lately..
In the past, I've only played the original and the Xbox port of Doom 3. But I've since ran through all 4 episodes of Ultimate Doom, Doom II, Doom II: Master Levels, No Rest for the Living, and I'm currently working my way through the first half of Final Doom, TNT Evilution, before finishing off with The Plutonia Experiment..

 

[Spyrone]

I'd say one, the versatility of the engine and modernized versions of it (GZDoom) that can offer everything from new maps to entirely new experiences in different genres (Sonic Robo Blast and Rough Waves come to mind), and everything in between. Two, the vanilla base game is still really fun, and is one of those few games one can just pick up and very quickly fall into the groove of killing demons.

 

[Ikagura]

Oh, and the track for E1M1:
View attachment 145460
Also, publicly releasing the source code was an absolute Chad move..

At Doom's Gate is sadly kinda overused in Modern Doom (and Doom memes/wads) when there are many good tracks around (like Kitchen Ace and Taking Names or Untitled). I also do think that the more ambient tracks from the PC version are top tier as well and add to the game (like They're Going to Get You).

I like heavy metal but everyone thinks that it's the only genre the series could do when it's not the case.

The Source Code for too many games have been lost sadly. Wish they would release it after a decade at most. Of course unless the online game is still supported to prevent hackers.

Post automatically merged: Yesterday at 9:48 AM

I'd say one, the versatility of the engine and modernized versions of it (GZDoom) that can offer everything from new maps to entirely new experiences in different genres (Sonic Robo Blast and Rough Waves come to mind), and everything in between. Two, the vanilla base game is still really fun, and is one of those few games one can just pick up and very quickly fall into the groove of killing demons.

I personally think GZDoom is almost too different and doesn't have every quirks of the original engine even with the Doom (strict) compatibility. It's a versatile engine for sure yet it's almost its own thing that happened to run Doom whereas DSDA and Chocolate/Crispy are closer to what Doom is while working on modern OSes.

Sonic Robo Blast 2 uses a modification of Doom Legacy (which is impressive on its own).

 

[Spyrone]

At Doom's Gate is sadly kinda overused in Modern Doom (and Doom memes/wads) when there are many good tracks around (like Kitchen Ace and Taking Names or Untitled). I also do think that the more ambient tracks from the PC version are top tier as well and add to the game (like They're Going to Get You).

I like heavy metal but everyone thinks that it's the only genre the series could do when it's not the case.

The Source Code for too many games have been lost sadly. Wish they would release it after a decade at most. Of course unless the online game is still supported to prevent hackers.

Post automatically merged: Yesterday at 9:48 AM

I personally think GZDoom is almost too different and doesn't have every quirks of the original engine even with the Doom (strict) compatibility. It's a versatile engine for sure yet it's almost its own thing that happened to run Doom whereas DSDA and Chocolate/Crispy are closer to what Doom is while working on modern OSes.

Sonic Robo Blast 2 uses a modification of Doom Legacy (which is impressive on its own).

Didn't know that SRB2 used something other than GZDoom. Whenever I see something that fancy running off a Doom base I tend to assume it's GZDoom.

As you mentioned, it does so many different things from the original engine that it is a different engine for sure, though one that I'd argue still captures the "pick up and play" nature of the original. The vast majority of GZDoom mods and TCs that keep the genre same I can think of more-or-less preserve that feeling where most people just "get it" when playing the first time, even if a few I can think of have so many more layers of complexity that they don't feel remotely similar to the original (Brutal Doom immediately comes to mind).

I hope that clarifies what I meant.

 

[SherionVane]

I didn't play Doom until Spring of 2004, more than a full decade after its original release... And the game was still very much a phenomenon, with TWO (!) gigantic multiplayer communities, thousands of mods, add-ons and total conversions and everything else you can name/imagine.

I honestly thought it was so good, I went full psycho and pulled an all-nighter as soon as the five-megabyte download had finished murdering my 56K connection, eager to try a game so famous that everyone around me seemed to know about it and being so hooked that I'm convinced I did some sort of damage to my left Control key by hammering it so much.

But I could never quite put my finger on why that was.

So, my question to you all is exactly that: Why?

Why such an outdated, throughly outdone game could spark older and newer players alike like that? I was never able to answer it myself, just knowing that, deep down in my dumb brain, a simple message was being etched in stone as soon as I cleared that iconic entry level for the first time: "Doom = Fun".

I have played this one on DOS, Windows, PlayStation, SNES, N64 and even Android, basically going through the exact same thing each and every time and not really tiring of it in a way that other classics (even those personally important to me) never managed to achieve -- I know I haven't played a single level of the original Super Mario Bros in years, for example, yet I'm always seem to be in the mood for some demon-slaying... Or, perhaps more accurately, Doom's brand of demon-slaying.

I'll probably jump right back in after hitting "post', too, because talking about it made me want to get some hell spawn full of led.

In the meantime, though, please share your thoughts on the topic at-hand.

Because when you were young, the number of dopamine receptors, dopamine levels, and the sensitivity of these dopamine receptors were higher, and one of the things that caused dopamine release was this game. Your brain remembers this, and every time you do it, you release dopamine, just like when you eat sugar, your brain wants more sugar.

 

[Graves Ruinwalker]

Doom is the Tetris of shooters .
Its always fun with its simple gameplay and its complex mazes .

Its the simple concept of Open doors & shooting demons with high-powered guns & running like Sonic the hedgehog in a death-maze .

Its a wholesome christian-game with guns and violence .

Its a great stress-reliever after a hard day of customer-service .

Its a great entry-level for Gun-nerds .

Its just a timeless classic.

And John Carmack and Romero started their true careers with it . John Romeros smile says it all .

I know its getting annoying and im repeating myself thats why i wanna spare your nerves with my Daikatana fanboyism out of respect and love of your well-being .

But i make it short .....

WHERE IS MY GODDAMN DAIKATANA 2 , JOHN !?

 

[Pseudo64]

Three basic steps that explain Doom's popularity 30 years later.

Step One: Make a good game.
Step Two: Make the source code open.
Step Three: Do not DMCA your fans for making fan games and sit back and watch as they carry on your legacy.

 

[Diadu]

Personally I'd say it is because of it's simplicity. There are no cutscenes or chatter interrupting the game. It has been ported to most consoles in existence and can run on your fridge among other things. So most of the time you are actually playing, running around and shooting things - not watching cutscenes.

Bethesda picking up the IP and repeatedly releasing ports to new generations of consoles helped to keep DOOM relevant throughout the past decade or so. I'd argue that helped a lot too.

It helps that DOOMs only controversial contents are violence and demonic/satanic images. Hardly anyone cares about that, so it's really easy to market. (Duke himself came under a lot of scrunity for his personality when DNF released and Lo Wang was toned down a lot for the new Shadow Warrior games).

 

[petran79]

On the other hand Doom isn't just about heavy metal tracks, people remember At Doom's Gate but I think that what makes Doom 1 still unique and memorable is how it also had some light horror aspects to it (especially with that kind of track and how good the lighting system was)

I'm a tiny bit sad that Modern Doom is only remembering the heavy metal aspect of the franchise because the right mix of action and horror was done perfectly in the original.

up to the mid-90s, many ibm and compatible pcs did not even feature a sound card, neither for Doom or Wolfenstein or other classics as they were office and spreadsheet oriented.
Gaming was still an afterthought, plus the high price deterred even more (1500 usd minimum for a decent 486 with 14-15" monitor included in 1993, no sound card and cd-rom). Or else you had to add 500 more.

I played Doom 1&2 just with pc speaker sound effects and got a sound card and a little later a cd rom in 1996.

Most important part was the gameplay that was addictive even with speaker sound effects that today would burst one's ears

 

[Ikagura]

Didn't know that SRB2 used something other than GZDoom. Whenever I see something that fancy running off a Doom base I tend to assume it's GZDoom.

Which impresses me more since they didn't have DECORATE nor ZSCRIPT

https://doomwiki.org/wiki/DECORATE

https://doomwiki.org/wiki/ZScript

Doom Legacy is still quite good as it was:

https://doomwiki.org/wiki/Doom_Legacy

As you mentioned, it does so many different things from the original engine that it is a different engine for sure, though one that I'd argue still captures the "pick up and play" nature of the original. The vast majority of GZDoom mods and TCs that keep the genre same I can think of more-or-less preserve that feeling where most people just "get it" when playing the first time, even if a few I can think of have so many more layers of complexity that they don't feel remotely similar to the original (Brutal Doom immediately comes to mind).

On the other hand I'm not that fan of GZDoom beyond advanced mods (and then again I don't use those when doing the games properly). Not because of the controversy about his "put this fork under a" or blurry mode by default but about how it feels "off" (like when playing Duke Nukem Megaton or World Tour).

I also say that MyHouse.wad didn't impress me because when you know how GZDoom works you can already see the tricks used to do "rooms over rooms" or other impossible stuff done in the base engine.

Brutal Doom really messed up the balance to the point that the original Doom levels weren't made with it in mind. Maybe that map pack made for BD21 is much better.

Depiste big Slaughter Wads and massive maps Doom is surprisingly an "easy to read" game visually speaking

Whereas BD would be a particle-fest and less easy to see what happens

Oh and hitscanners are brutal (pun intended) so you'd die more easily in places where Vanilla Doom would be fine.

And in the other hand some weapons are so buffed they trivialise some levels (ie: plasma riffle or the rocket launcher).

Post automatically merged: Today at 10:24 AM

It helps that DOOMs only controversial contents are violence and demonic/satanic images. Hardly anyone cares about that, so it's really easy to market. (Duke himself came under a lot of scrunity for his personality when DNF released and Lo Wang was toned down a lot for the new Shadow Warrior games).

I also feel like the gameplay backs it up.

Duke Nukem 3D sadly has too many hitscanners and while silent teleports and underwater were novelty I feel like they're making navigation tedious. I do like realistic looking levels but I also prefer not to have to bother with jumping and crouching just to get a keycard, getting killed by sentry drones nor getting annoyed by those protozoa with that weird hitbox that makes 50% of the kicks not working.

Mortal Kombat had controversies too for violence before Doom but the gameplay is far from Street Fighter II's complexity.

up to the mid-90s, many ibm and compatible pcs did not even feature a sound card, neither for Doom or Wolfenstein or other classics as they were office and spreadsheet oriented.
Gaming was still an afterthought, plus the high price deterred even more (1500 usd minimum for a decent 486 with 14-15" monitor included in 1993, no sound card and cd-rom). Or else you had to add 500 more.

I played Doom 1&2 just with pc speaker sound effects and got a sound card and a little later a cd rom in 1996.

Most important part was the gameplay that was addictive even with speaker sound effects that today would burst one's ears

I'd also add that the OPL ost somehow sounds more ominous.

While Doom 3 went a bit too far into horror I wish they kept some of that in Doom 2016/Eternal (The Dark Ages has a bit of that Quake I flair but not further than the middle age sci fi themes).