If you find yourself here and are looking for specs about how DOOM runs on the Switch, or anything technical, I regret to inform you that you have arrived at the wrong address. There will be no side-by-side comparison videos showing DOOM on the Switch and a top of the line PC running at 60fps with all of the video sliders set at Ultra High. I tried running the DOOM Demo back in July of last year and was barely able to run the game at 15 fps even on the lowest graphical settings.
This is where my First Impressions come from.
So this was my first time having to deal with a Day One Patch, something that I have not come across amongst the PC games that I have, or even some of the 3DS games that have used an online connection like Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia. I was a little annoyed at not being able to play a game immediately upon receiving it in the mail, even if the patch contained the ability to play online multiplayer that I really had no interest in, but more on that bit later. The point is, after about an hour and-a-half or so, the patch downloaded and I was finally able to enjoy DOOM. Except that I did not enjoy it right off the bat.
As most of you know, I grew up playing consoles and my first real introduction to First Person Shooters was Turok: Dinosaur Hunter and Goldeneye 007 on the N64, so using a controller for FPS' is not a new thing for me. And I did not really start playing FPS' on PCs until DOOM 3 back in 2009 and from that point on I have tended to favor Keyboard/Mouse controls over a controller in most cases; there are exceptions like Assassin's Creed, and Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor though. So playing with the Switches Joy-Con's took quite a bit of getting used to. I replayed the first stage because by the end, I felt that I was a bit better and figured that I could use the practice anyway. And now, at the end of the fourth stage, I finally feel like I am getting more comfortable, but not completely. There was a Rune Challenge that only solidified my position that KB/M is superior to a controller for precise aiming, especially in timed situations where timing, speed, and accuracy are paramount. The point is that it took some time before I felt that I could really enjoy the game because of the controls.
Once I reached the second stage (having gone through the first stage twice already) on the Hurt Me Plenty difficulty (being the normal setting for the game), I was finally starting to enjoy the game. During this time I did notice that the graphics did not look as crisp as the trailers I watched for the 2016 release, but it was far from being a blocky and washed out mess that some parts of the Internet would prefer you to believe. And yes, I could tell that the game was not running at 1080p, and that some of the textures were not as detailed as they might be running on a computer purchased in the last six months. But since my current computer could not run the PC version, I do not feel that the Switch version felt inferior while playing it. For the most part.
Oddly enough, the only times I have felt that the game did not look as detailed as I would have liked was during the melee gore kills. Sure, I could tell that I was pulling an Imp's jaws open like a Ziploc sandwich bag constructed of flesh and demonic bone, but the colors did seem a bit blurred. I have also not noticed any slow down in the game, although this could possibly be because I do not have an fps counter up in the corner like I do for Steam, so I may not have been able to tell if there was an fps dip from 30 down to 20.
As far as bugs and glitches go, I have read about people experiencing audio issues, but I have only had it happen once in the fourth stage when I was wandering around some heavy equipment looking for the location of one of the hidden DOOM Marine dolls. There was a semi-disruptive tone that was not related to any ambient sound that lasted for less than two seconds. The game otherwise seemed unaffected. The only other glitch that I have experienced is pictured to the right. The second or third time I started the game, I was greeted with the inability to move the joystick either up or down. I was then told, upon selecting the Campaign (single player option), that I had "exceed[ed] your matchmaking communications quota. . ." and that I could try again in roughly 23 days. Not having tried multiplayer at this point I was a bit confused at not even being able to continue my single player game, and after frantically searching online, I discovered that all I had to do was exit the game, then restart the Switch. For whatever reason that cleared everything up.
Speaking of multiplayer which I briefly mentioned above, I have actually played a number of rounds with the rest of the beginners, not that you are relegated to play with other beginners, but that is where I feel my multiplayer skill level is at with console based FPS'. I also love, at least currently, that there is no option for voice chat. One might argue that in teamed combat, that communicating with your fellow teammates is integral to survival, but I say that it will would only drive a divide between people who want to better learn the game, and an already toxic community who seems hell bent (eh!?) on being ass-hats to say the least. I am not saying that everyone playing DOOM multiplayer would call everyone who looks like they are dragging down the point total for the team (often me), a "fucking n00b cunt who can't shoot his way out of his mom's ass." I just do not want to deal with that. Ever. Which is probably why I do not do a lot of online multiplayer gaming. The point is, as long as voice chat remains either non existent or the option to not have it at all, I will continue to dip my toe into the DOOM multiplayer from time to time.
So that is what I have to say at the moment about DOOM on the Switch. It is a pretty fun game, well thought out compared to the original DOOM, but not the horror experience I think of when I think of DOOM 3. It is not a perfect game, and someone who needs a 1080p 60fps experience should probably look elsewhere, but for someone who wanted to play a well designed and fun FPS on the Switch, this is exactly what I was looking for.
~JWfW/JDub/Jaconian
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