Doom 64 (Switch) Review – Port Perfection

10/10 Why haven’t you bought it, yet?

This might be both the hardest and easiest review I’ll ever make for this site. Hard because I don’t even really see the reason why I need to review this game. It’s FIVE DOLLARS (USD) and it’s DOOM. OF THE 64 VARIETY.

But hey, maybe you’re reading this because you’re on the fence on whether or not to buy this port. After all, the ports of all the Doom games on Switch are not exactly perfect. The original 1993 Doom and Doom 2 ports by Nerve Software were essentially barebones vanilla ports with some music and graphical issues. Panic Button’s port Doom 3 is based on the controversial “BFG Edition” and is lacking multiplayer. The mighty impressive port of Doom (2016) had some trouble reaching its 30fps cap and lacked the SnapMap functionality. And most recently, Doom Eternal‘s Switch port was delayed to a later unspecified date. That being said, these ports themselves aren’t bad and were updated either immediately or over time and made way better. But I can imagine some may be on the fence and waiting for reviews to come out before jumping to buy it.

Before we can talk about this new release, I think it makes sense to talk about the game itself. Doom 64 is somewhat of a black sheep among the Doom franchise. (Maybe not so much as Doom 3 but just stick with me here). The game wasn’t developed by id Software (the creators and makers of Doom) and was released in 1997 exclusively for the Nintendo 64 (as the ’64’ in the title implies); and while it plays like Doom, it certainly doesn’t look like any of the Doom games released before it. The reason for this was that the game started as a standalone new IP called “Absolution” and was being developed by Midway Games. However, Midway felt the game needed some brand recognition or it wouldn’t sell. So they licensed the Doom IP from id and turned it into a Doom game. On release, the game reviewed well but many felt the game was out of touch and outdated. Quake had just released on PC a year earlier and much more technically impressive games like Turok and GoldenEye were right around the corner. So for years, the game was just stuck being considered as a console-exclusive oddity. Flash forward a couple of decades and Bethesda announces that Doom 64 would be coming back and being ported to PC for the first time officially and to modern consoles.

Now, there is something we have to get out of the way immediately. Doom 64 for Nintendo Switch is not a port. You see, while the game is only coming to PC (officially) and other consoles now, for a long while there was a fan-made unofficial version floating around called “Doom 64 EX”. Midway has never released the original source code for Doom 64 and Nintendo 64 emulation has always been somewhat hit or miss. So what these fans did was create a brand new engine called the “Kex Engine” and reverse engineered every aspect of Doom 64 using the assets from the original ROM file. So “64 EX” was not so much a port, but a remake or recreation of Doom 64. The same team behind “64 EX” later created the studio Nightdive Studios and use their custom “Kex” Engine to revive and remaster all sorts of older (mostly first-person shooter) games from the 1990s. So just like how Nerve Software is known for their classic Doom ports and Panic Button is known for their modern Doom ports, it only made sense when Bethesda announced that Nightdive would be the studio bringing Doom 64 to modern platforms.

So yes, Doom 64 for Switch is a much more refined and enhanced version of the fan-made “Doom 64 EX”. And it is glorious. What makes it so great is the fact that the game is running on a brand-new custom engine. So where other remasters just boost the original game’s resolution and clean up some models and textures, you’re getting a much better and more modern experience. You have the game running in proper widescreen (1080p docked, 720p handheld) instead of the original 4:3 aspect ratio, the game now runs at a smooth and (mostly) stable 60 fps, and the game now features a save and load game feature along with its original password system. What is probably THE BEST addition, is an “Environment Brightness” slider. Doom 64 is a legendarily dark game. Mainly due to its lack of proper gamma correction. So on some TVs (both old tube and new flatscreen) the game can appear as being barely visible, even after turning game brightness all the way up. Now, it’s just not a problem and you can control how bright or dark you want the game and/or the game’s environments to be. Massive improvement. This release is simply jam-packed with all sorts of options that you usually wouldn’t find in other console remasters. There are anti-aliasing options depending on whether you want your sprites crispy or smooth, there’s a FOV slider (more console shooters need this), you can change the color of the blood, there are even gyro control options! I don’t know why you’d need gyro in a game with only horizontal turning and auto-aim on but sure, why not? Look how much work they put into this! Why haven’t you bought it yet?

All that’s really left to take about is the game’s contents. Even then, what is there even to say. It’s DOOM. You’ve played Doom. Have you played Doom? If not, why? It’s one of the most influential and best games of all time! If so, then you know how Doom 64 plays. Big guns, big demons, running around at like 60mph in tight labyrinth-y levels. It’s a real hoot and a holler. So what sets this one apart from previous titles? Well, it’s the atmosphere. Whereas the original games were a mix between Aliens/H.R. Giger and heavy metal, Doom 64 focuses on a Gothic and dark ambiance. This new style mostly comes from the PlayStation port of the original Doom which added some colored moody lighting and replaced Robert Prince’s hard rock score with Aubrey Hodges’ atmospheric and industrial-inspired ambiance. On top of that, all the classic demons were re-designed to give a more ghastly and nightmarish appearance. In many ways, the tone and overall aesthetic of 64 more closely resembles id Software’s Quake than the classic Dooms. And it seems that the current team at id liked it enough that it’s the basis of the style for Doom Eternal!

Last but not least, Nightdive went ahead and added new playable content to this release too! “The Lost Levels” is a new 6-level campaign that unlocks when you either finish the main 64 campaign or the notoriously difficult secret level “Hectic”. The new levels were designed by Samuel Villarreal, the lead developer behind “64 EX” and the Kex Engine. They’re pretty darn good; and despite the name implying these were possibly lost or cut levels from the original games, they’re actually completely new levels intended to bridge the gap between the classic Dooms and Doom ’16 onward.

Any negatives? It’s a pretty easy game. Since the game was designed with consoles in mind, the Doom arsenal was beefed up quite a bit and every weapon is either faster or deals more damage than their classic counterparts. So even if it’s not something you normally do, I’d advise turning up the difficulty on this one.

I think that’s all that really can be said. Doom 64 is a shining example of what a modern adaptation of an older game SHOULD be and more developers and publishers ought to take note. Even then, at $5 it’s basically a no-brainer. Fantastic release of a fantastic game at a price akin to any medium-sized specialty drink at a Starbucks. Go buy it. Just do it.

Thank you to Bethesda for sending us a code for review.