You can play DOOM on just about any device under the sun these days, from a LEGO brick to a pregnancy test. But if you’re the type of old-timey soul who’d rather just play on a console or PC (how quaint!), there’s good news: there’s a new enhanced re-release of DOOM and DOOM II out today, and it prooobably won’t be coming to household appliances any time soon.
DOOM + DOOM II brings these quintessential first-person shooters to PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, and PC in a single combined release. Cross-platform multiplayer, rendering improvements, new accessibility features, and a brand new official episode—”Legacy of Rust”—are among the new enhancements, on top of the various features already included in earlier ports to current platforms. And if you already own one of said earlier ports, you’ll get the new combined release as a free upgrade, while keeping access to the original versions.
Legacy of Rust is one of the highlights here. The result of a collaboration between individuals from id Software, Nightdive Studios, and MachineGames, it’s the first official episode since DOOM II to include new weapons and demons. Here’s an overview:
“Vassago’s Rest”, the ancient inscriptions called it. With the meaning of the name lost to time, it wasn’t long before the interlopers began calling the land by another: “New Eden”. Just like the Garden of old, mankind’s exile from this newly settled realm was swift and brutal.
This remote region of Hell, overflowing in (un-)natural resources as it were, was almost entirely devoid of demonic presence. The Union Aerospace Corporation, never one to shy away from hubris and excess, learned the hard way that even the demons feared something greater, something deeper. When the Ones Beneath awoke, the UAC’s crown jewel was swallowed in a cascade of blood and fire.
Three hours — all it took to reduce New Eden to a sea of molten glass.
Three minutes — all it took before the UAC’s top brass played their ace.
Three seconds — all it took for you to weigh the risks before accepting the job.
Your orders are clear: reclaim the lost base and preserve the UAC’s Legacy.
Or die trying.
On top of that, DOOM + DOOM II adds various new features and improvements:
- Online, cross-platform deathmatch and co-op for up to 16 players
- Community-published single-player mod support with an in-game mod browser
- Chose to play the original midi DOOM and DOOM II soundtracks or the modern IDKFA versions by Andrew Hulshult (including brand-new DOOM II recordings)
- Improved performance with multithreaded rendering supporting up to 4K resolution and 120 FPS on Xbox Series X|S, PC and PlayStation 5
- Now on the KEX engine
- BOOM source compatibility makes it possible for hundreds of community-created mods from the past 25 years to be published in-game
- Accessibility options
- Translated into 8 new languages: Mexican Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, Polish, Russian, Japanese, Korean, Tradition Chinese and Simplified Chinese
And with all that to look forward to, maybe I’ll stop trying to get DOOM running on this rock I found on my way home and just play it on my Switch instead.
