Doom: Ranking All The Games From Worst To Best
Your one-stop guide to slaying hordes of demons, razing hell and avenging bunnies.
Between pioneering the first-person shooter genre and paving the way for video game controversy across the whole planet crafting masterpieces of gratuitous gore and cathartic violence, to say that the Doom franchise has practically made the gaming industry what it is today would in of itself be an understatement.
From the twisted minds of Johns Romero and Carmack - with a great deal of help from their cast of wacky nerds at id Software - Doom has been an enduring presence within the gaming industry since its first game launched in 1993.
After making waves across the pond thanks to inevitable satanic connotations (along with a whole host of backlash through some unsavoury incidents across America), and was quickly launched into both fame and notoriety practically overnight.
Since then, the game has spawned a respectable pool of sequels and spin-offs with varying degrees of quality. Whether you're a gameplay purist or a narrative aficionado, there is something for everyone in their 27 years worth of gaming mastery.
So let's put on our helmets, load up our shotguns and rip and tear into the meat of this demon scum as we rank the games in the Doom franchise from worst to best.
12. Doom II RPG
I'd just like to preface these next two entries: the Doom RPGs are not terrible games.
For the basic mobile software that they were at the time, the Doom RPGs are extremely well crafted and polished games that offer a completely new take on the world that Carmack and Romero built with their previous entries into the franchise. Of course with all that said, the Doom RPGs are still, well, RPGs.
One of the things the Doom franchise owes to its success is the high octane, superbly paced move-forward style of gameplay. Standing still is as deadly as running headlong into the jaws of the threatening pink monstrosity that's charging towards you, so having to think tactically and stay on your toes while tearing through enemy after enemy is part of the lasting charm.
The RPGs drop that adrenaline fueled nightmare fest for a more measured, turn based experience. While that isn't necessarily a bad thing by itself, it does not capture the core essence of Doom and what it represents. Being that this game is also itself a sequel of the original Doom RPG, it loses that freshness of concept the original at least had going for it.
Although there are cameos from familiar enemies alongside a healthy dose of humourous writing, the Doom II RPG just doesn't stack up against even its predecessor, let alone the rest of the franchise.