"Arrival" does not really have a story. It is just a map set that proposes a set of challenges for the player. There is nothing wrong with that, since Doom has always been about the gameplay. That said, there is no better story than "guy with big guns kills demons a lot."
The theme here has to do with very... VERY large maps with a lot of enemies everywhere and constantly. They are not slaughter maps. Most of the enemies you face are the weaker sort, but intermixed with Arch-viles and Revenants. This combination often puts you in a situation where you have to make extremely hard pushes through a crowd in order to get to the key you need.
And you will be looking for those keys. All the maps need those keys for you to escape. You will be spending most of your time exhausting yourself trying to get the keys, usually all three of them, just to get yourself to the ending. These maps are intended to really tire you out by just constantly giving you a lot of fights.
The fights are not always really difficult per se, but they happen so much and so constantly that you might find yourself psychologically losing it a little. I had to keep taking breaks just to wind myself down. The Arch-viles were a constant problem since they were always reviving enemies you had worked so hard to kill. I pretty much made it a rule to use the BFG whenever I saw them.
These maps also give you an absolute ton of ammo and health. You'll pretty much see the stuff lying all over the ground. It looks like a lot, but I found myself spending the time to gather it all up when I could. All that ammo gets used. It never ever seems like enough. If you play this one, just be aware of what you have. Don't let the abundance of ammo lead you into a false sense of security. You will run out if you are not careful.
I was unable to find a secret exit in this map set, even though there is an extra mission called "Dad Bod" or in the case of the remaster it's called "Father Figure." If you play the game through regularly, you end up with an actual bad ending where you get lost in Hell forever. They accomplish this by placing you in a map with no exit. The true ending comes from playing "Father Figure" which you have to access from the level select menu. And this, sadly, means you have to "pistol start" it.
Well, I did it. I pistol started it and was able to finish it... just barely. It was about as exhausting as all of them, but I'd say that it was a tad easier than most of them. But, Lord, these maps were just so very tiring to play. I loved how everything looked though. They are well made maps with some interesting challenges.
Do I recommend "Arrival" though? I actually do, but you need to be ready to fight and fight hard. You'll be white-knuckled from beginning to end. There's no way around it. Lock and load, space marine! It's gonna be a long one!
This blog was written on February 9, 2025.
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This seems like a version of Doom I would especially love. I like slaughtering droves of lesser baddies than I do boss fights. As mentioned: strength in numbers does wear you down.
ReplyDeleteOh, yeah. You probably would like this one.
DeleteWhen a game becomes exhausting, it tends to diminish the fun. Those who love a challenge are more apt to soldier on. So, the level of enjoyment largely depends on your perspective.
ReplyDelete