Man, Doom really came far since its debut in 1993. I never grew up with the Doom series. Myintroduction to the legendary John Romero started with Dangerous Dave, not Doom. But I know fans of the hellish tricenarian series would weep looking at this game, like it were the bullet-riddled body of Sonny Corleone itself. Still, even if it looks… er, “cute”, there are some noteworthy points about the game.
To start, many compare Mighty Doom to Archero, a game by Habby, for the gameplay concept they share. You don’t do anything except move the character around with the joystick. Through levels, you beat enemies and bosses, finish levels and get upgrades. And while the levels are not endless, one of the goals is to survive for as long as possible. However — and to risk sounding controversial among the fanbase — the game is faithful to the Doom franchise’s core philosophy: to rip and tear. Mighty Doom hits a few bullseyes that Archero missed.
Everything you do or see in Mighty Doom supports the overarching goal to shred demons up like pomegranates. Enemies rush towards you, trying to flank you from all sides. This compensates for the lack of positioning, which is more strategic than action-based. The constant run-and-gun honours Doom’s high-octane gameplay wherein staying idle would mean you die. Archero is the complete opposite of this experience, opting to puzzle the player.
The longer you last and the further you progress, the more aggressive the enemies get. So to survive longer in firefights, you can upgrade weapons, armou and abilities using coins you earn clearing enemies and levels. But abilities are upgraded at random, which I felt must be left to the player’s control, and not to the almighty RNGesus. Even so, save for abilities, Archero offers no other meta gameplay.
The surprising addition of the weakness mechanic sets the game apart from Archero, offsetting the narrow range of enemies. Each enemy has their own weakness players can exploit through the upgrades they pick for each round the biggest highlight of Mighty Doom is how it didn’t fall for Archero’s UX traps. The tactility feels natural. The visuals are easy to read, even in grayscale mode.And there are some UX quirks that, when addressed, make for a better gameplay expe- rience. For example, you can perceive where all the enemy fireballs will land and evade them quickly, thanks to the decals flashing underneath them. Gameplay-wise, Archero pales in comparison to the explosive Mighty Doom.
VERDICT: Mighty Doom could’ve been a reinvention rather than a blatant template of another game, but it’s still fun in its own right. It does a fairly good job being an engaging mobile game. Of course, being a graphically heavy game, you’ll need a strong smartphone with a lot of battery juice to run it. I would rate it seven out of 10.
