DOOM 64

DOOM 64 originally released on the Nintendo 64 in 1997 as a direct sequel to DOOM II — and for years it lived in the shadow of its console exclusivity, considered by most PC players to be the franchise's missing link. The 2020 enhanced release, prepared to celebrate DOOM's 25th anniversary, brings it to modern PCs and consoles with the polish it needed to be properly enjoyed.

The story sits between DOOM II and DOOM 3 chronologically. Years after stopping Hell's invasion of Earth, the UAC research facilities on Mars were quarantined and abandoned. A signal from a degraded satellite suggests a single entity remains active there — and the Mother of Demons, responsible for resurrecting the demons you thought you'd killed for good, is the target of this lone crusade. The setup is appropriately bleak and the game leans into atmosphere harder than its predecessors.

Over thirty action-packed levels run through the main campaign, with the enhanced release adding extra Lost Levels continuing the story. The pacing and design language are distinctly different from the PC DOOM games — slower, moodier, more puzzle-focused, with a soundtrack that traded heavy metal for ambient industrial dread. The combat fundamentals remain id's, but the mood is its own.

The 2020 enhancements that ship with this Steam release include upgraded visuals, improved mouse-and-keyboard controls, full gamepad support, widescreen resolutions, native 60 FPS, and quality-of-life additions for modern hardware. The result is the easiest DOOM 64 has ever been to play, and for anyone who grew up on the PC DOOM games, the easiest it's ever been to discover.