➤ DOOM 3: VR Edition, the review 🎮

Try your hand at review of DOOM 3: VR Edition represents a pleasant journey into the past for those who have experienced the launch period of the title developed by Id Software, published in the now distant 2004, with all that it has represented for the franchise and for the videogame panorama in general.

In fact, we are talking about an episode in many ways atypical, a real technological showcase that brought up PC extraordinary visual solutions and mixed them with less frenetic gameplay than in the early days, oriented towards horror atmospheres, complete with jumpscare and exploratory phases designed to make the sci-fi setting truly the protagonist of the adventure.

Well, the experience of DOOM 3 is now also available on PlayStation VR with a version in virtual reality which also includes the two expansions, namely Resurrection of Evil and The Lost Mission, to create a particularly full-bodied and interesting package. Or not?

Story

DOOM 3: VR Edition, the review — DOOM 3: VR Edition brings the interface to the protagonist's wrist to control health and armor.

La history of DOOM 3: VR Edition stands as a reboot compared to the first two episodes of the series and is not even linked to the unpublished lore created starting from the 2016 chapter. We are therefore talking, to all intents and purposes, of a peculiar and isolated parenthesis within the id Software franchise.

We are in the future, inside a station built on the planet Mars to study new technologies essential for rapid colonization, above all teleportation. The experiments in this sense, however, give unexpected results, literally opening the gates of Hell and plunging the entire settlement into chaos.

It will be up to us to stop the advance of the demons, in the shoes of a brave one space marine armed to the teeth but far from the ferocious relentlessness of the DOOM Slayer.

Gameplay

As mentioned at the beginning, DOOM 3 represented for the series a sort of variation on the theme, also and above all on the front of the gameplay. In fact, don't expect the frenetic run & gun-style approach of the recent DOOM and DOOM Eternal, but a slower and more reasoned experience, with a limited number of enemies to face at the same time.

Mechanics that in this version for PlayStation VR have been further softened, increasing munitions e medical kits around the levels in order to make the challenge more accessible in the new context of virtual reality and also allowing us to use the torch to illuminate dark areas without having to alternate it with the shotgun, so you can shoot at any time.

Controls

We played DOOM 3: VR Edition on PS5, however, immediately encountering a hitch: the game it is not compatible with DualSense and requires a controller DualShock 4, which is used in this case not only for its physical input devices but also and above all for the integrated gyroscope, which allows you to manage the aim although in a somewhat clumsy way.

The luxury alternative is represented in this case by theAIM Controller, undoubtedly able to guarantee greater precision and a greater sense of involvement in the optics of the action, while the individual controllers Move they are not supported, nor is it possible to simply aim using analog sticks.

A shame, considering the amount of options available in order to adjust the experience according to your sensitivity. In fact, you can opt for a fluid movement or for the traditional horizontal "shots" with a customizable width (15 degrees, by default), activate or not the automatic reload of the weapons, set the dominant hand and even the height of the character, but certain aspects remain binding.

Not suffering from motion sickness, we opted for the normal controls while limiting the sensitivity a little, so as to decrease the rotation speed, eventually obtaining a fair compromise. Of course, in many ways we are still faced with an implementation of basic VR, with our character represented visually only with the hands and no particular gimmicks.

Technical realization

As mentioned, in 2004 DOOM 3 was able to offer an unprecedented and extraordinary visual impact, thanks above all to the advanced lighting system guaranteed by theid Tech 4, wisely used in order to enrich the gameplay with new and interesting situations, especially for the series. Seventeen years later, that same graphic obviously feels all the weight of time and not much has been done to freshen it up.

The performances of DOOM 3: VR Edition on PS5 are completely identical to those of PS4 Pro, while on the standard PlayStation 4 the resolution was further reduced in order to keep the frame rate, obviously fundamental element for any virtual reality experience. Nothing to say about the sound, which has been improved and now offers a good three-dimensional rendering of sounds.

Comment

Tested version PlayStation 4 Digital Delivery PlayStation Store Price 19,99 € Resources4Gaming.com

7.0

Readers (2)

9.0

Your vote

DOOM 3: VR Edition is a complete edition of id Software's shooter, which includes the two expansions and is offered at a very affordable price. So if you loved the game at the time of the original release, you will certainly be pleased to relive the experience in virtual reality, albeit without sharp details or sophisticated solutions. The graphics of DOOM 3 are in fact inevitably aged and the gameplay has been adapted to the new context only in a superficial way, giving rise to a compromise a little to the downside.