Doom 64, an infamous part of the Doom legacy, is coming to the Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, PS4, and PC.
Following the releases of Doom, Doom II, and Doom 3 on Nintendo’s hybrid platform, id has confirmed that they are also bringing Doom 64 to the Nintendo Switch. If you’re suddenly wondering why they are bothering to bring Doom 64 to the Switch when they’ve already released Doom and Doom II on the platform, then you’ve just stumbled upon why this port is so fascinating.
See, Doom 64 wasn’t a port of a previous Doom title. It’s generally considered to be a sequel to Doom II, though the design of the game has left many people to think of it as a sizeable expansion to that game. That said, the game’s plot (or what little of it there is) does technically occur after the events of the second mainline Doom game.
The thing about Doom 64 that you should know is that not a lot of people really got the chance to play it. At the time, many people wrote it off as yet another Doom port even if that wasn’t strictly speaking true. You also have to remember that this game was initially released in 1997 when Goldeneye was about to hit the market and not only properly introduce the FPS genre to a generation of console gamers but consume a lot of their free time as well.
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Years later, though, it’s easy to love Doom 64. Not only was the game a fundamentally well-done entry into the corridor FPS genre, but it featured arguably the best graphics and level design ever seen in a Doom game up until that point. Those qualities, combined with its status as something of a lost Doom sequel, has left many people wishing they could experience Doom 64 despite the dwindling number of practical options that would allow them to do so.
That will all change when Doom 64 releases on March 20, 2020 (alongside Doom Eternal) for all platforms. Those who pre-order Doom Eternal will receive a free copy of the retro title.
Matthew Byrd is a staff writer for Den of Geek. He spends most of his days trying to pitch deep-dive analytical pieces about Killer Klowns From Outer Space to an increasingly perturbed series of editors. You can read more of his work here or find him on Twitter at @SilverTuna014.