A fellow dev once nailed what was great about 2016 when he called each room a combat puzzle needing solved, and the areas and spawns really felt like puzzle challenges that you had to figure out strategies for, and felt smart and satisfied when you cracked them.
Id themselves talk about the gameplay in this way too, it's spot on isn't it. Sorry to hear it was so disappointing, that sucks
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I finished my playthrough a couple of days ago, it's not perfect but I am firmly in the 'loved it' camp. I agree with some of the criticisms like there's a little bloat that could be trimmed down for sure, and the marauder is annoying at least half the time he shows up, nothing that spoilt the game for me but certainly imperfections. I should be able to change weapons whilst glory killing, to set up the next move!
I found they upped the puzzle/strategy element to the combat rather than reduced it though. I really had to think on my feet to get through fights, using the weapons and abilities against the enemies that were weak to them, in whatever order they were available to me during a hectic fight.
It's harder for a lot of people as a result I think, certainly for me. If you don't engage with that puzzle completely some of the harder fights will give you plenty of trouble, you could muddle through a lot more in Doom 2016. It's exhilarating because of that though, and if need be there are lots of ways to make the game easier from the difficulty setting to cheats you can activate. I didn't play on ultra violence, and that's usually my go-to with Doom from playing so much of the series through my life. Not that it means much coming to a totally different game but still, symbolically I stepped down in difficulty
The graphics and music are some of the best I've ever seen, the game is nuts in that regard and also a total love letter to doom fans, with tons of easter eggs and unlockables. I just generally noticed more nods to the originals too, From more faithful looking weapons, to returning monsters and music from the originals quite often baked into the soundtrack somewhere (there was plenty of that in Doom 2016 too, I just seemed to notice it more here). I also moved the gun to the middle of the screen in the settings, anything to make it feel more Doom-y!
There's been more lore written than I perhaps need, but it's vastly optional, you can just romp through the game ignoring most of the whys and hows, just like all the other Dooms. I did enjoy what story was shown though, and there were some intriguing lines later on which should make for an interesting sequel!
I also played through
Yakuza 0, that was a really fun game, prequel to Yak 1. It's like taking a little holiday to Japan, except you have to stay in Roppongi the entire time and you see a few millennia-worth of Japanese street violence in one visit. Oh and it's the 80s. So it's pretty sleazy, with you being in the criminal underworld in the red light district of a hyper-violent boom-time Japan. Especially if you do the side missions, you'll really see some slimy shit.
The combat's great, the main story was mostly great soapy fun, much recommended if weird Japanese stuff is your cup of tea!
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