Mighty Doom

Doom has hardly had it better since its beginning. Both Doom from 2016 and the sequel Doom Eternal proved to be massive successes, both among fans and critics, and even though we don't know for sure that id Software is actively working on another game in the series, the idea is quite appealing to be honest.

It's therefore a pretty good opportunity to launch a mobile spin-off. Sure, most consumers who rush home from work to switch on their console or PC don't have much love for the roaring sea that the mobile market has become, but the point is that the timing is spot on.

But you know what is wrong? What's so compromised that it makes you question Bethesda's ability to handle the Doom licence? Mighty Doom, the aforementioned mobile spin-off that may provide sporadic entertainment, but is so wrapped up in anti-consumer monetisation that it's downright hard to forgive.

Mighty Doom is a twin-stick shooter with roguelike elements, meaning you start from scratch each time with a Doom Slayer that automatically fires, but which you then move both to hit the myriad of demons placed in your path, but also to avoid enemy fire.

Let's take the few extenuating circumstances first. Mighty Doom has a solid soundtrack that builds on composer Mick Gordon's iconic tones and soundscapes. In addition, the transition to more colourful and "cutesy" graphics is quite successful, and the almost chibi-inspired redesigns of familiar demon types are actually quite inventive.

Okay, that's all the nice things I had to say. Well, you know, the game is free. That might be worth mentioning, and therefore there's an incentive to download it and give it a shot. It's not that monetisation itself is provocative here, it's the <u>way<u> in which these systems are implemented that prevents the player from... well, play.

First of all, there are a myriad of currency types, such as energy, coins, unique keys for each of the eight types of gear you carry around, and crystals - some of which can be bought with real money, by the way. Then, of course, there are Loot Boxes, which give you quicker access to key upgrades. It's all utterly confusing, and is designed solely to encourage the player to buy in bulk "just in case".

Not only that, you only have 20 Energy and it costs 5 Energy to start a game, so you can't always play Mighty Doom when you want to, which makes you think of games like Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery or Dungeon Keeper Mobile. Of course, you can boost the regeneration of Energy by using Crystals, the same currency you use to buy Loot Boxes.

Each piece of gear can be upgraded dozens of times, and it's really hard to even realise that you've bought even a single upgrade for a single piece of gear. This also means that you're already frustrated by the time you get some way into the game, because here Mighty Doom presents you with a so-called "difficulty spike", a steep increase in difficulty that seems tailor-made to convince you to buy more premium currency.

I'm probably not the best at games, and I'm certainly not used to mobile controls, but I know my twin-stick shooters, and Mighty Doom starts throwing so many enemies at you relatively quickly, and increases your enemies' life points so wildly, that it seems downright impossible to complete levels from level 4 onwards (which is a couple of hours in) without resorting to buying upgrades with real money.

Enemies such as Revenants fire grenades at you, Pinkies run towards you out of your line of sight and a level can easily start with 30-40 enemies at a time, making it completely and utterly impossible to overcome without serious upgrades installed.

I wouldn't dare guess how long it would take to complete Mighty Doom, or just enjoy it continuously without spending any real money. I haven't completed it myself, but I feel well equipped to state that Mighty Doom is a stain on the series' reputation. Not only that, it reminds us that the mobile market remains a toxic swamp filled with ghosts pretending to be something completely different than they really are.

Shame on you, Bethesda.