DOOM (1993)

It's absolutely insane to me that there are people who complain about this re-release.
Not only is it a big accessible package of all things classic Doom, it's free to previous owners AND it's optional. You can rollback to the previous re-release via beta or use dosbox and the wads with sourceports, same as always.
You just got more options now, it's literally a win-win.
It's awesome that coop and MP can now be played right out of the box.
Awesome job to all the teams involved.
And congratulations to Andrew Hulshult for having his IDKFA album added to classic Doom officially. It's heartwarming to see how far you've come.

New update is insane.
Keep up the good work.
P.S. Poke Hexen/Heretic

A Classic DOOM Review For First-time Players
I'll start off by saying that if you already love classic DOOM and you're looking to hear about the quality of the port: it's great. It comes with every official classic DOOM game/expansion that was ever released, it has lots of difficulty/control customization options, and it has built-in mod support. But I'm not here to talk about that.
Instead, this review is for people like myself, who have never played classic DOOM before and were introduced to the series through DOOM 2016/Eternal, or possibly even another shooter of the same nature like ULTRAKILL. If you're coming into this game expecting a similar experience to those games, then you're most likely going to be disappointed. Classic DOOM has a significantly different gameplay philosophy, and it took me far too long to realize that.
My Experience
I've tried getting into classic DOOM two times prior to this:
The first time was in early 2020 leading up to the release of DOOM Eternal, where I did a playthrough of both DOOM 1 and DOOM 2. I treated them like straightforward run and gun games; the same way I treated DOOM 2016. I sped through levels, mindlessly shooting whatever was in my way with no regard to how the levels were designed and no attempt to explore them. This led to many frustrating moments where I would run out of ammo completely, and question why ammo was so limited in a fast paced action FPS. I came out of it thinking the games were okay, but struggled to understand why they're so critically acclaimed aside from their massive impact on the genre.
The second time was in 2023, where I took a completely different approach to my playthrough in 2020. I explored each level as thoroughly as possible, hell bent on getting 100% kills and secrets. This resulted in the opposite issue: I was entering levels with an overabundance of health and ammo. This turned the game into the straightforward run and gun game that I was treating it as in 2020, except the simplicity of the combat made it feel uninteresting and repetitive. None of my exploration felt rewarding because it was unnecessary. I dropped DOOM 1 less than halfway through the game out of boredom, and dismissed classic DOOM as a primitive relic of the past that doesn't hold up compared to modern DOOM and similar releases.
This is no longer the case. Over the past month I've played through DOOM 1, DOOM 2, and The Plutonia Experiment, which has changed my perspective on the series completely. I want to explain what makes classic DOOM fun, because it's not as obvious as you might expect.
What Makes Classic DOOM Fun
First, I have an important recommendation. If my description of classic DOOM as run and gun games with simple combat doesn't bother you, then you're free to ignore this recommendation and disregard this review. But if you're looking for more than that and you want to experience this game at its best, then I strongly recommend you listen to what I'm about to say: pistol start every level. If you aren't already familiar, pistol starting means that you'll enter every level the same way that you enter the first level: 100% health, 0% armor, and nothing but a pistol with 50 bullets. When you select your difficulty, if you press tab then you'll be given the option to pistol start all levels. Levels are inherently designed around pistol start and frequently contain weapon pickups. The rest of this review will be written with pistol starting in mind, in which I'll also explain in more detail why I'm recommending it.
Let me get this out of the way: classic DOOM is not an action game in the same way that modern DOOM is.
Modern DOOM games are full blown action games that encourage you to be hyper aggressive: in both DOOM 2016 and DOOM Eternal, you have several means of regaining resources mid-fight, and it allows you to take on any fight in an extremely head on manner.
Classic DOOM on the other hand feels more like a hybrid of action and survival. Hitscanners capable of shredding your health make up a good portion of the enemies you'll be fighting, and you're going to be gaining health and ammo primarily through pickups scattered around levels. There will be moments where you're too low on health or ammo to be aggressive, and overcoming those moments is where classic DOOM shines.
Oftentimes you'll be in situations where you're running around a level like a madman, searching for a weapon or ammo while avoiding enemies that are actively pursuing you. Nothing beats moments where you're in a situation like that, and you come across a desperately needed shotgun pickup or a box of shells that enables you to properly fight back. This is why pistol starting levels is so important, as not pistol starting (mostly) strips you of these moments. When you're pistol starting each level, finding a weapon pickup feels so much more satisfying, and exploration/hunting for secrets becomes extremely rewarding. As you die during a level (which you likely will during more challenging levels), you'll become more aware of the level layout, and be able to plan your route in a way that lets you rebuild your arsenal more quickly and efficiently. These games have made me do more pre-planning than I think I ever have in a shooter before.
Creativity is heavily rewarded as well; there's no objectively correct way to approach a level, it's up to you through trial and error to figure out an approach that works for you. You can immediately dart towards a rocket launcher or plasma gun pickup on the other side of the map, strafing around enemies in your way then dealing with them after you grab it, you can pinpoint and save an invincibility powerup then use it to breeze through a difficult fight that you know is coming up, or you can run circles around enemies and get them to accidentally attack each other then start infighting, saving yourself ammo. Tons of possibilities.
Essentially, what I'm saying is that level design is a huge component in what makes classic DOOM fun. While the combat itself is simple, the way levels are designed require a very thoughtful approach, and make for a super unique and engaging experience. Of course this experience varies depending on each level, as some are more well designed than others, but you definitely feel it when you're playing a good level. If you want to aggressively run through levels while shooting everything on sight, then these might not be the right games for you, and that's okay because plenty of other games fill that niche. But if what I've been describing sounds interesting to you, then these games will definitely be worth your time.
Additional Points
I'd love to talk more about the positives of these games, but I'm running out of space in this review and I'd mostly be repeating stuff you could hear anywhere else. Yes the enemies are phenomenal, yes the arsenal is solid, and yes the music is great (I love the Andrew Hulshult remixes). Not everything is perfect; some levels make it too easy to avoid enemies or bait them out and slowly kill them near cover, the quality of levels can vary dramatically, the berserk powerup is very poorly communicated (seriously, I'd recommend looking up how it works), and there's some occasional frustrating jank due to technical limitations. But even with these issues in mind, the core of what makes classic DOOM fun still stands.
I think I'll always prefer the more aggressive combat of modern DOOM, or the verticality of Quake, but classic DOOM provides an incredibly unique experience that no other FPS I've played has provided. Dismissing it as primitive and dated is one of the biggest gaming sins that I've ever committed, and I hate that it took me three attempts to get it. But I'm so glad that I finally do.

It isn't a review, it's an ode.
When I started, Doom was a dark magic forest to me. The first time I saw it, it ran very slowly on a weak PC. I had to play on low settings, which turned everything mushy. It overworked my imagination, so I had to shut the game down almost instantly, terrified by the moaning abominations. Soon, they began to fear me. Doom's influence on my psyche was as immense as its cultural impact. It was one of the earliest birds, so no wonder it also became overgrown with mythical rumours. Now, let me tell you what isn't a myth: playing keyboard-only. Apparently, some find it hard to believe, but I personally played Doom like that for the first few years of its existence. It just didn't occur to me to use my mouse for anything but point-&-clicks. I played it the same way I played Wolf3D: arrow keys, hold alt to strafe, ctrl to shoot, space to interact. Nothing fancy. It worked in its handicapped way.
Edge
This announcement has pulled me out of Elden Ring, nothing else could. Finally, a version from the mad lads in Nightdive! KEX does the job visually. Andrew Hulshult's OST seems decent, however, I'm too sentimentally attached to appreciate it. It barely retains, doesn't hit the same. Unlike Doom itself! My love for it never fades. But the newcomers can enjoy it as much as us old farts - the classics play better than most modern indie shooters. This is why, when asked to name an iconic duo, Romero & Carmack pop up before Tom & Jerry in my mind's eye. The level of innovation and its edgy implementation was outrageous. Look at all the skulls, mutilations, inverted crosses, rivers of blood! Touch yourself. To this day, Romero's vibrant vision of Hell, built with planks and green marble, as well as Carmack's technophile ingenuity stand in defiance of time. And the content on offer would be enormous even without Romero's brilliant Sigil or MachineGames' new episode.
I marathon the games and expansions every few years... oh, spare me your petty grievances. I enjoy them all. Okay, except for the ugly, obnoxious Master Levels. I typically played via GZDoom, so I almost forgot how the originals looked after decades. And this version of Doom looks like I remember, except we know how one's mind embellishes memories, either creating a crispier picture or covering it in fog. The current appearance matches my best nostalgic delusions accurately. It looks as faithful as your PrBoom, captures the right balance while preserving artistic intents. I already played Doom in all of its iterations, so I might as well settle for a higher fidelity these days. But not something that drastically changes things like Brutal Doom, for example. Nightdive kept it close to vanilla, only carefully retouched by upscaling and quality-of-life options. I don't need, say, advanced lighting or full mouselook to consider this edition definitive and play it from now on until I'm done.
Ultra-Violence
No matter the approach or what version I play, Doom makes me feel at home, providing an old-fashioned massacre to indulge in both during moments of respite and amidst the hassle of everyday life. I don't need to think or sweat, I don't need a map, I vibe. Throughout my regular binges, I never tried to kill all monsters or find all secrets. Why ruin the pacing? I love this game's tempo, follow the beats of its pulse, going fast on instinct yet not to the detriment of the experience. Doom dictates how I play it, I don't dare force its mighty hand. Thus, I kill as many as I want and explore as long as I enjoy the process before moving on to the next level. These colourful labyrinths are a challenge to traverse. I can't get enough of the topological puzzles, albeit, I imagine their intricate nature to be the steepest curve to learn. And all the tricks and traps lodged within can be maliciously unfair. Save.
At this point, Doom is one of my senses, alas, lots of its devious cat's belly ambushes still get me after all these years! That ability to catch an old player off guard speaks in Doom's favour. Aside from the nasty surprises, I can't really tell if Ultra-Violence is hard or not, for I know the games too well to make an assessment. I'd play with fast monsters from Nightmare, not with respawn. I find it annoying and unsatisfying, it's a different game I don't care for. But I can call Ultra-Violence well-balanced: foes are predictable, reasonably tanky, they flinch and get staggered, their damage output is fair, and there's only a mild ammo shortage without fanaticism. One eventually learns to automatically remember where they left stuff lying around, besides, it urges weapon swap. I die a bunch, especially to revenants, chaingunners, or trying to rocket a lost soul. To Plutonia, in general. Regardless, it's a feel-good game rather than a ball-buster. A visceral, varied, frantically paced kaleidoscope of murder.
Song of Doom
With enemy designs so badass, so vivid they enter one's dreams. Each demonic spawn demands a separate tactic, has character, and they come in unceasing, in-fighting, impressively large, chequered HORDES. The games don't hesitate to unleash a few dozen monsters on you from the start, constantly escalating, and it's a feat that hasn't been reproduced quite on the same scale in corridor shooters to this day. Not as thoughtfully. Here, the pioneers had to get particularly inventive when devising iconic encounters, environmental hazards, and the legendary line-up of guns to match the pressure. I don't need to describe these guns, for Doom was a trendsetter. Everyone who played a shooter recognises the trace of tits arsenal in every FPS that followed even if they never played the games. The super-shotty deserves a special mention because it's one of two reasons why Doom II is superior to Doom I, which doesn't have the SSG. But it also makes Doom I harder... *cough* Thy Flesh Consumed. An acquired taste.
The second reason is the lack of mancubi. Being a big fan of the big boys, I'm not so bad at imitating their barks. Still have a problem with caco's. Aren't they the cutest little raspberries? Yes, RASPBERRIES, meatballs are pain elementals! Anyway, the barks are instantly recognisable and, coupled with other juicy sounds, make it easy to discern what part of the monster roster inhabits the room you just entered and where they are. That's another thing not every modern shooter can achieve, no matter the technological advancements. All in all, the battles are such a blast you'll soon forget how old the games are. Each enemy has a rhythm of attacks for you to match with the rhythm of your shots, the swapping of guns, and nimble sidesteps at the speed of a car. It's a melody, a song of hurting flesh sung by a surrealist construct of abstract madness that wraps around the player like a venomous centipede. Am I waxing? No, it's Doom that's poetry.
Mods
I ascertain it every time I play, falling in love again. You probably reckon as much by this point in this self-indulgent gooning session. But who needs to know all the technicalities to be convinced in this case? The proof is in the bloody pudding, the price is right, and the legacy speaks for itself. To be a bit useful, if you're into Doom mods, play The Adventures of Square. It looks like a joke at first glance, but it's a GREAT standalone. Not yet on Steam for some ungodly reason. I would chop off my pinkie if it meant exposing the world to that hardcore gem. Try Sunlust and Eviternity as well. These babies will get you started on the highest note possible. And don't miss Hedon, a killer TC. I'm out before I went overboard by giving 50 recommendations no one would follow at the end of a review no one would read. A hopeless doomer, Romero's b#tch, I express myself to the void. Knowing full well what I'll keep feverishly raving about when I reach its event horizon.
My curator Big Bad Mutuh

My most favorite game of all time. Great game, great port.
When I first wrote my review you couldn't play with mods online but the latest update at time of editing did add this and is no longer an issue.
Also for those who are new to Doom mods: Brutal Doom and Myhouse.wad WON'T work on this port. Those rely on a source port like GZDoom or Zandronum to work. Anything ending in .pk3 won't work either.

This isnt just a bundle of the first two games, this is a brand new source port and it runs very well, oh and it also has a built in mod browser and the return of PVP/co op servers in 2024 we are so back

The absolute best. Rip and tear, until it is done.
Military shooters are a dime a dozen. Hero shooter are more likely to crash and burn than not. Extraction shooters are just the latest fad. Doom on the other hand...
Doom is eternal.