Doom Slayers Collection

Genre: Compilation / First-Person Shooter

Players: 1-4 Competitive / Co-Op (Local Split-Screen), 2 Co-Op (Online), 2-12 Competitive (Online)

Game Company Bad Behavior Profile Page: ZeniMax Media Inc

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Review:

(Note: All of the games in this collection are included in the physical-only Compilation, Doom Anthology, along with Doom Eternal.)

Doom Slayers Collection is a Compilation of every major entry in the Doom series except the most recent one, Doom Eternal. This Compilation of fine games includes Doom (1993), Doom II, Doom 64, Doom 3, and Doom (2016), each previously released on Nintendo Switch.

Here is what I thought of each of the games in this collection:

Game	Genre	# of Players	Grade
Doom (1993)	First-Person Shooter	1-4 Competitive / Co-Op (Local Split-Screen)	B
tl;dr Doom (1993) is the First-Person Shooter that more or less kick-started the genre in the first place, and after the game’s initial problems were patched out, the Switch version plays beautifully. That said, there are definitely elements of the game that have aged poorly, and the lack of online multiplayer in particular is disappointing. Still, this game is a legend, and this is a superb port, so fans of the genre have reason to celebrate.
Doom II Classic	First-Person Shooter	1-4 Competitive / Co-Op (Local Split-Screen)	B-
tl;dr Doom II is a First-Person Shooter that follows directly in the footsteps of the first Doom, and after the game’s initial problems were patched out, the Switch version plays beautifully. That said, there are definitely elements of the game that have aged poorly, and the lack of online multiplayer in particular is disappointing. Plus, it’s hard to ignore the fact that this game is largely a retread of ground broken in the original Doom. Still, this is nevertheless a solid port of a classic well worth playing.
Doom 64	First-Person Shooter	1	B-
tl;dr Doom 64 is a First-Person Shooter that follows directly in the footsteps of the first Doom and Doom II, and features some minor improvements and tonal differences over those games that sets it apart. It’s still a 23 year-old game and very much looks it despite the improvements to framerate and resolution, and the lack of multiplayer is disappointing, but for $5 it’s still a good deal on a classic entry in the genre.
Doom 3	First-Person Shooter	1	B
tl;dr Doom 3 is a First-Person Shooter that acts as a huge departure from the first two games, focusing more on story and atmosphere, with a slower pace and more methodical combat, for better or worse. Even a decade and a half later, the game is still fairly visually impressive, and the Switch version is a solid port. If you’re looking for a solid First-Person Shooter on the Switch, this is a good choice.
Doom	First-Person Shooter	1-2 Co-Op (Online), 2-12 Competitive (Online)	C
tl;dr Doom (2016/2017) is a First-Person Shooter with fast-paced frenetic action and an inventive approach to the genre. Unfortunately, this version of the game pairs terrible framerates with atrocious textures, and the result is something that at times feels unplayable. If at all possible, get this game on another platform.

The short version is that all five games are well worth playing, but offer some pretty different experiences.

Doom (1993), Doom II, and Doom 64 are very similar games, with extremely old-school First-Person Shooter gameplay (understandable – the original Doom, along with Wolfenstein 3D, pretty much created the First-Person Shooter genre). These games look dated by today’s standards, but feature some great, fast-paced gameplay that’s still fun today. Doom 3 takes the series in a different direction, more in the realm of Horror, and while this disappointed fans when the game was originally released, I’d argue that Doom 3 has aged extraordinarily well, and the game still looks and plays great even by today’s standards. And Doom (2016) takes the spirit of the fast-paced original game, but modernizes it by using melee attacks to keep players rushing from enemy to enemy in a really clever way to ensure the action keeps going… but unfortunately, the Nintendo Switch version of the game is pretty ugly to look at, and while I highly recommend this game, I also highly recommend you get it on another platform (thankfully, I found Doom Eternal to be a much better port, but that game is not included in this collection. However, this collection does include all the previously-released expansion content for these games, as noted in the individual reviews – this package has a lot of Doom.

A few things that should be noted here – firstly, Doom and Doom II offer multiplayer only in local split-screen, which was disappointing as earlier versions of the game on other platforms supported online play. Doom Eternal, on the other hand, offers multiplayer only in online play. And both Doom 64 and Doom 3 offer no multiplayer at all. All in all, if you’re looking to play with friends either online or in person, you’ll find a game in this package that will let you do it, but you’re limited no matter which way you prefer to play.

Also, for those wondering about gyroscopic aiming, Doom 3 doesn’t have it, but every other game in the series does (thanks to post-release patches)… something that seems a bit odd as the old-school Doom games don’t really benefit from it much due to a lack of vertical aiming, and Doom 3 very much would have benefitted from its inclusion. Doom 64 adds touchscreen support in map screens, another addition that’s nice but unnecessary.

Also, speaking of post-release patches, know that while the ports of Doom (1993) and Doom II got some bad word-of-mouth early on for some emulation issues and forcing players to log into Bethesda.net to play these games, those issues were ironed out in a post-release patch, and now they both play well, with no online requirement.

All of these things were true of the games in their separate releases, but Doom Slayers Collection offers two more things to entice players who may not have gotten these games previously. First, players who get this collection and choose to log into their Bethesda.net account with Doom, Doom II, and Doom 3 will unlock unique player skins for Doom Eternal, which is more of a nice bonus if you happen to own Doom Eternal than it is a major selling point.

No, the real selling point of this package is its price. For $35, this package is an absolutely mind-blowing steal of a bargain. To give you an idea, Doom (2016) still retails for $60 all on its own, and even when it goes on sale, it only tends to go down to $29.99, with the other games in this package normally retailing for $5 each ($10 for Doom 3). Even if you were only interested in getting Doom (2016), you’re better off getting this package and just enjoying the money you’re saving, but given that all of the games in this compilation are excellent (though again, I’m iffy on the version of Doom (2016) made for Nintendo Switch), this is an absolutely amazing deal that any fan of First-Person Shooters should not miss.

Edit: After a day of being released, the price of this collection was increased to $49.99. This is still a great deal, although not nearly as good as the $35 price.

If that describes you – if you love First-Person Shooters but somehow missed out on the Doom series on Nintendo Switch so far, this collection of games is absolutely not to be missed. And even if you’re only interested in Doom (2016), this is still a bargain just to get that game alone, and you can consider the other games in the package a nice bonus. In fact, the only reason I would tell you to hold off on getting Doom Slayers Collection is if you already own Doom (2016) or have zero interest in buying it, or if you’re not a fan of First-Person Shooters… in which case, why are you reading this? While I have my quibbles and complaints about each of the games included here, overall this is an outstanding collection of great games at a phenomenal price.

tl;dr – Doom Slayers Collection is a Compilation of 5 games in the Doom series, plus all DLC – this is every major release in the series except Doom Eternal. These are some truly great First-Person Shooters, and while I have some complaints about each of them (especially Doom (2016), which I still argue is just not very good on Nintendo Switch), but small gripes aside this is a great deal on a fantastic collection of First-Person Shooters. If you’re a fan of the genre who somehow missed out on the Doom series prior to this, this package should be considered a must-buy.

Grade: B+

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This game has been nominated for one or more of eShopperReviews 2021 Game Awards:

Runner-Up: Best Compilation/Collection, Best Value

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