This is what Doom 4 could have looked like, apparently
Today's Doom teaser trailer was... well, not very enlightening, but it certainly appeared different to these newly unearthed images and footage from a previous iteration of the game. As is well known, id Software rebooted development on the fourth instalment back in 2013, because "it didn't exhibit the quality and excitement that id and Bethesda intend to deliver", according to Bethesda's Pete Hines.
If this material posted on the Doomworld forums by user Marnetmar is truthfully from the canned project (and its resemblance to previously leaked images seems to suggest it is) then Hines was probably right. Gritty and brown, the evidence that id Software was trying to capture the late '00s FPS zeitgeist are everywhere. There's even footage.
Compared with what we know about the in-development Doom – that it's a return to the gory, fast-paced no-hiding-behind-cover-you-sook glory days of the series – it definitely comes out second best.
Then again, apart from Ian Birnbaum's eyewitness report from last year's behind-closed-doors gameplay demonstration at QuakeCon, we don't know much about the new one, either.
Some images are below, but you can see the full set over at the Doomworld forums.
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Shaun Prescott is the Australian editor of PC Gamer. With over ten years experience covering the games industry, his work has appeared on GamesRadar+, TechRadar, The Guardian, PLAY Magazine, the Sydney Morning Herald, and more. Specific interests include indie games, obscure Metroidvanias, speedrunning, experimental games and FPSs. He thinks Lulu by Metallica and Lou Reed is an all-time classic that will receive its due critical reappraisal one day.
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