If you got used to the original goofy-looking Pain Elemental, prepare to be greatly surprised.
Doom 64 manages to take the classic Doom gameplay and atmosphere and make it much scarier like its PlayStation counterpart, with darker graphics, more muted and grim colors, and one absolutely creepy soundtrack. Gone are the heavy metal-inspired tracks, replaced by incredibly
unsettling ambient music tracks courtesy of Aubrey Hodges.
- The setting. You are led to believe that you're in for another rip-and-tearing rampage against The Legions of Hell, that nothing will stop you in your way of slaughter. You start up the game and they remind you dead-straight that you are officially in the deepest bowels of Hell itself. Nothing can save you now. Even things that would exist on Earth or Mars such as laws of physics or reality, these no longer apply now that you're in uncharted territory that no other man has crossed, that knows exactly what you are and is DONE showing mercy. Even the music is gone, replaced by some of the creepiest shit you will ever hear on a Nintendo 64. Good luck.
- Even the UAC levels are more unsettling. In the first two games, set in the immediate aftermath of the invasion, the UAC facilities are still running; everything is well-lit and the computers and other devices are still functional. Here, the color palettes are darker, the lighting is dim if not absent, and the computers are either barely functioning or completely dark. It drives home the point that these places have been abandoned for ages.
- Even before you start a new game, the introduction screen that presents the title of the game starts off with Marines fighting a losing battle with monsters around the "DooM" logo jutting out of the ground and towering over the battlefield. However, as the camera goes skyward to present the logo, the monsters and Marines mysteriously vanish, and the music becomes ominous with two demonic babies moaning as the Unmaker logo shows up in the background, highlighting how alone Doom Guy will be.
- The menu theme maintains the loneliness with an uneasy droning and a tune that plays riffs from multiple songs in the soundtrack. Before you even start playing, it conveys a sense of being in for a lonely and dreary adventure.
- The menu theme
- Pictured above is the new Pain Elemental. The Pain Elemental actually looks kinda cute in Doom II, but Doom 64 gives a much more intimidating appearance. They have two mouths on either side of their body and summon two Lost Souls at a time. The souls charge at you constantly and can overwhelm you with sheer numbers. The Lost Souls themselves have half the Hit Points of their original iteration, but are much more aggressive. You can no longer safely prevent them from summoning lost souls either, and any attempt to do so by obstructing them will result in severe injury like a barrel blast times the number lost souls that are obstructed. Essentially Pain Elementals now have a dangerous melee attack. Their "owwww" pain sound comes across like a being who Was Once Human. Even their death cry can give chills, sounding like they're letting out a final painful gasp followed by lost souls screaming in terror.
- The Pinky Demon got a makeover from their relatively comical iteration from the classic Doom games. They look much more threatening, and look like they are truly malicious rather than just having animal instincts. Fortunately, your upgraded chainsaw is far stronger so your fear is put to rest quickly once you pick one up.
- Monsters have a tendency to teleport and appear from out of nowhere at the worst possible times. It's especially nasty on the (appropriately named) "Watch Me Die!" difficulty. The random ambushes become more paranoia-inducing when they involve powerful enemies like Arachnotrons, Mancubi, Pain Elementials, or even a Cyberdemon.
- Some levels, especially later ones, are rigged with Indiana Jones-style projectile traps, making some areas into death traps. The worst ones are the Revenant Missile Launchers that always launch homing missiles. Thankfully, they're rare, but it can be a shock to wander into an area and unexpectedly have missiles bearing down upon you. "Level 23: Unholy Temple" is one of the most notable instances, where wandering around the central ziggurat will send missiles your way giving precious seconds to duck around the bend. It's also a shock since Revenants are not implemented in this game, but then you're suddenly being their missiles.
- The red-tinted screen melt effect that is used to denote the end of a level and cover load times can surprisingly add to the eerie atmosphere, like each level exit is Doom Guy waking up from a bad dream and entering a new one; the screen contents melt-fade into darkness as if it's bleeding. By extension, like earlier Doom titles, many levels start in highly illogical spots like you simply materialized into hostile territory, but here it adds a layer of surrealism to an already unsettling experience.
- The Unmaker weapon, especially considering its backstory of being crafted in Hell itself. The Demon Keys you collect to upgrade give you the creepy flavor text, such as how they're not meant to be handled. It can be a shock to see how effortlessly the weapon can slay even a Cyberdemon with only two keys.
- "Level 12: Altar of Pain" is probably the scariest level in all of the classic Doom games, between the dark and stormy sky, the creepy music, and the moans of pain in the background. Those seem to be both demons and babies...
- The soundtrack's name is "Lamentation of the Forgotten". A fitting name to a disturbing ambience music.
- "Level 13: Dark Citadel" is a different brand of eeriness with the feel of a Haunted Castle and a matching musical theme. Though there are monsters about, there is a constant sense of moon-lit loneliness here, and the castle is unwelcoming to guests thanks to the presence of dart shooters in the central halls. A remarkable feat of atmosphere in Doom 64 that manages to be awesome at the same time.
- "Level 20: Breakdown" has the aforementioned unsettling musical theme and does create a sense of mental breakdown (true to its name) thanks to the entrance into the starting courtyard mysteriously vanishing as you travel into the maze-like halls. Over-and-under passageways further disorient you and the exit to this level is a mysterious vat of blood that you must jump into.
- Incidentally, the name of this level's soundtrack? "The Rotted Foul."
- "Level 21: Pitfalls" is even worse. The level consists of navigating a series of pillars in a sea of lava, followed by a trek through a series of dark hallways. The soundtrack is the icing on the cake.
- "Level 29: Outpost Omega", the first Secret Level, has a history behind it as a place the UAC had a good reason to keep hidden, as described in the intermission text preceding the level. The level can be jarring to undertake as it means you'll be encountering Pain Elementals by your fifth level, and this will be your first look at their potentially disturbing visage. You soon learn that this is a storage facility for one of the Demon Keys, and the storage room appears as an indescribably confusing room of multi-level cube platforms with daunting heights. It was like someone was extremely paranoid about keeping the Demon Key here locked away and ordered a 3d cube-maze built to make unlocking it difficult. Due to the message announcing "You found a secret area!", it's easy to miss the message you receive from collecting the demon key:You have a feeling it wasn't to be touched.
- "Level 31: In The Void", a secret level with a series of balconies and almost-random structures suspended in a dark-blue foggy world and decorated with corpses in the main hub. The introduction text before the level describes this as a place not meant for humans, setting up the mood before you enter by what appears to be falling from the air. To exit this place, you must essentially jump off the edge of one of the balconies into the seemingly bottomless abyss. You're left wondering what exactly this hidden world was created for, without any clear answers.
- Doomguy may have achieved several levels of Horrifying Hero in the newer games, but here he is almost even more terrifying in a different way. He isn't filled with Tranquil Fury: he is full-blown Ax-Crazy in this one, to a far greater level than the Blood Knight he was implied to be in the first two games. He's actively hunting down demons to satisfy his thirst for their blood, if the text◊ screens are anything◊ to go by. It could be inferred that, after losing so much to the demons, including Daisy, Doomguy has finally simply decided to rip and tear without pause making his mental distress a potential Tear Jerker at the same time.
