Id Software co-founder John Carmack recently spent time with a port of the original Doom, remarking that the 1993 shooter remains an excellent experience decades after its release. Carmack shared his thoughts on X, formerly Twitter, detailing his surprise at how much time he lost revisiting the game.
Carmack was playing the Doom port on an Evercade device when he found himself engrossed. "I sat down to try the Evercade Doom port, and before I knew it, I was on level four, and realizing that I had forgotten where all the keycards were," he wrote. He noted that it took him approximately 15 minutes each to find the necessary keycards on levels E1M4 and E1M5, acknowledging that he had become somewhat rusty with the game, whose par times for those levels are 1:30 and 2:45 respectively.
Carmack's engagement with Doom highlights the enduring appeal of seminal games. His fellow id Software co-founder, John Romero, has also continued to engage with the franchise, developing Sigil expansions and exploring custom WAD files like MyHouse.wad. Carmack's experience stands in contrast to that of Larian Studios head Swen Vincke, who has stated he avoids revisiting older games that inspired him, like Ultima 7, to preserve his cherished memories of them, preferring to focus on Larian's own development work.
Despite any rustiness, Carmack's sentiment underscores Doom's lasting impact and quality, a view echoed by many players who continue to replay and appreciate the classic title.