So what do people recommend?
- Doom
- Doom 2
- Doom 64
- Doom 2016
- Doom Eternal
Is there a reason to play Final and Doom 3. Ive heard mixed opinions
Hm, DOOM ≥ Eternal > 2016 > DOOM 2 ≥ DOOM 64 > DOOM 3 > Final DOOM for me. I don't think any of the games are bad but Final DOOM is borderline. DOOM 2 and 64 are good on account of the fact they're based on DOOM and are more of it and slightly different, but they're also kind of redundant and the level design and balance simply aren't as good. All IMO, ofc. Picking a favorite DOOM can be like picking a favorite Mario, Sonic, or Zelda.
But yeah, all of them are generally recommended, Final DOOM aside (the two campaigns that make up Final DOOM, TNT and Plutonia, are included in the ports of both DOOM and DOOM 2 for Switch/Xbox/PS4, etc. anyway). While I don't think DOOM 3 is as good as the two games I place above it, it's at least worth playing because it offers something significantly different and it's got high production values and solid gameplay. The BFG Edition is more accessible and widely available (the port on consoles is derived from it), but be aware of its many tweaks from the OG version.
Another one to think about is PSone DOOM, if it's feasible, down the road. It goes heavy on the colored lighting and mixes some of the horror atmospherics of DOOM 64 (same composer) while offering almost all of the levels in DOOM 1 & 2 + its own set of gameplay tweaks.