If Bethesda’s reboot of the Doom series is a little too intense for some gamers, then maybe the newly announced Doom game for mobile platforms will be more to their liking. Mighty Doom will soon let players slaughter adorable versions of Doom’s freaky demons on smartphones as they control an equally adorable version of the iconic Doom Slayer, now dubbed the Mini Slayer.
The first Doom game was released way back in 1993. It was the brainchild of industry legends John Carmack and John Romero using the same engine that powered Wolfenstein 3D. It spawned a stream of sequels and spin-offs, including Doom 2: Hell on Earth, Doom 64, and eventually Doom 3, released 11 years after the original. The franchise went dormant for a while after that, seeing only the occasional re-release and ill-fated outlier like 2009’s Doom 2 RPG, developed by series creators Id Software. It wasn’t until 2016’s Doom and 2020’s Doom Eternal brought a whole new “Push Forward” combat design philosophy to the series that the Doom Slayer was once again on top of the gaming world.
Now, Bethesda and developer Alpha Dog are bringing the Doom Slayer to smartphones with Mighty Doom, set for release on March 21. Alpha Dog is a mobile game studio that was acquired by Bethesda software’s 2019. Its previous works include Wraithborne and MonstroCity: Rampage. Mighty Doom was first teased in August 2021 and is being designed as a mobile game from the top down, while also offering players the chance to control the Doom Slayer from the top-down perspective. Players will navigate hallways and take out Hell’s legions with run-and-gun play that promises ease of use with one-finger control.
It's also a rogue-lite, a first for the series. Players will get the chance to convert the bodies of all their favorite demons from Doom and Doom Eternal into piles of goo, like the Cyber Demon, Hell Knight, and Revenants, but very cute and cuddly piles of goo this time. The trailer shows off a series of frantic, bullet-hell-inspired boss battles. Overall, it seems Alpha Dog has done a fine job of translating the heart-pumping frenetic Doom combat from 2016’s relaunch of the franchise onto mobile platforms.
Mighty Doom’s character design makes even the most gnarly of demons look like a cute Funko Pop. The new look will make the game feel a bit softer and less intimidating to general audiences perusing app stores. If fans appreciate the new direction for this Doom spin-off, there could be more like it in the future, as the marketing materials refer to an “animated DOOM universe,” implying that there might be more adorable Doom games down the line. Only time will tell, but for now, players interested in Mighty Doom can pre-register in their app store of choice.
Mighty Doom will launch on iOS and Android on March 21.
