The Doom series is iconic for its demon-slaying, bad guy slaughtering, name-taking action. But what if, instead of dying, those demons were available for dating? That’s the question indie game developer David Cooper set out to answer when making Doomed Love, a dating simulator with characters from the shooter.
The game, which is choose your own price on itch.io, features you as Zombieman the single protagonist who spends time with four romanceable demons: Cacodemon, Mancubus, Revenant, and an unnamed demon. It opens with the 5 characters preparing for the Icon of Sin school festival that will occur the next day. Some interpersonal conflict occurs, and the player can choose which cute demon they want to go on a cute date with, or none at all. Doomed Love has 5 endings, and all of them contain writing that prioritizes connection and self-love- an ending for a date with each demon and one for if self-love is the path chosen. It is a short game, taking less than 30 minutes to complete fully and achieve all endings. There are also several side characters, including Cyberdemon and his minions, and Impy, that Doom fans may recognize.
Doomed Love‘s release occurred on June 11th but was recently featured in an article by Waypoint, Vice’s video game news section. With heartfelt dialogue and connections with the previously antagonized demonic characters, explorations of empathy are encouraged. John Romero, one of the game developers of Doom, responded positively on Twitter. This indie game is a fun unofficial addition to the Doom series and is now basking in its well-deserved spotlight.