Cue an explosion of nostalgia with this celebratory tweet for DOOM 2016’s birthday, tainted with a playful little 👉👈 emoji combo hinting at the early access for some other kind of game. The tweet just says: “Happy Anniversary 2016 👉👈 Happy Early Access DTDA,” which sent fans running about to decipher ‘DTDA’—Dark Ages? Some secret update? New DLC? Now, if you ask me, the replies are just a mixture of love, anger, and genuine confusion.
First off, the tweet was paired with an image featuring media ID Gq026GMWEAA3zwT. Without access to it, we can only make guesses base on the replies. In my opinion, the replies are another reason to give Bethesda credit in some measure: Some fans are extremely hyped about it as @TheGame_Company commented, “Happy birthday my dudee! Stay slayin!,” while the other half took an antagonistic approach with @Infernartale outright calling Bethesda out, “I would love to use the early access I paid for if you would actually send it to me.” Oof.
Then the classic DOOM fan argument continues—like which Doom Slayer armor version is the best one. @FK7RED threw forth many tweets, the latest including, “That’s not even the 2016 suit, which looked BETTER than the 2 later games 😭.” Meanwhile, @BlackoutRBX said, “Should’ve added the 3rd one being the 2016 praetor,” which always reminds us that, no matter what, somebody will be mad about armor design.
Still, not every comment was a complaint: @realCharaO dropped a hot take on early impressions of what “DtDA” means, “I’ve only played the first mission of DtDA so far, but it’s absolute peak.” So, uh, Dark Ages? New mode? Secret project? Bethesda is cryptic again, and the fans are either loving it or ripping it apart.
And about that dreadful physical release mishmash… @pobresinfelices went off: “To celebrate you give us a physical release that needs a download to have the game, do you hate us? How are we going to preserve the game? You have created e-waste with a disk that doesn’t have the game and no meaning, WHY SCAM PEOPLE LIKE THIS?” Yikes. Meanwhile, @THE_REAL_USZI claimed to still be waiting on the “$200 collector edition in the mail,” sarcastically thanking Bethesda for the “early access” that never was.
There are the crazy times, though—@SpadesOfDOOM saying, “I wanna snuggle them🥺” (???), @FanOfPeralta demanding Doom Slayer for Fortnite, and @Evanthe128 joking, “Just a pair of sexy Doom Guys pointing fingers at each other! lol 😎⚔️.”
Which actually brings us to what’s going on? Good question. Bethesda’s tweet is ambiguous, with messy replies; the only clear takeaway is that DOOM fans are as passionate (and divided) as ever. Whether this is all leading to a surprise update, new edition, or just a fun nod to the anniversary, one thing is sure: People are talking. And yelling. And demanding better armor designs.
For now, congratulations if you’re one of the lucky few to get early access. For those still waiting, well… I guess you’re members of the club smack dab along with those that want to argue about which Doom Slayer suit is the best. Twitter’s got your back.
