For those unaware, DOOM developers ensured that the hardest mode would be so challenging by adding on a permadeath feature to the second-highest difficulty level, Nightmare, and went on to call the top-tier test of skill Ultra Nightmare. This means that should players die while facing some of the most brutal and daunting enemies DOOM can offer, they will have to start over at the very beginning of the game.

Interestingly enough, DOOM’s Marty Stratton also went on to explain that developers not only wanted Ultra Nightmare to provide an extremely intimidating trial for fans desiring a challenge, but the studio also wished for the mode to be a competitive event in its own way. The id Software exec detailed a feature that would have players taking on their friends to determine who is the most adept at downing the game’s ferocious monsters and demons, saying:

Of course, with DOOM’s release date being a little over two weeks away, it remains to be seen as to whether or not the game’s developers are simply talking up the Ultra Nightmare mode’s intensity to cater to fans who want the shooter to be ranked among the top permadeath games of all time. It’s entirely plausible that someone within id Software has already completed the mode and developers are just blowing smoke. After all, in order to make sure that Ultra Nightmare is fully functional to the bitter end, the id Software team would need to have at least finished it once for the sake of properly testing its overall quality.

At any rate, should the gameplay in DOOM’s Ultra Nightmare actually be as onerous as developers have described, players who can’t stand the heat can at least try the game’s multiplayer modes for a change of pace. Although, with a lot of practice over time, some fans may become more menacing in DOOM’s deathmatch arenas than the title’s brutish creatures and send folks back to Ultra Nightmare.

Are you looking forward to DOOM’s Ultra Nightmare mode? If so, do you think it’s going to be as tough as developers are claiming it to be? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

DOOM is set to release on May 13, 2016 for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.

Source: IGN (via GameSpot)