Free 8-bit FPS

Poom is the pixelated version of the 1993 first-person shooter game, Doom. It was created with PICO-8 – a console for developing, publishing, and playing ‘mini games’ and other computer programs. Poom was created to emulate the aesthetics of games in the 1980s. With just a few keys, you can move, shoot, and interact with things around you. Fans of the Doom franchise will be happy to see the 6 original levels here in all their pixelated glory. 

What is Poom?

Poom is an 8-bit version of Doom – an FPS game about a space marine on Mars. As the Marine, your goal is to traverse through different areas to reach the marked exit room. The catch is that your superiors at the Union Aerospace Corporation have opened a portal to hell and all its monsters have come out. You’re now the last human on the base so, you’ll need to fend for yourself, blasting monsters along the way.

The premise of the game follows the original Doom. Dive into the 6 stages of action-packed shooting armed with just your guns. You can choose from four difficulty levels aptly named: I‘m too young to die,  Hey, not too tough, Hurt me a lot, and Ultra-Violence. They’re the game’s version of easy, intermediate, hard, and advanced respectively. It’s best to start at the first difficulty setting if you’re new to the Doom universe.

As for the control scheme, you have several options to choose from. You can assign different commands to your WASD or ESDF keys, and your mouse. Apart from the standard commands, you can choose between attacking/strafing or turning left and right. Firing will have its own command; it can be assigned to a key or to your mouse. The game’s developer, freds72, recommends you use ESDF and your mouse. 

From hell and back

Poom is a game that will serve fans of Doom well. It’s a great remake of the classic shooter game and gives players a whole new, 8-bit experience. The game alone offers lots of fun and nostalgia for fans of shooter and arcade games. As a lone marine, the thrill is having to go head-to-head with all those monsters alone and emerge victoriously.