Skip to main content

‘Doom’ Nintendo Switch update finally adds motion controls

DOOM Launch Trailer - Nintendo Switch

The Nintendo Switch version of Doom is a pretty remarkable achievement, with the campaign and multiplayer fully playable in the palm of your hands. The game originally didn’t ship with the option to aim with motion controls, however, and a new update has answered fans’ requests.

Recommended Videos

“With today’s update, we’ve added motion aiming to Doom, a much-requested control option that allows you to utilize the built-in gyroscope of the Joy-Con for more precise aiming,” said Bethesda community manager Jason Leavey in an update post.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

In a similar manager to other shooters on the Nintendo Switch, as well as the PlayStation Vita, players will be able to use the motion controls in conjunction with traditional analog sticks. This should help to compensate for the smaller sticks included on the Joy-Con. There’s even an option to use inverted motion controls, if you’re a monster.

Additionally, a new party system should make it easier to find multiplayer matches through the Switch’s somewhat barbaric system, and a number of technical fixes are in the update. These include a fix for an audio bug that caused nearly all sound to completely cut out until the player restarted a previous checkpoint, as well as a crash caused by the BFG weapon, texture issues in multiplayer, and unresponsive controls in the main menu. The average resolution has also been bumped in certain areas of the game — when playing with the system docked, it’s noticeably blurrier than the Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC versions.

Doom released late last year for Nintendo Switch, along with The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, but Bethesda isn’t done bringing its games to the platform. This year, Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus will be coming to Switch, and it’s being ported by Panic Button, the same studio behind the Doom port. In an interview late last year, MachineGames narrative designer Tommy Tordsson Bjork claimed it would be “as good” as Panic Button’s work on Doom, and we’re certainly up for bashing some Nazi skulls again.

Doom is available now for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC, and Nintendo Switch. The Switch version doesn’t include the SnapMap editor, but it does feature all DLC from the other versions of the game.

Gabe Gurwin
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Gabe Gurwin has been playing games since 1997, beginning with the N64 and the Super Nintendo. He began his journalism career…
RollerCoaster Tycoon Classic will bring PC nostalgia to Nintendo Switch
A very long white rollercoaster going from one edge of the image to another.

RollerCoaster Tycoon Classic has been on mobile and Steam for many years, and it's finally coming to Nintendo Switch this December, Atari announced Thursday. It's available for preorder now on the eShop for $25.

Classic is actually a remastered bundle of the first two RollerCoaster Tycoon games and the three expansion packs: Toolkit, Wacky Worlds, and Time Twister, created by Chris Sawyer. The first debuted in 1999, and it set the standard for some of our favorite management sims. The series has staying power, too, although a lot of the recent entries have all been on mobile, especially for iOS. Atari released RollerCoaster Tycoon Classic, which was made in conjunction with Sawyer, for iOS and Android in 2016, and on Steam in 2017. And by all accounts, despite its age, Classic is absolutely worth the time.

Read more
All upcoming video games (PS5, Xbox, Switch, PC): 2024, 2025 and beyond
Yasuke in Assassin's Creed Shadows fighting an enemy. He's dressed in his samurai armor.

Keeping track of every new video game release is a nearly impossible task. Ggames are constantly being announced, delayed, rereleased on new platforms, remastered, canceled — you get the point. With the upcoming games lineup constantly shifting on PC, Switch, Xbox Series X, PlayStation 5 and mobile, it can be hard to find games to look forward to playing (and to budget for) in the coming months.

Despite the herculean task of tracking an entire year of video game release dates, we're giving it our best shot. Check out this month-by-month schedule of new video game releases. We're focusing mainly on highly anticipated titles with concrete release dates, but will also include little-known indies and keep an eye on launch plans for up-in-the-air titles like Grand Theft Auto 6 or games that are still very early on in development like Hogwarts Legacy 2 or The Last of Us Part 3. If you're looking to get a quick glance at the future of video games, this is the place. We'll keep this list updated and as accurate as possible at regular intervals.
November release dates

Read more
The best Lego games for Nintendo Switch
Aloy holds a bow in Lego Horizon Adventures.

You can't talk about the best Switch games without at least one Lego game coming up. These games have adapted all of the major franchises, from superheroes to fantasy characters, into some of the most enjoyable games for kids and adults. Or, better yet, play them together since nearly all of them are best played in local multiplayer. At this point in the Switch's lifecycle, there are over a dozen Lego games out there to pick from. While you could always go with whichever one is based on your favorite franchise, there are a few others not based on a license that are just as good. These are our picks for the best Lego games on the Switch that mix in both license properties and original IPs.

If you do plan on playing these with a friend or family member, make sure you have a spare controller ready.

Read more