There’s a running joke that the true measure of a machine, whether PC or pregnancy test, is whether you can run Doom on it. Now, one company has got in on the gag and released a lawnmower that will play Doom on it. And we’re more than a little scared.
Husqvarna’s range of Automowers will, as of this April, get an update that runs Doom on those machines, no modding required. Sounds like fun, right? It’s silly, yes, but it’s a cool feature and the company no doubt did this to get some extra publicity. After all, there’s already a mod that lets you mow lawns inside Doom. No, we’re not making that up and it’s a daft, daft delight to play.
But what’s got us worried is that these aren’t your regular human-controlled lawnmowers, these are robotic automowers. Are we advocating that you be able to play Doom on regular sit-on mowers? Absolutely not, that’s an accident waiting to happen. But.. putting Doom in robotic mowers? That’s even more of a nightmare.
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What happens if they turn sentient, already equipped with the knowledge to rip and tear? This is the original 90s version of Doom, not the remake but, still, has no-one even watched Chopping Mall? This is how humanity ends up being annihilated, not by military-grade terminators but by robomowers and Roombas. It promises to be the most undignified of apocalypses.
If you do want to embrace your annihilation, you’ll need one of Husqvarana’s Nera Automowers. You’ll also have to have a significant chunk of cash handy, since they begin at £1,999 and go up to nearly £5,000. Alternatively, could just fire up Doom Eternal on the Nintendo Switch and let the lawn go. And if you do feel guilty about it, there’s always Lawn Mowing Simulator.
