Doom Eternal is a first-person shooter developed by Id Software and published by Bethesda and is a sequel to the 2016 ‘Reboot’ DOOM.
I am a huge fan of the Doom Franchise and I have played every game in the series but DOOM (2016) was a high point for the franchise and I never thought that that game could be topped but Doom Eternal manages to overtake its predecessor In terms of Gameplay, Performance, and Story but a different artistic direction feels like more of a step backwards rather than the huge step in the right direction the rest of the game takes.
From a gameplay standpoint, this is as fun and entertaining as first-person shooters get. It’s so much fun to use the Doom Slayers arsenal of weapons to rip and tear through the many hellish demons the game throws at you. The game has an emphasis on badassery you feel like just that…a badass, moving around the bloodsoaked environment at an unnatural, unrelenting speed as you shoot, chop, set ablaze and mow down waves of demons you feel like you are the most badass player in the gaming universe. It actually has to be played to be believed how much fun this game is, it feels like a retro game with a few modern features and a fresh lick of paint which as someone who has played all the retro Doom games this is welcoming in more ways than one. Even on the easiest difficulty, the game can be a challenge if you don’t play it properly the game wants you to move around and not hide behind things the less you move the more damage you take, demons will hunt you down forcing you out of your what you thought was a safe position and force you to move around the environment constantly which makes Doom Eternal stand out from other FPS games.
The multiplayer is also a blast to play (although not as much fun as the campaign) its a game of two against one the two being the Demons and the solo player The Doom Slayer.
But the game is pretty evenly balanced through the Slayer has all of his weapons available and can easily collect ammo, armour and health through killing the AI demons that are also summoned in the map. I have played a fair few matches as both the slayer and the demons and there isn’t one I prefer both teams are fun to play and the unique gameplay makes this entry in the multiplayer stands out a lot more in an online heavy community rather than DOOM 2016’s multiplayer than was compared quite unfavourably to Halo and other shooters of the modern era. The gameplay of the multiplayer plays similar to the campaign and it’s just about killing each other. Each game is the first to win 3 rounds and after every round, you get to add a change or a perk to the game hopefully giving you a competitive edge for the next round. This structure makes games feel just long enough for a good multiplayer match and doesn’t seem to drag on too long or feel like it’s over before it has started.
Doom Eternal’s graphics are also a positive note, the edge’s look crisp and the models look great as you blow and rip them apart and I much prefer the look of the Doom Slayer in this game rather than DOOM 2016. However the art direction has changed quite a lot since 2016 giving it more of an Arcade look to fit the game play a little more rather than the dark serious look that the 2016 game went for. Which is all good and dandy but it loses something, the demons now look more cartoony and a little less threatening than previous instalments and I know Doom is very much action-orientated but it is also a Horror shooter as well and this game has nothing in terms of terror. Even the Environment look a little lacklustre and have this sort of campy sheen to them which is surprising especially since 80% of this game is set in hell. This doesn’t make ruin the game by any means I just wish they had kept the original art direction from the 2016 reboot as this looks like another reboot if we were just to compare the two and I think that 2016’s DOOM looks better in most ways visually by comparison.
Doom has a lot to do when you finish the main game, for example, you can play through the whole game again on a higher difficulty or even play the perma-death mode called extra life mode which plays like an old school shooter that when you run out of lives its game over and you have to start over. Or you can make your way through the collectables that help you upgrade your slayer or Codex entries that add to the lore of the Doom franchise as well as the aforementioned multiplayer mode that is almost on par with the single-player. Id software also says they are adding Master levels as well (which are harder versions of campaign missions) on a regular basis.
For a game that focuses on killing and gore as much as the Doom franchise, I wasn’t expecting much in terms of narrative (which isn’t a bad thing in Doom’s case) but Doom Eternal’s story honestly blew my mind. the less I say about it the better but for those who are avid fans of the franchise, you are in for a big shock…
*SPOILER ALERT* Highlight to reveal the spoiler.
DOOM 2016 is not a reboot but a continuation of the first two games.the Doom Slayer is the same character from the first two games and is angry and is bent on vengeance for the demon world for killing his pet bunny Daisy, who we see at the ending of the first game in 1993. Honestly, when this is revealed I screamed like a little kid.
Final Score.
Title: Incredible.
Doom Eternal is a incredible game and is another high point in the long-running franchise, I hope Id software keep up their winning streak with this franchise and keeps delivering games that in the future will be seen as classics just like the originals that preceded it.
Head Over Reels 