With 2016’s Doom, fans new and old could all agree that the game was a surprise hit. Doom Eternal continues that trend all while making it bigger and more badass. Eternal takes place sometime after the events of its predecessor, the minions of hell have taken over the earth, and it’s up to Doomguy to stop the forces of evil once again. Id Software has once again proven they haven’t lost their touch.
Doom Eternal’s campaign had me engaged throughout its 13-mission story. Throughout the story, Doomguy will bounce back and forth from Hell to Earth to complete his mission. While the story is engaging, it is rather lengthy, this length is mostly due to combat arenas being too long. Around 3/4 of the way into the story, the game ramps up the difficult, not by adding tougher enemies, rather, they give the player a seemingly endless amount of enemies to fight to progress. I found myself sighing of exhaustion at almost every encounter towards the later-half of the game.
In the gameplay department, mechanics from 2016’s Doom remain unchanged, while the addition of a few new weapons – which I won’t discuss for spoiler reasons – add for even more flexibility. One weapon, in particular, is the Flame Belch; a shoulder flamethrower that lights multiple enemies on fire at once dropping shield pickups once enemies are shot or killed.
There’s also the neat addition of switching between regular and freeze grenades that benefit in two different ways. The standard grenade will act as a grenade typically does, while the freeze grenade freezes enemies (I know, shocker) in place. The freeze grenade is brought-up because it can add a level of creativity during fights. For example, launching the freeze grenade at a group of enemies immobilizes them, while following-up with the Flame Belch lights them on fire creating a plethora of health and armor pickups.
And finally, the returning classic sawed-off shotgun is arguably the most fun weapon in Doomguys arsenal. Besides the shotgun being incredibly powerful with a lot of knockbacks, the gun also features a grappling hook that can zip the player up to Cacodemon and shoot them for example. Mastery of this weapon and many others also return with points that can be placed into certain weapons you want to master. Mastery is critical, as it provides for some cool additions to guns. One example of this is the double-barreled shotguns grappling hook that can ignite on fire when used.
Since your reading this you probably already know how Doom’s combat-loop goes. Chainsawing enemies drop ammo, etc., etc. The most prominent thing that stood-out – at least to me – is the addition of platforming. Doomguy can swing from a bar, hop on platforms, and grab soft-walls to get where he’s going. While some of these platforming elements are more catered towards progressing through the level, instead of fixated throughout an arena, it acts serviceably concerning further movement.
Doom’s (2016) multiplayer largely received a mixed reception from the community. Doom Eternal overhauled the multiplayer into a new direction. Resulting in a two vs. one mode where two people control demons and the other player controls the Doomslayer. Players can pick between five different demons, while the slayer has his arsenal of weapons to choose from.
The result is a frenetic match that – at times – favors that of the demons. Demon players can spawn minions to help them as well as assist each other. The slayer, on the other hand, has to take out both demons to win the round. The match consists of a ‘best of three rounds’ with each round granting both sides perks that – while up to three – can be used to aide the player. There’s also the addition to unlocking further cosmetics for either slayer or demon, with an in-game battle pass-of-sorts for unlocking new items.
Doom Eternal keeps the frenetic moment-to-moment gameplay of its predecessor all while staying true to the classic. With the addition of platforming, and a surprisingly fun multiplayer mode Doom Eternal is one of the best shooters of this generation.