Doom Eternal Review: Is It That Good?

Hype is a deadly mistress. 

The greater the anticipation, the higher your hopes become. Rarely can anything live up to your lofty expectations, and Id Software’s DOOM Eternal (2020) is one such release that got hyped to hell and back, ironically. 

DOOM (2016) was one of my favourite games of the last decade. It harkened back to the shooters of the 90s and early 2000s that I grew up on, and it succeeded marvellously. DOOM Eternal has the challenge that every sequel must overcome; not only must it do what the previous game did, it has to do it bigger and better. 

Its premise alone shows the game is going bigger. After the events of DOOM, hellspawn demons have vacated Mars and taken over the whole Earth, pushing the human race to extinction. You are the almighty, ultraviolent Doom Slayer/Marine/Guy, and you’re here to do 2 things:

1. Kick Ass.
2. … actually that’s it.

DOOM Eternal (DE)’ s globetrotting campaign boasts 13 levels. Each of them are longer and more expansive than the previous game. The game presents more open layouts as opposed to the tight containment of the Mars station. Be prepared; it’s much more chaotic with a menagerie of new mechanics to up your bloody world tour.

Funnily enough, the demons even fight each other before you show up, so you can wait for a bit and then feast off the survivors. The first time I noticed this was outside a corner shop (I like to think they were brawling over toilet paper). Along the way, you uncover the true purpose of the demon invasion, and delve into the Doom Guy’s past.

Therein lies my first question for DE. Are you trying to have a plot?

More than a plot, but cutscenes, as in actual 3rd person cutscenes. They do allow you to skip them so it isn’t that detrimental, but it does go against the mantra of DOOM. Back then, the Doom Guy smashed anything that dared offer exposition. There’s no real purpose to the cutscenes and they all blur into one anyway. Someone claims we can’t kill them, the Doom Guy either scares them, walks away or blows their brains out.

You don’t learn anything of substance about the Doom Guy. He hates demons and loves violence. Those are the only 2 strings to his blood-drenched bow. All the cutscenes do is remind you of that fact. The Doom Guy even has some lines of spoken dialogue for no reason. He talks, predictably, about how he wants to kill demons. Such a revelation.

I was particularly disappointed because I like to ascribe my own voices to silent protagonists. With a canonical voice now established, I can no longer pretend he sounds like Basil Fawlty.

In spite of that setback, the game succeeds in amping up the demons and the sheer intensity of its firefights. DE adds a slew of new mechanics to bring to the satanic buffet. 

The weapons are the same as they were in DOOM, minus the pistol. Well, I say they’re the same, though there is one change worth noting. The Super Shotgun now has a grapple! I didn’t think it was possible to make the Super Shotgun even better, but it was and someone at Id deserves a raise. Spider-Manning enemies and blasting them in the face is a joy of astronomical proportions.

I’ve never been as sexually attracted to a weapon as I have been to DE’s Super Shotgun.

The weapons get a thumbs up from me for that alone, though they each get a chance to shine. Most enemies now have weak spots to exploit which are specific to certain weapons. For example, overload a plasma shield with the plasma rifle, or fire a grenade into a cacodemon’s mouth. This is clever in that it forces you to make the most of your arsenal, even at the end of the game.

There is also a dash mechanic, which tops DOOM’s fast pace and intensifies the mobility. This also earns my love. Anything that helps you get around quicker has my unquestioned approval. That said, you’ll need to have it mastered when you’re hoarded on all sides by the demons and their entourage.

The dash also means the platforming elements have extended. With this, and new climbing mechanics, you’ll spend ages Super Mario-ing around the map. You will at some point dash out too far and die because you didn’t see the grabbable wall, I guarantee it. It's understandable to have the platforming sections as it serves as downtime from the combat, but it does drag at times. Despite this, the dash is an absolute joy...like a murderous, anarchic Road Runner. 

All these mechanics are enough to make DE’s gameplay excel over DOOM’s. I can say with certainty that DE did everything it could to up the speed of the gameplay and the combat. 

However, there is one point I would like to address. I’ve mentioned the essential mechanics, and I’ve addressed how you’ll inevitably forget about them. This leads to my main issue with DE, at least for the beginning half of the game. 

You’ll recall I included DOOM to my Games of the 2010s, and summarized it in 3 steps.

If I had to to the same for DE, it would be this:

1. Here’s some demons.
2. Here’s yer’ gun.
3. Here’s yer’ flamethrower you’ll forget about.
4. Here’s yer’ dash.
5. Here’s yer’ grenades.
6. Wrong button!
7. Remember the enemy's weak spot!!
8. Which weapon was it?!!
9. Keep dashing!!!
10. Out of ammo!!!!
11. Christ they’re everywhere!!!!
12. What’s the grenade button again?!!!!!!
13. DEAD.

There are way too many mechanics to keep track of. As I mentioned before, the fights are much more hectic, which is not inherently a bad thing. It’s only natural that the game with fetishistic levels of eclectic violence would up it’s game in the sequel. I guarantee you will forget you have all these mechanics. The flamethrower, grenades, ice grenades, blood punch, dash, specific weapons to use, keeping track of enemy weaknesses, the list goes on.

General rule: the faster the pace of your game, the less mechanics you need.

For a game of this ilk, too many active mechanics cause confusion. Unfortunately, DE’s passive buffs don’t get much praise either. The suit upgrades and runes you unlock for bonus effects are lacklustre, with only a teaspoonful of useful ones. The rest either add bonuses to a mechanic you’ve forgotten about or add more mechanics...which you’ll forget about.

These issues do start to grate. In conjunction with the game’s difficulty, it can really weigh on the experience. On multiple occasions, I forgot a certain control, then got hoarded and killed. Eventually, I questioned if I was enjoying the game at all. However - in a combination of frustration and exhaustion - I did something which turned DE into one of the most entertaining shooters I’ve ever played.

I turned it down to easy mode.

There is no shame in playing the campaign on easy mode. I was on difficulty 2 out of 5 AKA “Hurt Me Plenty” and in horde fights I couldn’t tell what was going on half the time. Christ knows what higher difficulties would be like. You’d need to have the reflexes of the Flash on amphetamines to cope with that. I do assure you that regardless of difficulty, the game will be relentless. I recommend starting DE on easy, at least until you’ve gotten to grips with all the new features.

I leave you with the recommendation to play DE. The gameplay went beyond expectations, succeeding in amping up the endless violence while providing a challenge to even the most experienced players. Excluding cutscenes and the upgrades, it is as good as a DOOM sequel could have been. 

I certainly had… 

one HELL of a time.

...I'm not sorry.

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