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Writer's pictureAidan Cunningham

Doom Eternal: It Rocks

As a somewhat new, passionate Doom fan, I was beyond excited for Doom Eternal - one of the few games I have ever pre-ordered. My first taste of the Doom franchise was only last summer (not even a year ago from this post) with Doom 2016 and I was instantly hooked. The power fantasy I want from a shooter was fulfilled. Rampaging through hordes of demons, with plenty of firepower and a killer, heavy metal soundtrack. 2016's instalment provided it all. Then, Doom Eternal came along and didn't just knock on the door, it blew it off the hinges. It takes Doom 2016 and runs with it, whilst snorting lines of cocaine. Eternal is super close to being a masterpiece in my eyes, super close, but there are some elements that I unfortunately cannot overlook. So, let's get into it.



Doom Eternal's combat is truly fantastic. Every encounter is exhilarating, with difficulty scaling as the game progresses as you might expect. The introduction of new enemy types such as the Hell Knight and re-imagining enemies such as the Mancubus and Arachnotron allows the game to open up way more than 2016 ever could imagine. The player is now able to take down enemies piece by piece, with the Arachnotron being a prime example and documented heavily by others. This spider like foe can traverse around levels very quickly and sometimes scales walls and the roof. However, by blowing up its turret, the Arachnotron's importance in Doom's chess-like battles are then minimised. Its range attacks can no longer be utilised allowed the player to finish it off more easily or focus on the other major dangers in the arena. I say "chess-like battles" not only to mimic Hugo Martin, the game's creative director, but because it is so painstakingly true. The enemies range from basic fodder (that you will soon quickly start to rely on) to one very, very annoying but beatable green-eyed beast. You must choose your opponent's wisely in Eternal and strategise whilst going at 200mph with piss being blown in your face and that's without meeting you know who. You must either eliminate the strongest foe as quickly as possible or eliminate the weaker opponents first - I guarantee you will almost always pick the former. If I see a Tyrant (a version of the Cyber Demon) spawning into my arena I assure you that he will be slayed as quickly as I possibly can. It's not rocket science, but it gives Doom Eternal a strategy I never quite found in 2016's instalment. I ran about the area and took out whoever was nearest me in 2016. In Eternal I am utilising my movement, my arsenal of weapons and their various unique features as well as my sheer knowledge of enemy types. However, there is one main gripe for me when it comes to enemies and combat in this game, and those who have played or read about the game will know exactly who I am about to mention; The Marauder. This guy is the definition of 'asshole'. I have a lot to say about him, which I will leave for his own paragraph, but for now, he's just a bit of a dick. With that being said the combat loop is well designed and I think it really shines as the focal point of the title, as one might imagine with a Doom game. I cannot regurgitate my love for the combat more, it really makes Doom Eternal the best FPS money can buy right now.


The game is centered around utilising the tools it provides, and it will punish you if you don't. Eternal has again taken 2016's gameplay loop and advanced it. Doomguy now has a shoulder mounted upgrade to his suit. This allows him to use the 'Flame Belch' as well as regular grenades and frozen grenades. The Flame Belch becomes an important part of the core gameplay loop. Doom Eternal really is a strategy game when broken down. The player must glory kill for health, use the chainsaw to gain ammo and set fire to enemies to drop armour. This all must be done whilst fighting hordes of demons. It's a thinking man's game that's for sure. But the question would be, is it satisfactory, is it fun? In short, yes. However, my gripe with this is that ammo is scarce. Yes, you can find plenty in the areas you fight in and there's plenty more chainsaw refuels in this game compared to Doom 2016. But, the Super Shotgun in Eternal holds only a quarter of the ammo you could in the previous instalment. I understand from a design perspective having 60 odd bullets in The Signature would essentially be game breaking, but I felt that it could've benefited from a wee bit more. On that note, the Super Shotgun is great. What's better? The fucking Meathook. Wow. An expletive and awe. This is one of Eternal's new features and to use it is addicting. It may explain my bitterness over its ammo, I wanted to play the whole game just using this baby. However, it is an important mechanic of the game. It allows you to move around the frenzied battle arena in a new way. Repelling around the map using a Cacodemon as a hook brings a new sense of verticality to Doom. The addition of upgrading it so it becomes 'The Flaming Meathook' is disgustingly great. This provides it with two uses; to catapult towards a glory kill or around enemies and to siphon them for armour. It may be my favourite feature of the game, not that you could tell right? The addition of the Blood Punch also can get the player out of a squeeze. The Blood Punch allows for the player to one hit an enemy with other demons being slaughtered who were caught in the blast (like a short ranged BFG?!). It has its own replenishment system which is based on how many glory kills you have performed. If I'm honest I never once paid attention to this and I can only presume this metre was situated on the HUD with the chainsaw fuel etc. I used the melee in the hope I had it full, if not I was punching the demons like a kid being picked on by the school bully.



I cannot discuss essential gameplay mechanics without diving into the movement that has been improved on drastically. Doomguy can now double jump from the beginning (yes, you heard that right) and will also 'learn' to double jump fairly early into the campaign. These two, seemingly small features change the entire gameplay. So much so I am on record several times during my playthrough over on Twitch (it's my page guys, I can be as shameless as I like) that I do not believe I could play Doom 2016 again because the movement is so game changing and also extremely satisfying. If Eternal had the previous game's movement it just wouldn't be playable, at all. It really allows the player to feel more in control of the fight which in turn provides the power fantasy that Doom players crave. These mechanics are also used in every platforming section in the game. Eternal is super high intensity in areas and the platforming provides the player to take a breather with platforming with the occasional fodder enemy to help you resupply health, armour or ammo. The platforming seems to have split the fan base but I for one enjoyed most of them. They weren't over complicated and for the most part they were obvious enough on where to go next when leaping from one wall to another. These platforming sections also allowed players to find the bulk of collectibles Doom has to offer, ranging from toys based on the multiple demons you encounter to floppy disks that held 'cheats' for the player to use when replaying that mission. I'm not much of a 'collectible whore' but I was determined to find the odd collectible whenever I seen the floating question mark or noticed an avenue leading away from the action. Talking about it just now is enticing me to go back with the cheat codes on and hunt them down, maybe I am a collectible whore deep down?


The pistol has been removed from this game and its replacement is the combat shotgun, which is really only for fodder enemies when looking to glory kill your way to some extra health. Its upgrades are what allows it to be a strong weapon choice. I found myself really only utilising the sticky grenade upgrade as it became very helpful with dealing with large clutters of fodder enemies or removing parts from the Mancubus or Revenant. I did in the very late stages of the game switch to using the auto fire on the combat shotgun which I thought was more fun/video-gamey (horrific term) to use but didn't serve more purpose than that. For the most part the weapons from Doom 2016 have returned with the odd exception or enhancement. I have already discussed my awe for the Super Shotgun and it's beautiful, game changing Meathook, but can I just once more? It's sex. There we go. Despite the gameplay id Software displayed numerous times, I still didn't find the sniper scope upgrade on the Heavy Cannon all that useful, much like the previous Doom game. In the early parts of the game I was seeing Arachnotrons in the distance and using my Agent 47 senses to take them out from a far. However, as the game grew older, I found the main use for the Heavy Cannon was firing rockets, over and over to decimate my demonic foes. Regarding tearing up my opponents I found using the Combat Shotgun's grenade to be much more effective. My Modern Warfare 2 quickscoping skills seem to have been left in the past. However, we were introduced (to my very little, early Doom knowledge) a new weapon with the Ballista. This strong rifle was effective in weakening the larger, more powerful enemies, one of those being The Marauder - because he's a shitting dick. The Ballista had cool upgrades personally, but I found after the novelty of it wore off, I wasn't really using it apart from getting a few high damage pop shots at my targets. Powering up the Destroyer Blade wasn't, in my eyes, a smart way to play Doom as it required the player to be slow and cumbersome, although it was satisfying maybe the 10 or so times I used it, watching it decimate fodder into chunks of demonic meat. I wasn't even interested in unlocking the other upgrade due to this experience; however, I am aware that many other people used the Ballista's upgrades quite a lot, but it just didn't work out for me. That's fine though. The game gives me a plethora of weapons to rip and tear with and I never once felt that I didn't have the correct or enough weapons to deal with any challenge. Now, the weapon everyone who hasn't played Eternal (why not??) will want to know about is the cool sword. The Crucible for you noobs. This is a weapon you obtain late in the game and the build-up is intense. If you kept up to date with Eternal's reveals you know about it. So, when it finally happened, I fist pumped the air, "let's fucking have ye" I believe I shouted, I'll have to rewatch my stream. This unfortunately wasn't what I expected. Albeit, a very, very helpful weapon when in a squeeze or just needing to eliminate that Archevile or Tyrant in quick fashion, the satisfaction I received in using it wasn't 'it', you know? You have three charges of the Crucible which can be recharged individually by finding Crucible ammo, for want of a better wording. In the latter stages of the game, these can be found everywhere. It's a one hit kill weapon, which is awesome, but it just slices an enemy in two or three pieces with the same animation for almost every enemy type. I know that sounds very nit-picky, but I totally believe it's an underwhelming experience when this should be really saying to the player, "show them you're the fucking Doomguy" and have the player absolutely slaughter the enemies. I'm not against the Crucible by any means, I just wanted it to FEEL awesome.



As I have stated above, I'm not the guy you come to when you want to know about the OG Doom games or ask me questions about the lore of the series. However, do I enjoy the gothic, satanic nature of Doom? You bet. And this is why I love, and I really mean love, the environments the studio's artists have created. I can't remember the amount of times I stood, bewildered and gobsmacked by the beauty and details the art team have included in this game. From the opening moments, watching a titan wade through the decimated wasteland of a city, the chained demon in the opening of Nekravol and even the Fortress of Doom itself is utterly stunning, all full of nooks and crannies too. Now, regarding details and beauty, I for one thoroughly enjoyed the various cutscenes involved in Doom Eternal. I understand there is a split in the consumer base when it comes to cutscenes. A lot of hardcore fans could care less about these cinematic moments, which is probably why the developers were very keen to let us know it is ALL entirely skippable. However, as a huge Metal Gear Solid fan I relish the prospect of great cinematics - maybe even a wee bit judgmental - but I thought it helped bring the world to life, which is something I enjoy thoroughly, it gets me invested. Did I understand and follow the story all that well? Ehm, no. Did there appear to be some situations when I thought the circumstances in cinematics were odd? Yeah, sometimes. Did I love the introductions of the bosses? Hell yes. For all my hatred of him, The Marauder had one of the most bad ass introductions I've ever seen. Watching him drag that axe along the ground, speaking directly at the Doom Slayer like he's a piece of shit. Is it my new kink? Not for me to say. The Doom Hunter had a cool introduction too, seeing the Slayer from his perspective was a nice addition, it really immersed me in the world they have built. But, remember, if you "only play Doom for the gameplay" you are missing out on some really cool scenes the developers have created, which I think is unfortunate from a player perspective. I am being critical (but fair) in my thoughts towards this game so maybe I am more offending than holding down X to skip a cutscene.

It wouldn't be Doom without the array of enemies provided to commit mass murder upon. Eternal boasts the biggest selection of demons in the franchise to date. It has returning foes from previous entries of the legendary FPS, slightly redeveloped demons and new ones. I have mentioned various enemy types above, so I am not going into too much detail for reasons I will disclose. But before I do, I would like to state that the new additions to this game are really well designed. Whiplash, the snake like creature is an opponent you want to deal with sooner rather than later, it is a difficult demon to hit accurately and is dangerous when being left on the chess board. Its attacks are pretty brutal and when there is one or more of this type, they can become a handful very quickly. The Prowler is a similar type of enemy to the Whiplash in that its goal is to cause you concerns regarding its movement. Prowler's have the ability to teleport making them another hard to hit enemy type, however they aren't the hardest demon to kill which gives them a required balance. Finally, I give a special mention to possibly one of my favourite demons (are you allowed a favourite?) and that comes in the shape of the Dread Knight. I love the character design of these guys, they're just a pretty bad ass looking demon, and I'm all for it. They appear to be an enhanced version of the Hell Knight, but they are now equipped with dual energy swords that when landed can really devastate Doomguy. Just appreciate that guy when he first appears, it's subtle, but effective. I was going to discuss the multiple boss fights. However, as some of you may be aware, I want to use this page to discuss certain design fundamentals within games (as well as reviews) and in Doom Eternal, there's quite a bit to discuss regarding the boss encounters. If you're not that interested and just want my thoughts of these fights, I'll keep it short. Three of these battles are with one off opponents. The Gladiator, Khan Maykr and the Icon of Sin are what I would describe as traditional boss fights. Big enemy with several stages that you must conquer to complete, all with their own challenges. I didn't enjoy the Khan Maykr fight, it felt like a chore and wasn't particularly spectacular - although I did enjoy the arena and setting. It felt more like a "SPAM YOUR ARSENAL OF WEAPONS" and you'll win. The Gladiator was interesting and not really expected (until I seen on the HUD the boss fight section). It was purely me and The Gladiator bar the few fodder enemies required for me to refuel. It reminded me a lot of the Cyber Demon encounter from Doom 2016 - with one attack that was almost an exact replica of one used by the Cyber Demon. Obviously, The Icon of Sin was spoiled by the developers before the game released in trailers (which did upset a lot of people) but it was a fantastic boss battle. It really hammers home the idea that the Doom Marine is the craziest, fucker you've had the joy to control in a video game. Both stages are similarly set up but with one main difference. In the first stage you are tasked with removing eight armour pieces from the Icon of Sin, from its upper half as he fights you whilst it is overlooking a rooftop. The second revolves you now puncturing the skin beneath all 8 sections to finish him off. In both stages, power ups for the blood punch and crucible can be found as well as plenty of enemies to decimate to continually replenish ammo and health. It really is a momentous boss fight, a great ending to the game. However, the other two boss fights are ruined by decisions made in the late game. As mentioned previously, the Doom Hunter and the Marauder both have pretty bad ass introductions. They are great boss fights on their own but introducing them as regular enemy types later in the game ruined the flow for myself. I say that but the Doom Hunter isn't even that difficult and opponent - I defeated all three of them in the 'boss fight' with relative ease. The Marauder ruins the experience for me though. His boss fight, on its own accord is a great experience and a very challenging battle but it should have just been that in my opinion. He requires all your focus and coupled with numerous other dangerous enemies he can be a frustrating piece of work. I will go into my thoughts of him in my design-based review as it's a gameplay defining moment from Eternal that fans are split on.



Regardless of how you perceive my opinion of Doom Eternal I cannot stress how much I think this is great and I am eagerly anticipating the release of the DLC that is apparently coming within the first year of this release. If anyone wants to build a FPS - whether it is weapons, action, maps - then Doom should be your main influence, id Software absolutely NAIL it. It's enticing me to spend my summer creating one in Unity, or at least creating some level designs - as my coding is ability is pathetic! If you get the chance, play this game. That's it. Play it. Most importantly, form your own opinion about this legendary game series, maybe you'll be dragged into it by the heels like I was with no regrets.


Now, I am no IGN. This is the first game review I have EVER written. But for the sake of being a basic bitch, I am going to score this game. A scoring system may be something I investigate developing properly in the future or I may scrap it, time shall tell.


Doom Eternal - 9/10

Disclaimer: I purchased the game with my own money - I have no ties to id Software. I played through the game once on ‘Hurt Me Plenty’ so my experience may differ from others playing on a more hardcore difficulty. I haven’t touched the multiplayer as of yet, but I may post a small update or write up about it, if I feel it is necessary.



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