DOOM Eternal

Few games can compare to the raw splendor of DOOM‘s violence. The series flourishes in its homages to hellish gore and brutal violence. For decades, DOOM has reveled in pitting players against hordes of demons, watching their pixelated, polygonal corpses dissolve into bloody mush as a result of a sole aggressor’s relentless assault. For PC players in the 90s, DOOM was a revolution of maturity and first-person action.

In 2016, DOOM returned after a twelve year hiatus. DOOM 3, despite being one of my favorite games at the time, leaned more towards the series’ horror trappings, rather than reactionary shooting. Regardless, id Software, accomplished a rare feat. The new version of DOOM allowed players to aim their weapon around an arena–something unimaginable when the series first dropped–yet movement was done with the same speed and clumsy grace. Demons were as disgusting as ever but given an updated, faithful look, with the gory innards left intact. Cover felt like an afterthought, as fiends would flood in from all sides with few moments to catch a breath. Rather than wipe the memory of 1993’s DOOM, 2016’s DOOM played like the most logical interpretation of the original’s mindset, distilled and purified for an audience bathed in Call of Duty, Halo, and Bioshock.

DOOM Eternal is everything you should expect in a sequel to 2016’s DOOM. It is a pulse-pounding shooter that refuses to relent, punishing players who hesitate for too long. If you stop moving in DOOM Eternal, you’ll likely stop breathing. Each mechanic feeds off the other, creating a loop where players constantly drink from a pool of resources that ensure the forces of Hell will be a pulpy carcass before you. Though its difficulty may know few bounds, the reward for finally mastering all of DOOM Eternal‘s systems is the satisfaction of knowing that anything the game throws at you can be conquered.

Those who are not versed in any piece of the DOOM series past or present won’t find themselves too far in the weeds when playing Eternal. Just know that there is the Doomguy, or Doom Slayer, whose blind rage and efficiency at quelling the hordes from Hell is exceptional. Know that mankind has tampered with forces it should not have, thereby unleashing the forces of Hell onto Earth. The rest? Well, that’s up for the player to discover.

Eternal picks back up a short time after the events of DOOM have concluded. The Slayer looks down at Earth tattooed with burning demonic sigils, besieged by demons. Billions have succumbed, their deaths and souls fueling the fires of Hell. As the embodiment of rage or justice or violence or vengeance, the Doom Slayer–the player–descends on an unrecognizable New York City to kill three Hell Priests and end the underworld’s rule of Earth.

Within minutes, after a rapid-fire tutorial, players have unceremoniously decapitated a Hell Priest and stepped out of a temple that was being carried by a massive demonic titan, taller than any skyscraper known to man (don’t worry, a lore entry explains it). Players watch the titan walk off screen and the mission continues. DOOM Eternal relishes in giving players ample time to soak up its world. Whether taking in a decidedly breathtaking chunk of environmental storytelling or diving into a rich codex of backstory, id Software makes its world fascinating and worthy of taking the time to explore. New York City is a post-apocalyptic hellscape. But it isn’t just that buildings are bombed-out and festering with Imps and Zombies. Fleshy tentacles sprout from impossible places, the earth is cracked and flooded with boiling lava. In the same level, massive robotic suits resembling Gundams and Metal Gears look frozen in time, telling the silent story of a resistance force that became too overwhelmed.

The scope of Eternal is grander and more ambitious than its predecessor. Bethesda, as the publishing wing, promoted the game frequently using the catchphrase of “Hell on Earth.” And while this does aptly describe many sections of Eternal, it barely touches upon how varied and wild the game really takes its aspirations. An arctic base serving as a demon factory taken over by cultists, space stations orbiting Mars, lost civilizations, and Hell itself are just a few of the places Eternal takes players across its campaign. At several junctions during the game’s 13 levels, I sat in awe after a particularly difficult arena battle or a lengthy platforming section brought me to a massive vista packed with tiny details.

With Eternal, the world of DOOM that has been spun over the past 27 years feels deeper and more colorful than ever. The crux of the game’s story is about stopping Hell’s invasion of Earth but slowly begins to unravel the origins of the Slayer, a society that worships god-like machines, and even how Eternal may tie into all the games that came before it. The juiciest bits of narrative are tucked away in the codex, which are unlocked through progression or found scattered across each level as burning pages. Taking a break from the action to read through bits of the codex is a fun distraction and serves as a moment to let the sweat dry.

Keep in mind, Eternal‘s story won’t satisfy those looking for an enriching narrative on the evils of mankind… or whatever. This is a game where a horned demon rides around on a tank and shoots you with rockets. id Software got a foothold with the dark and tongue-in-cheek humor in 2016 and that spirit remains in Eternal. Players will laugh at the Slayer’s gruff treatment of NPCs or at particularly extravagant kills. The game revels in its presentation. The Gothic and demonic visuals are no doubt born from incredible minds that were given free reign to warp levels to their darkest, twisted machinations. None of it feels without purpose as the sickly tendrils of “Hell on Earth” continue to fascinate until the credits roll.

Bethesda powerhouse composer Mick Gordon puts the putrid icing on the cake with his unparalleled metal-inspired soundtrack. Personally, I’m not a purveyor of any kind of metal music, death or otherwise, but when coupled with purpose–i.e. gameplay–I’m sold. Gordon’s music reaches into the fabric of Eternal‘s gameplay and levels and pulls at them in a way that’s absolutely magical. During particularly hectic gunfights, thrashing electric guitars feel particularly atmospheric where in other games they might clash too hard with the action. The metal symphony pumps adrenaline into your fingers, making demon deaths and life-saving recoveries all the more satisfying and visceral. Gordon also has a keen ear for subdued moments, letting the violent score become more ambient, echoing through expository moments. It’s truly brilliant.

Everything that I’ve just spoken about, the story and the atmosphere of DOOM Eternal, is just a smaller piece of a greater whole. It’s the violent, opulent veneer that allows players to become more wrapped up in the near-impeccable gameplay flow that id Software continued from 2016’s DOOM. As the Slayer, players’ goal is to kill the shit out of demons and do it in the most badass way possible. This is first accomplished through the nine main guns Eternal throws at players over the course of the game. Of course there’s the BFG-9000 that comes in the final levels of the game that shoots a massive blob of energy across an arena with deadly tendrils that harm other demons. The super shotgun, an obvious favorite, has a meat hook that latches onto a baddie and launches players to the hooked enemy. The rocket launcher punishes with massive direct and splash damage. The chaingun fires a barrage of bullets to chip away at larger, slower demons.

Players must become familiar with their arsenal, as swapping between weapons to take on multiple situations and demon combinations is crucial to survival. Eternal starts out simple by giving players the combat shotgun–meant for increased up-close damage–and soon after, the heavy cannon, a faster firing gun. Killing demons is important because they can hurt you, chipping away at your small pool of initial health.

This is where the signature glory kills come in. After taking a certain amount of damage, nearly every demon will begin to flash blue and orange, indicating that players need to close the distance and initiate a glory kill, an excessively violent, animated kill. Each demon has a couple of different glory kill animations and by the campaign’s end, only a few will become less than exciting after several repeats. But once a demon is dispatched with a glory kill, health pickups will drop from them, extending the Slayer’s window for inflicting more pain.

Right after players learn about glory kills in the tutorial, they are already low on ammo with few pickups to be found. The solution? The chainsaw. Chainsawing an enemy causes them to pour out ammo for every type of gun, even the ones players don’t have yet. The chainsaw has limited fuel and bigger demons require more fuel. In a pinch, players may have to wait for the first pip of fuel to charge and cleave through a zombie or other fodder demon to finish off a harder one. Panicked moments where I was completely out of ammo for every gun happened a few times. I would run around an arena waiting for my fuel to charge just so I could execute a randomly spawning imp or zombie–tension like no other.

Soon players will unlock the Flame Belch that sets enemies on fire and causes them to continuously drip armor pickups. A frag grenade and a freeze grenade also become a part of the arsenal, as does a flaming sword, and a powerful punch fueled by glory kills that does massive damage and sends out a shockwave.

It all sounds complicated and, on paper, it is. But Eternal does not overwhelm players all at once. These weapons and equipment are handed to players at crucial moments across the campaign, ideally when a player has already begun to get the hang of one system. I will admit that in the early battles after acquiring the Flame Belch, I forgot I had it until after I died or when I wondered why I had no armor. One thing that may exacerbate this problem for some (at least on console), is using a controller. After a point, all the buttons on your controller have a purpose and trying to change guns and cycle between grenade types is slightly clunky.

Eternal is kind but not too kind. It is a game that requires players to be constantly moving, a locomotion of death. Most of the serious battles take place in small to large arenas peppered throughout a level. Players won’t be able to progress until all demons are dead. Each of these arenas has health, armor, ammo, and other pickups. Many have high floors and tunnels and portals and platforms and hazards that players must be mindful of when chugging through the maze of death. Eternal wants players to prioritize which demons need to die first and how best to bob and weave through the different types of damage that will be thrown their way.

This is where weapon mods come heavily into play. There comes a point in Eternal where most of the primary firing modes of a weapon will only chip away at a demon rather than do enough damage to kill it. Over the campaign, players will find weapon mods and choose which of two mods on a weapon they will unlock. Right away, the game almost forces players to unlock the sniper scope mod on the heavy cannon that can blast off the weakpoints of heavier demons like the Mancubus and the Arachnotron. Weakpoints usually need to be destroyed on these types of demons because it decreases their lethality in a significant way.

Gunfights in Eternal are basically combat puzzles. Players will ping-pong across an arena, dashing and double jumping out of danger, switching between weapons and savoring those small moments of slowdown, prioritizing which demon to kill, setting groups on fire to get armor, chainsawing a zombie to get enough ammo to hopefully get a glory kill to come back from the brink of death. It can feel exhausting, especially on harder difficulties where dying is all but guaranteed.

There are few walls to hide behind, little cover to take. Eternal is rewarding in how players not only rip and tear through demons but in how the demons rip and tear through players. Your weaknesses are often exploited but each battle is a lesson, a lesson in how to become better and overcome the increasingly overwhelming odds. Rare moments occurred in Eternal where I felt that combat difficulty was far too extreme. Players can become cornered in smaller arenas and can’t push past demons and will just die because there’s literally no escape. And let’s just talk about the Marauder, one of the late game enemies that might just need a slight AI adjustment. This jerk teleports, summons a dog that attacks you, can only be harmed when his eyes flash green, can attack up close, can attack from far away, and has little window for attack. It’s kind of a joke how hard he can be at times, especially in the optional Slayer Gate challenge areas where players are asked to kill one in 30 seconds. Apparently the internet found a way to despawn him and still complete the challenge. No shame, I did it too.

Difficulty spikes aside, the level of detail that goes into each horde of demons should be applauded. Not only are they even better recreations from the original pixelated models, their implementation as deadly chess pieces is creative and fun in that sense that you just want one more try to pop out a Cacodemon’s eye. To dull the pain of death, Eternal offers a bevy of upgrade paths over the course of battle. Permanent upgrades to ammo, health, and armor are sparse but go a long way. Praetor suit upgrades offer less essential passive bonuses to gear while players can run with three runes that have effects such as slowing down time after a fatal blow to allow for a few seconds of recovery. These upgrades are essential but I assume the most hardcore of DOOM players may wish to tackle the game without them. Weapon mods are a long process because players need to spend weapon points that are awarded after combat encounters. It may take up to ten points to fully upgrade a mod but the reward is a special unlock that requires players complete one additional challenge to master that mod (or spend a mastery token that are found very late in the game).

If you are a fan of increasingly satisfying gameplay that not only rewards skill but patience, look no further than DOOM Eternal. The path players take from a superhuman Slayer to a godlike machine of death is so enjoyable. It truly is one of the most rewarding, enjoyable single player campaigns in recent memory. The platforming sections might be a bit strange to some but id Software has fleshed out these levels in smart ways. A better method of fast travel would be nice, as players can only fast travel through a map near the end of a level. This means missing a secret and moving on to another level can be a pain. However, players wishing to mop up collectibles can apply any cheat codes to craft the Slayer into a near-indestructible person. But these are small gripes, ones that barely dull a few minutes out of an experience that will go on for over 15-20 hours.

Battlemode, the multiplayer addition to DOOM Eternal, is a piece of the package worth mentioning. I never touched the multiplayer in 2016’s DOOM so I can’t speak to its quality. Here, though, Battlemode comes across as a fun distraction and a natural extension of the game players already had their hands on. Each match is a 2v1 mode where two players choose one of five demons and another is the Slayer. Each demon has its own move set similar to the campaign, while the Slayer acts just like he does. The Slayer player chainsaws for ammo, glory kills for health, and tries to kill the two demon players. The demon players can summon other demons onto the map to harass and harm the Slayer. Demon players can choose between a couple loadouts that have different skill sets meant to compliment the other demon player’s playstyle.

Matches play out to the best of three rounds and at each round’s end, players choose a perk meant to give them a bit more of an edge. I played over ten matches of Battlemode and came away quite satisfied. There’s an excitement being the Slayer and knowing that not only are normal AI demons trying to take you down but those controlled by other humans. As a demon, it’s fun to just experiment with different playstyles and working with someone else to torment the Slayer. Will the mode last? I’m not sure. The fact that there are reward tracks like recent games’ seasons that reward cosmetics provides incentive to complete challenges in both multiplayer and the campaign. I see the mode being popular for several weeks after release but id Software will likely need to be creative to keep attention into the summer months.

DOOM Eternal follows in the footsteps of a storied gaming lineage. id Software has done an incredible job at putting care into this series since it was revitalized in 2016. Any player who considers themselves a fan of first-person shooters will immensely love DOOM Eternal because it pays tribute to the genre’s roots and how it has grown over the past three decades. Though it may feel brutal, smearing the entrails of thousands of horrifying hellspawn with a powerful arsenal is one of gaming’s best rewards. Don’t hesitate on this one.