Ahh finally, it feels like an eternity since Doom 2016 came out and blew away expectations,

our preconceived notions exploding all over

the place like so many gory demonic entrails. And now the folks at id Software are back

with Doom Eternal, the follow-up to Doom that isn’t called Doom II, thank god. Having

to call Doom 2016 Doom 2016 was confusing enough, so let’s hope that kinda naming

scheme is over with. Besides, as it turns out Eternal isn’t only a sequel to Doom

2016, but rather a follow-up of sorts to several Doom games and spin-offs of the past. Back

in my Doom 2016 review I said it was a series reboot, but after playing Doom Eternal I don’t

think that holds true anymore. That being said, this review will not be diving into

plot spoiler territory, not even boss fights, so don’t worry about it. In fact, since

I received an early review code, I had to agree not to spoil a whole list of spoilery

spoilers. But the rest of what I’m about to say is entirely my opinion, and neither

id Software or Bethesda are looking at this beforehand, they’ll be seeing it for the

first time same as you.

With that nonsense outta the way, AUGH DOOM ETERNAL! This game ****ING RULES.

If Doom 2016 was the best shooter I played that year,

then Doom Eternal has to be one of the best

shooters I’ve played, period. No exaggeration, this game is top-notch single player bombastic

first person pandemonium from start to finish. It picks up some time after the end of the

previous game, with the Doom Slayer headed back to planet Earth in a massive spacefaring

building, known as the Fortress of Doom. But just like the original Doom II: Hell on Earth,

it turns out Earth has a rather serious problem regarding Hell, on Earth. In short, 60% of

the world’s population has been wiped out by demonic forces large and small, with the

tendrils of evil spreading out from major metropolitan areas threatening to destroy

all that remains. It’s up to you to find some Hell Priests and kill ‘em! And just

like that, you’re tossed into the nightmare world of Doom Eternal, shotgun at the ready,

and demons just asking for a good beatdown.

[a good beatdown commences]

Yeah that’s right, in this game, your starting pistol is a shotgun! [chuckles] Or more accurately,

there’s just no pistol anymore, with the first weapon slot being claimed by the combat

shotgun instead. And I am all for that really, since the last game’s pistol sucked, and

in even in classic Doom games it’s really only there until you find the shotgun or you’re

in an incredibly desperate situation. Here it’s just like nah man, here's a shotgun,

have at it! Oh and the chainsaw too, why the hell not.

[copious chainsaw carnage]

Then hey, why not upgrade your shotgun with sticky grenades or a fully automatic buckshot

chaingun? Fuse that with the return of glory kills to use when an enemy staggers and yeah.

Within the first minute of Doom Eternal you're already well-equipped to take down any of

the half dozen most common enemies in the game, it's truly wonderful in how much it

does not wanna waste your time. Well, except when it's wasting your time when you've got

the tutorial on. Honestly, if you've played Doom 2016 you can turn this right off and

ignore the incessant pop-ups for the first couple hours. Besides, there are codex notifications

on the left side of the screen, so I just left those on for new features and it was

fine. Otherwise, it’s too easy to become overwhelmed at the sheer mass of CONTENT™

being revealed every few seconds. Piles of guns, lots of special moves, like twice the

number of demons as before, and the upgrades. So many upgrades. There’s a set of collectible

rune upgrades, a set of Praetor Suit upgrades, a set of weapon upgrades with a set of upgrades

for those upgrades followed by mastery upgrades. A set of attribute upgrades that turn into

more upgrades once you merge upgrades. And a set of upgrades on your space station that

help unlock cosmetic upgrades, like weapon reskins and player models. But yeah it’s

all just a lot. This “stop and read” approach is doing the game a disservice, since the

lifeblood of Doom Eternal relies on maintaining momentum through combat and learning how to

best deal with each enemy’s attacks on the fly. So I say just play the dang game, the

best way to learn here is by doing. And by doing, I mean engaging in absolute non-stop

slaughter by way of the Doom Slayer’s menagerie of finely-tuned firepower. An immensely satisfying

act considering the way demons crumble apart now into a mess of bones and bowels. The aforementioned

shotgun and chainsaw make a return from 2016, as does the heavy assault rifle, now known

as the heavy cannon. Along with the plasma rifle, the rocket launcher, the super shotgun,

the chaingun, and the legendary BFG-9000. Each one functioning more or less the same

as they did before, but with some fresh upgrade paths and mastery end goals here and there.

For instance, the assault rifle still offers an endless micro-missile launcher and a sniper

rifle when upgraded, as seen in the last Doom game. But the new Ballista is more of a remix,

sliding into the spot previously occupied by the Gauss Cannon. It’s an absolute beast

of a weapon, basically a railgun that can also shoot explosive bolts, as well as throw

out substantial charged blades that slice their way through any and all hordes of nastiness.

The classic Super Shotgun shoots off two shells simultaneously, and its secondary attack is

a devilish little thing: a grappling hook module Scorpion would approve of, known as

the Meat Hook. Fire this deep into some demonic flesh and hold on for a ride as you’re thrust

straight at ‘em, setting you up for a point blank double barreled barrage or a well-time

melee move. The latter of which often makes use of the new Doomblade, a wrist-mounted

attachment popping out to slice open torsos and skewer eyeballs on demand. You’ve also

got the Blood Punch, something you charge up to make the Doom Slayer’s overpowered

fist even more overpowered, violently combusting just about anything in the general vicinity.

But yeah both are a perfect pairing with the Meat Hook, which can itself be upgraded to

another level so that each time you use it, it sets everything on fire. A most excellent

addition that I recommend unlocking sooner rather than later, since fiery enemies drop

piles of armor shards while they rapidly burn to a crisp. Speaking of flame-broiled giblets,

attached to your shoulder is another new weapon: the Flame Belcher. And ah, it’s never been

easier to set something ablaze at the press of a button, being assigned its own hotkey

along with grenades and the chainsaw. Mighty useful stuff, since armor is always at a premium

and it’s quickly depleted by the more deadly demons. So always try to remember: burn first,

shoot later. And get good at those grenades too, especially the ice bombs, since they’re

one of the most effective ways to stop the assaults of low and mid-tier monsters. I was

having a rough time with a few of these jokers before I started switching from frags to ice.

My go-to siphon grenades from the last Doom are no longer a thing, so yeah, ice bombs

are a dear Eternal friend. And finally, late in the game you receive one more power tool

of pain: the Crucible. A massive glowing red blade only able to hold enough charge for

three swings at any given time, but it’s an ultra-heavy instakiller so eh, who cares!

It’s like a BFG in the sword form, doesn’t get much better than that. Regardless of your

preferred setup it’s gonna be tough to keep the heart rate down while blasting your way

through the 15 to 20 hour campaign, especially with another Mick Gordon soundtrack keeping

you company. It’s even better than the 2016 score in my book, with a bit less of the glitched-out

chaos and more melodic ambience and guitars than before, and even some choir vocals performed

by various metal musicians. Just excellent stuff.

[chaos, sheer chaos]

That being said, which enemy you attack, when you attack them, and in what way matters immensely

here, an equation that remains in flux from moment to moment. More than ever, this incarnation

of Doom is an FPS combat strategy game, a blood-soaked chessboard littered with demon

guts and spent shell casings. Each encounter is a puzzle to be solved at a moment’s notice,

like if you need a health boost? Whittle a dude down to perform a glory kill and spawn

some health. If you need ammo, it’s all about that chainsaw, spewing gobs of ammunition

with each viscous dismemberment. As mentioned, the Flame Belch and other fire attacks provide

armor drops in copious quantities. And glory kills also help build up Blood Punches, granting

an effective way of chaining together other moves so you can keep the combat flowing without

missing a beat. All worth remembering since the old enemies have been buffed up to become

more effective at both defense and offense, being faster, angrier, more armored, and more

unrelenting in their urge to slay the Slayer. It’s all mighty vicious stuff, when even

seeing a pinky demon means you’re in trouble, you know they did something right. And that’s

not even mentioning all the new enemies, with all their own counters, defenses, immunities,

and special moves easily offsetting yours. Carcasses, gargoyles, cueballs, prowlers,

dread knights, doom hunters, marauders, tyrants. These satan-spawn are out for all the blood

you have, and they’re designed so that if you get too close without them being staggered

or frozen first, they’re just gonna clobber you to death in a fraction of a second. No

more running up to every other demon point blank with the super shotgun, half the time

that’ll get you knocked back or killed. Instead you’ve really gotta use the right

tool for the job. After a little practice, each confrontation turns into a rhythmic exercise,

playing out beat by beat as you switch from weapon to equipment to special move, with

every monster playing its part as they dance to their death. It also requires such split-second

accuracy at times that I have no idea how you play this on higher difficulties with

a gamepad, a good mouse and keyboard setup is crucial in my opinion. I whipped out a

controller just to compare, and nah man. Yeah, however you’re controlling it, this game

can be downright brutalizing later on. I began playing on Nightmare difficulty and did so

happily for the first several hours, but went to Ultra-Violence and then to Hurt Me Plenty

at one point. And that point was when multiple Marauders start showing up at once, those

things are insane. For me at least, this difficulty spike happened at a point where my arsenal

and skillset just didn’t match the abilities of the new demons and ugh. Yeah, my kill/death

ratio was more of a death/death ratio of negative nothing, it was pathetic. There are still

plenty of checkpoints in each map, but no quicksaving, so failing at any point sends

you back to the start of the area. However, this can be alleviated by the addition of

extra lives, enabled in the options menu, and while I was highly skeptical of this in

the gameplay trailers I now understand why they’re included. Not only are they few

and far between, often hidden in secret areas or just around a corner you can’t reach

without a conscious effort. But they provide a way to respawn during some of the most infuriating

encounters in the later parts of the game. Usually involving Archviles and again, in

my case, multiple Marauders. At least you rarely see Lost Souls anymore, they mostly

only show up when Pain Elementals are tossing them out like boney baseballs. Anyway yeah,

extra lives exist now, and even if you never use ‘em it’s still fun to figure out where

they are and how to reach them. Cuz yeah, secret places man, and collectibles! Doom

2016 had plenty, but Eternal goes utterly bonkers. Many of these are clearly-labeled

with a glowing question mark, acting as a tease that they exist but with few clues as

to how to get to ‘em. Usually it involves angrily punching something. But yeah you’ll

find extra lives, berzerk and supercharge power-ups, collectible figurines, sentinel

crystals, 3.5” floppy disks with cheat codes to use when replaying the game, various instant

upgrade tokens, even vinyl records with music from past id Software games. You’ll also

run across secret encounters and combat arenas, activated by smashing demon hearts. But these

are hidden, more optional experiences compared to the ones in Doom 2016, unlocking bonus

items and keys that you don’t entirely need but are nice to have on down the line. Oh

and hey, Dopefish! That... is terrifying. Anyway yeah, collectibles and secrets are

everywhere and it’s good fun snapping them up for display back at your Fortress of Doom,

home sweet home. Described by the devs as “the Doom Slayer’s man cave,” it really

is a place to unwind between levels and take a gander at what you’ve collected. And dude,

as a lifelong id Software fan, there’s a whole lotta nifty crap here, it’s easter

eggs and references galore. I especially love this little DOS PC over in the corner, with

even more stuff to unlock once you collect all the different floppy disks. Also dig the

records and their companion posters. They let you play music from games like Commander

Keen, Wolfenstein 3D, Doom III, Quake Champions, all sortsa good stuff. Really sets the mood

for wandering the fortress, admiring your spoils of war, and taking part in the game’s

“practice moooooode” down in the ship’s Ripatorium. Because of course that’s a thing.

Rip and tear folks, rip and tear!

[downright delightful demon-slaying]

Combine this with the classic Doomguy skins, centered weapon models, and original Sound

Blaster sound effects? [chuckles] Yeah it’s pretty much peak fanservice, but I admit I

enjoy some quality servicing every so often.

[classic Doom sounds, demon deaths]

Even without the direct references to old school sensibilities, to me the whole experience

feels more like a Doom game than I’ve seen since, well, Doom II from 1995. Despite the

modern upgrade systems and flashy combat, there’s an array of little touches and broader

brushstrokes that evoke classic Doom. From the floating red, yellow, and blue keycards

you pick up, to the massive winding levels full of traps and secrets, to the more vibrant

color palette making use of bright reds, purples, and greens reminiscent of the DOS games’

256-color graphics. Addressing another of my critiques from 2016, the hellish landscapes

and setpieces here are far more vibrant and surreal, with a wider variety in locations