Doom Eternal Is Officially The Best Game In The Reboot Trilogy
At the time, though, likely due to the fact I was too busy playing New Horizons and treating Doom Eternal as second fiddle, I found it more challenging than it needed to be while feeling it was overcomplicating a combat system that was already masterful in the first game. God forgive me, I couldn’t have been more wrong.
Eternal takes the bullet ballet of the original game and expands it into a more complicated dance, a game of chess in which you need to utilise a multitude of mechanics to stay fast, stay brutal, and most importantly, stay alive. Glory kills will still restore health when killing enemies, but this central mechanic is now complicated by a flamethrower which offers up additional armour, a chainsaw that results in ammunition, and various other abilities which are designed to reward players who keep the demon-slaying train moving. Remaining still will get you killed, and that much is clear the second you step onto the battlefield.
Demons run at you from all directions and take advantage of the same terrain you are free to navigate by clambering and swinging about the place. It’s easy to find yourself surrounded and overwhelmed by enemies as your extra lives are whittled away. Refuse to play by the game’s rules, and it will chew you up and spit you out. Even on its easy difficulty, you can’t back yourself into a corner and waste ammunition to emerge victorious. You have to get out there and get creative, which, as I’ve found out, isn’t for everyone.
The PS5 version that arrived shortly after the console launched is also very impressive with its use of ray-traced visuals at a 4K resolution while still maintaining 60fps performance.
While there are a handful of enemies to handle while navigating levels, Eternal is mostly split into curated arenas with several different levels to hop across where monsters will appear to rush you from every conceivable direction.
This is your cue to start moving and never cease as you leave a trail of destruction in your wake. In my current playthrough, I’ve opted to play on a harder difficulty, so I need to use every single mechanic at my disposal while also trying to maximise what skills I’m using, striking a delicate balance with each upgrade. Every choice matters, and I love how much versatility there is on offer.
And Eternal Is Even Better After Playing Doom: The Dark Ages
Doom: The Dark Ages feels like id Software trying to course correct after the mixed views of Eternal. Its ‘Stand and Fight’ mantra prioritises facing your enemies head-on and using an immense mixture of new weapons and parries to dispatch the demonic hordes. It’s still so fast in its movement speed and pace of encounters, but with this speed comes easier difficulty, less imaginative boss fights, and level design that follows a predictable pattern.
Meanwhile, Eternal is constantly surprising, with levels that take place on the decaying remnants of Earth, ancient satanic temples, and scientific facilities that are absurd but complement the mythos id Software is developing so wonderfully. I just find it to be an infinitely stronger experience to speak to the sort of shooter which director Hugo Martin adores not only creating, but playing during his off-time. Something casual and veteran fans alike can pick up and immerse themselves in again and again and again.
If you’re anything like me and bounced off Doom Eternal because of its departure from all the things its 2016 predecessor did so well, or you’re simply after an extra dose of demon action after polishing off The Dark Ages, there is no better time to go back to this shooter masterpiece.
DOOM Eternal
- Released
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March 20, 2020
- ESRB
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M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence
