DOOM Eternal Review

"Demons Beware"

Campaign

October 17, 2020 at 7:06pm
By Jason Stettner

This game is just straight up crazy, it’s insanely fast paced and is packed with action at almost every single moment. It’s wildly exhausting, and yet exhilarating at the same time. I actually had to take breaks while playing as it feels overwhelming at times with a sensory overload, at the same time it’s just a splendid experience.

It’s a game that feels both classic in terms of its design, yet imagined in an entirely modern context. It blends the two concepts together well, and is just such a wonderful ride. This follows the DOOM Slayer as he deals with the armies of Hell having invaded Earth. It’s a place of absolute destruction, which you can clearly see across the levels. There’s some further lore if you gather the collectibles which appear as text documents on maps to help clarify what’s happened.

That aside, the world you’re rushing through paints enough of a picture as does the cinematic segments. It’s a decently fine tale that feels very cohesive despite the silent protagonist. I guess some elements could have been cleaner story wise, but that’s not necessarily the focus of this.

It’s about being a badass demon slaying monster that decimates the local demonic population in order to save what remains of humanity. It nails that part with engaging levels, and complex designs that allow you to freely flow through levels destroying anything in sight. If the core experience isn’t enough you can replay levels with some options to tweak things further.

Multiplayer
Outside of the campaign is a Battlemode, this honestly feels a bit tacked on but is still fun to dive into. You’re playing in a two versus one situation. There’s one DOOM Slayer and two demons.

You’re trying to destroy each other in round based combat. There are class adjustments to make, and demon spawning to do as well. It’s fun, fast paced though not nearly as satisfying as the last DOOM game’s multiplayer was.

Gameplay

This is a seriously gorgeous shooter, it’s just stunning and every scene is filled to the brim with content. It’s such a lively and messed up sort of hellscape, they nail it the whole way through. This was played on Xbox One X and its seriously amazing to take in. It’s fluid, fast paced and wild. You’re constantly having to kill to keep your health and resources going, if you slow down you’ll likely die fairly quickly.

With that, I do wish ammo was a tad more plentiful as I found myself running out throughout the game. There are ways to get more, but there were a few times where I was left with an enemy or two and had to use secondary blasting means. This includes the recharging grenades or a fire blast you can unleash.

If everything is out, you might have enough chainsaw gas to do some damage, that’s always fun. It’s really about shooting, smashing into a melee move and then going onto the next enemy. You might think that gets repetitive, it does kind of yet at the same time was ever so satisfying. You’re also improving your abilities in a few ways.

Whether that’s with special crystals to upgrade certain parts of the character, or special coins to unlock extra perk abilities. On top of that, if you gather some secrets you can unlock some special areas of your core ship to get more bonuses and alternate suits. That part is really cool, and I enjoyed that area. Movement is swift, with many options for traversal. You’re able to swing, climb walls and even get launched into the air.

It feels great, and adds a minor puzzle element to the experience which was nice. This was also the only slow down, so it gives you a breather. At the same time, perhaps making those portions even more calmer would have been nice to get some additional relaxation as this game can again get exhausting in the best of ways. As mentioned prior, the level design is incredible.

It makes you want to explore, and it rewards you for doing so. Never know when you might come across a secret area too. The designs are just generally well done, and every section feels entirely fresh which is nice. The enemy variation is also incredibly well done, they’ve updated old designs to make them work perfectly within this realistic and gory setting. I will note that I wasn’t a fan of the Marauder, it was rather tough and sort of slowed things down pacing wise. That enemy caused things to roar to a halt basically.

The Conclusion

DOOM Eternal is one insanely thrilling action packed shooter that perfectly blends the classic elements of the franchise within modern era mechanics. This is just such a wonderful time with a truly compelling campaign. It’s a blast to play, and while exhausting at times such a treasure to behold. It definitely provides an interesting way to tell a story while building up the legend around this eternal figure.

It’s badass, filled to the brim with gore and a treasure within the genre. Such a delightful time, blasting away any enemies and constantly moving in order to stay alive. There’s also the multiplayer component, fun but it feels somewhat tacked on. That aside, the story is fulfilling enough.

It’s got a solid amount of length to it and hours of demon slaying excellence. You can also hop back in if you haven’t had enough as the levels do reward extra exploration. To make your monstrous suit of armor even more powerful, or even to grab some fun collectibles throughout the experience. It’s just such a well done game, and a very enticing time.

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DOOM Eternal Review on Xbox One X

Rating Overall: 9.2