Raymanic
The Sequel to DOOM, and more so just an awesome DLC expansion pack with more enemies, music, of course the beautiful super shotgun and tons of memorable levels. I really just consider Ultimate DOOM and this to be one whole experience.
I don't want to act like there aren't any goofy design choices in the game, BUT I really do not see the huge deal about the level design in this game. Sure MAP 13 is a bit rough but honestly this is PEAK classic DOOM. It has all of the loveable and iconic monsters and the only monsters who are unbearable to deal with are a lot of Chaingunners and Pain Elementals.
10/10 would play again
I don't want to act like there aren't any goofy design choices in the game, BUT I really do not see the huge deal about the level design in this game. Sure MAP 13 is a bit rough but honestly this is PEAK classic DOOM. It has all of the loveable and iconic monsters and the only monsters who are unbearable to deal with are a lot of Chaingunners and Pain Elementals.
10/10 would play again
Peak 2d Sonic still over 29 years later
Kirby doesn't have a game as good as this
Kirby doesn't have a game as good as this
1993
It is one of the best games of all time. The base game still holds up outside of maybe a couple missions, the only thing that is missing is of course the upgraded enemies and SSG in DOOM II. But this game is the reason for SO many things in gaming today. From FPS deathmatch multiplayer to speedrunning to modding etc... this game has been the biggest reason for a bunch of things to come to light.
This review contains spoilers
Similar with my review of TAG 2: You either love it or hate it
This one gets a lot more love, but the hate is also there too. Specifically since this one is actually very difficult. I love this DLC a lot, so I'll just put up what I did love and what kept it from being the perfect DLC.
Gameplay:
The gameplay from the eyes of what DOOM Eternal's full potential could be here, is perfect with one flaw.
Starting off you have all of your upgrades you got through the main campaign to go here in this DLC. So your full arsenal is here and ready to go. Right off the bat in the first arena: this is Nu-DOOM's plutonia. If you haven't played this game in a while like some did back when it released in 2020:
You will die within the first 3 arenas quickly.
The goal with the gameplay here in this DLC was making you put in all you have learned throughout your journey in the base campaign and all the mechanics you have mastered.
You don't have the crucible; it's stuck with the icon.
You still have the BFG and Unmaykr but the BFG pickups are a lot less common in this DLC so you have to use them strategically.
Anyways with the goal of iD's intentions here with this DLC explained here's a summary of what you get in each mission.
UAC Atlantica: This is my #1 slightly edging out the Blood Swamps
There is one newer enemy here and that is the Eyeball Turrets. They take two Precision Bolt or Ballista Shots to their eyes and drop ammo when killed.
Most of the arenas here throw a lot of classic DOOM like surprises at you, trust me, your first time playing this and seeing the double Marauder will either excite you like me, or make you seethe like a lot of people.
A lot of the arenas in this level have a lot of higher tier demons, you aren't getting a lot of Revenants and Mancubi like in TAG 2. You WILL be getting Baron's, Pain Elementals, and Tyrants. Not to mention, Carcass's are a lot more prominent in this level.
Anyways a more simple TL:DR before playing this DLC
Play the Cultist Base master level, and try to relearn the mechanics through this before entering this mission on your first TAG playthrough. It'll help a lot.
Blood Swamps:
This level is honestly the maximum level outside of the master levels to test your mastery of the DOOM Eternal combat loop. It is hard, and you may have to turn down the difficulty.
Enemy wise there are two new enemies. The first is a giant tentacle. These are the lamest additions, but they're a big jump scare that iD uses now in future levels.
Next up the one and only flaw I think is really in this DLC's combat: Spirits
For me they are fun, especially now with my skill level. They add a lot of gameplanning and mid arena puzzle-like solving with how to deal with them. You wanna get rid of them quick or deal with them at the end? And the reason they are a flaw is because one of the biggest gripes from the Eternal-hate club tells about the game is that it forces you to use certain weapons on enemies.
While it CAN feel this way in the early campaign of Eternal without the arsenal being fully maxed and learning the mechanics in the beginning vs. 2016's laid back approach, as someone who's beaten every base-game content the game has to offer on Ultra-Nightmare; this isn't true.
But for the spirit, it is. You are forced to use the microwave beam to kill it fully without it resurrecting another enemy. This is the ONE and only case where you are forced to actually take care of something one way, which is honestly sad. I do enjoy the enemy a lot personally, but I 100% understand people's gripes with the Spirits in this game.
Onto the level design: it's a lot harder than UAC Atlantica. And if that was hard enough for you, yeah, you might wanna turn down the difficulty on this one for sure. It really is the perfect test to show your mastery of Eternal's combat, it's amazing.
Expect A LOT of spirits and more prominent Arch-viles here along with a lot more super heavies.
The Holt: This is the easiest mission here IMO. But still is hard, don't get it twisted.
There's one new enemy and that is the Blood Maykr. I love this enemy, it's fun and is entirely new compared to reused assets in TAG 2 enemies (TAG 1's are the same but the Spirit is a comeback of the Summoner from 2016 and it's cool).
The Blood Maykr is invincible until it has a Maruader like opening which you can one shot with a Precision Bolt or Ballista. It drops ammo when killed
The Holt itself has some challenging arenas but it isn't as bad as the first 2 missions. There are memorable arenas though, like the possessed Tyrant with another Tyrant to the other side of it, and the Pinky and Shield Gunner arenas near the end for a quick change of pace.
Anyways that's it for the lazy summaries of the missions.
Here's some extra stuff for the missions
Slayer Gates and Runes:
In both UAC Atlantica and the Holt there is a Slayer Gate challenge. The Holt's is VERY painful, it has the possessed Marauder. Trust me, it took me quite a while on my first playthrough to get past this. It is hard, especially with the small space this arena has.
Once completed, you will have three upgrades to have for extra runes (Blood Swamps has a secret to get your rune from instead of a slayer gate challenge)
1: Upgrades your Blood Punch to do double damage when under 75 health
2: It gives you a chance to regain your 1-up when killing an enemy
3: It gives a huge blast radius when hitting an enemy weakpoint which falters other demons near it, I prefer this one to the other two since my playstyle uses a lot of faltering in it.
Level Design and Artstyle:
I love the level design in these levels. So many memorable arenas and if you are missing that DOOM 2016 crave in atmosphere and art style I think UAC Atlantica and Blood Swamps come very close. I REALLY love the Alien-like Maykr levels so the Holt is a very pleasurable level especially with the less colorful first two missions (I still love them though).
The only miss in terms of arena design is the Slayer Gate arena, it's just very tight and compact and just isn't as good as the base-game Slayer Gate arenas.
Boss Fights:
The Trial of Maligog: It's the worst fight in the game IMO. It's just really easy, and the concept isn't really too enticing. It's fun, I guess though.
Samur: This is one of the best boss fights in the game, if not the best. It REALLY tests what you have learned through the game. Especially with how much you learned through the game's platforming aspects. And I'll say this now, it's also the hardest boss fight in the game. Especially if you AREN'T at the nightmare-level skill needed which this DLC's audience aims for. There are hazardous eyeballs which can be killed with two PB shots or ballista. And then there are Blood Maykr's and when you kill Samuel Hayden, there are two different spirit sections.
First is a spirited Hell Knight and Mancubus. Both can be taken care of easily.
Now where it gets fucking CBT level is the spirited Pain Elemental and Dread Knight. GODDAMN are these the two hardest possessed demons to deal with at once. Wow what a combination. If you hated this DLC because of this certain section I completely understand. What a pain in the ass to deal with especially on an already hard UN run this game gives you in just the combat arenas alone.
Music: With the Mick Gordon situation in hand (please Bethesda and iD (specifically Marty Stratton) give him what he is owed. This situation is entirely fucked and no person deserves what Mick went through) iD decided to hire Andrew Hulshult and David Levy to do the soundtracks for this DLC.
It has a lot of bangers, The Holt is honestly fine but compared to UAC Atlantica and Blood Swamps, it doesn't hold a candle. This is pure metal, and you can tell it was done by Andrew, specifically Blood Swamps. It's great, I personally prefer Mick's DOOM stuff but this is some good shit too.
Story: UNPOPULAR OPINION
I like the twist, specifically the Samuel Hayden twist being the Seraphim, that was cool. I will mess Sam, but I like that he is finally becoming the actual villain in what (could) be the 3rd game in the nu-DOOM trilogy. I'm more okay with VEGA being GOD now which is pretty insane, but The Dark Lord reveal was mid honestly. It's my biggest gripe, but him being a clone of DOOM Guy/Slayer was pretty lame. If only Covid and the 1 year promised pass didn't fuck over this game's rushed story in the DLC's. But oh well, I'm happy with what we got.
Also, DOOM Slayer has a fanboy who works with him now which is fine but now the whole circlejerk with DOOM Slayer is a lot more apparent here with him than in the campaign.
Final Thoughts:
I love this DLC, it's not for everyone but the major Eternal heads all love this DLC for a reason and it's amazing. It's so close to being a 5 but there is some things that could've been fixed. But pure gameplay wise, it's a 5.
This one gets a lot more love, but the hate is also there too. Specifically since this one is actually very difficult. I love this DLC a lot, so I'll just put up what I did love and what kept it from being the perfect DLC.
Gameplay:
The gameplay from the eyes of what DOOM Eternal's full potential could be here, is perfect with one flaw.
Starting off you have all of your upgrades you got through the main campaign to go here in this DLC. So your full arsenal is here and ready to go. Right off the bat in the first arena: this is Nu-DOOM's plutonia. If you haven't played this game in a while like some did back when it released in 2020:
You will die within the first 3 arenas quickly.
The goal with the gameplay here in this DLC was making you put in all you have learned throughout your journey in the base campaign and all the mechanics you have mastered.
You don't have the crucible; it's stuck with the icon.
You still have the BFG and Unmaykr but the BFG pickups are a lot less common in this DLC so you have to use them strategically.
Anyways with the goal of iD's intentions here with this DLC explained here's a summary of what you get in each mission.
UAC Atlantica: This is my #1 slightly edging out the Blood Swamps
There is one newer enemy here and that is the Eyeball Turrets. They take two Precision Bolt or Ballista Shots to their eyes and drop ammo when killed.
Most of the arenas here throw a lot of classic DOOM like surprises at you, trust me, your first time playing this and seeing the double Marauder will either excite you like me, or make you seethe like a lot of people.
A lot of the arenas in this level have a lot of higher tier demons, you aren't getting a lot of Revenants and Mancubi like in TAG 2. You WILL be getting Baron's, Pain Elementals, and Tyrants. Not to mention, Carcass's are a lot more prominent in this level.
Anyways a more simple TL:DR before playing this DLC
Play the Cultist Base master level, and try to relearn the mechanics through this before entering this mission on your first TAG playthrough. It'll help a lot.
Blood Swamps:
This level is honestly the maximum level outside of the master levels to test your mastery of the DOOM Eternal combat loop. It is hard, and you may have to turn down the difficulty.
Enemy wise there are two new enemies. The first is a giant tentacle. These are the lamest additions, but they're a big jump scare that iD uses now in future levels.
Next up the one and only flaw I think is really in this DLC's combat: Spirits
For me they are fun, especially now with my skill level. They add a lot of gameplanning and mid arena puzzle-like solving with how to deal with them. You wanna get rid of them quick or deal with them at the end? And the reason they are a flaw is because one of the biggest gripes from the Eternal-hate club tells about the game is that it forces you to use certain weapons on enemies.
While it CAN feel this way in the early campaign of Eternal without the arsenal being fully maxed and learning the mechanics in the beginning vs. 2016's laid back approach, as someone who's beaten every base-game content the game has to offer on Ultra-Nightmare; this isn't true.
But for the spirit, it is. You are forced to use the microwave beam to kill it fully without it resurrecting another enemy. This is the ONE and only case where you are forced to actually take care of something one way, which is honestly sad. I do enjoy the enemy a lot personally, but I 100% understand people's gripes with the Spirits in this game.
Onto the level design: it's a lot harder than UAC Atlantica. And if that was hard enough for you, yeah, you might wanna turn down the difficulty on this one for sure. It really is the perfect test to show your mastery of Eternal's combat, it's amazing.
Expect A LOT of spirits and more prominent Arch-viles here along with a lot more super heavies.
The Holt: This is the easiest mission here IMO. But still is hard, don't get it twisted.
There's one new enemy and that is the Blood Maykr. I love this enemy, it's fun and is entirely new compared to reused assets in TAG 2 enemies (TAG 1's are the same but the Spirit is a comeback of the Summoner from 2016 and it's cool).
The Blood Maykr is invincible until it has a Maruader like opening which you can one shot with a Precision Bolt or Ballista. It drops ammo when killed
The Holt itself has some challenging arenas but it isn't as bad as the first 2 missions. There are memorable arenas though, like the possessed Tyrant with another Tyrant to the other side of it, and the Pinky and Shield Gunner arenas near the end for a quick change of pace.
Anyways that's it for the lazy summaries of the missions.
Here's some extra stuff for the missions
Slayer Gates and Runes:
In both UAC Atlantica and the Holt there is a Slayer Gate challenge. The Holt's is VERY painful, it has the possessed Marauder. Trust me, it took me quite a while on my first playthrough to get past this. It is hard, especially with the small space this arena has.
Once completed, you will have three upgrades to have for extra runes (Blood Swamps has a secret to get your rune from instead of a slayer gate challenge)
1: Upgrades your Blood Punch to do double damage when under 75 health
2: It gives you a chance to regain your 1-up when killing an enemy
3: It gives a huge blast radius when hitting an enemy weakpoint which falters other demons near it, I prefer this one to the other two since my playstyle uses a lot of faltering in it.
Level Design and Artstyle:
I love the level design in these levels. So many memorable arenas and if you are missing that DOOM 2016 crave in atmosphere and art style I think UAC Atlantica and Blood Swamps come very close. I REALLY love the Alien-like Maykr levels so the Holt is a very pleasurable level especially with the less colorful first two missions (I still love them though).
The only miss in terms of arena design is the Slayer Gate arena, it's just very tight and compact and just isn't as good as the base-game Slayer Gate arenas.
Boss Fights:
The Trial of Maligog: It's the worst fight in the game IMO. It's just really easy, and the concept isn't really too enticing. It's fun, I guess though.
Samur: This is one of the best boss fights in the game, if not the best. It REALLY tests what you have learned through the game. Especially with how much you learned through the game's platforming aspects. And I'll say this now, it's also the hardest boss fight in the game. Especially if you AREN'T at the nightmare-level skill needed which this DLC's audience aims for. There are hazardous eyeballs which can be killed with two PB shots or ballista. And then there are Blood Maykr's and when you kill Samuel Hayden, there are two different spirit sections.
First is a spirited Hell Knight and Mancubus. Both can be taken care of easily.
Now where it gets fucking CBT level is the spirited Pain Elemental and Dread Knight. GODDAMN are these the two hardest possessed demons to deal with at once. Wow what a combination. If you hated this DLC because of this certain section I completely understand. What a pain in the ass to deal with especially on an already hard UN run this game gives you in just the combat arenas alone.
Music: With the Mick Gordon situation in hand (please Bethesda and iD (specifically Marty Stratton) give him what he is owed. This situation is entirely fucked and no person deserves what Mick went through) iD decided to hire Andrew Hulshult and David Levy to do the soundtracks for this DLC.
It has a lot of bangers, The Holt is honestly fine but compared to UAC Atlantica and Blood Swamps, it doesn't hold a candle. This is pure metal, and you can tell it was done by Andrew, specifically Blood Swamps. It's great, I personally prefer Mick's DOOM stuff but this is some good shit too.
Story: UNPOPULAR OPINION
I like the twist, specifically the Samuel Hayden twist being the Seraphim, that was cool. I will mess Sam, but I like that he is finally becoming the actual villain in what (could) be the 3rd game in the nu-DOOM trilogy. I'm more okay with VEGA being GOD now which is pretty insane, but The Dark Lord reveal was mid honestly. It's my biggest gripe, but him being a clone of DOOM Guy/Slayer was pretty lame. If only Covid and the 1 year promised pass didn't fuck over this game's rushed story in the DLC's. But oh well, I'm happy with what we got.
Also, DOOM Slayer has a fanboy who works with him now which is fine but now the whole circlejerk with DOOM Slayer is a lot more apparent here with him than in the campaign.
Final Thoughts:
I love this DLC, it's not for everyone but the major Eternal heads all love this DLC for a reason and it's amazing. It's so close to being a 5 but there is some things that could've been fixed. But pure gameplay wise, it's a 5.
I remember beating the boss with only like 8 or 10 hearts lol but other than that this game has SO much charm and really does set itself apart from the other games in the franchise. I love it, definitely in my top 3 Zelda games
It's a great game. 2nd best in the series IMO. I also like the Batmobile sections, I don't love them but they are fun and add a nice change of pace for me. What really doesn't make this perfect though is probably the fact that ALL of the boss fights are just batmobile sections.
Arkham City has quite possibly the best boss fight I think I've ever played in any video game in Mr. Freeze with it's design to make you use every weapon you have in your arsenal combined with moves you learned through predator sections. In this game, there wasn't any boss fight encounters even close to as memorable as Mr. Freeze, Deathstroke, Scarecrow, Killer Croc (Arkham Asylum), and Bane in Arkham Origins.
I nark on Asylum for having very bad bosses outside of Scarecrow and Killer Croc, but Arkham Knight really has the worst in the series which is disappointing, compared to everything else I REALLY love. The only things I wish they did outside of actual boss fights is maybe let you use the other DLC characters in the open world, I enjoy using them outside of just challenges and their DLC packs.
Anyways, still it's a great game worth trying.
Arkham City has quite possibly the best boss fight I think I've ever played in any video game in Mr. Freeze with it's design to make you use every weapon you have in your arsenal combined with moves you learned through predator sections. In this game, there wasn't any boss fight encounters even close to as memorable as Mr. Freeze, Deathstroke, Scarecrow, Killer Croc (Arkham Asylum), and Bane in Arkham Origins.
I nark on Asylum for having very bad bosses outside of Scarecrow and Killer Croc, but Arkham Knight really has the worst in the series which is disappointing, compared to everything else I REALLY love. The only things I wish they did outside of actual boss fights is maybe let you use the other DLC characters in the open world, I enjoy using them outside of just challenges and their DLC packs.
Anyways, still it's a great game worth trying.
This > Sluggers
Goated game, real ones used Trigger Happy, Ignitor and Chop Chop
2010
I'M SO FUCKING GLAD I'M NOT THE ONLY ONE WHO COULDN'T FIGURE OUT WHAT THE FUCK TO DO.
Anyways, this game and it's artstyle are absolutely beautiful, and the times I knew what the fuck to do were fun.
Anyways, this game and it's artstyle are absolutely beautiful, and the times I knew what the fuck to do were fun.
2006
It's fun and definitely has some nice gimmicks with the new babies like Luigi, Wario, DK and Peach but doesn't hit as well as the original
2008
This is sadly the version I spent most of my time on for Unleashed and yeah it's mid to below mid.
2004
I enjoy this more than SM64 even with the worst controls. I just think the content is a lot better here and I like all of the characters different attributes
Better than Smash Wii U in terms of content and everything outside of stages IMO. I also have a lot more fond memories with this game, since I played it when it came out vs. Wii U once Bayo was released.
1992
It's great, I enjoy almost all of it and I appreciate them making the zones last 2 acts. But god fucking DAMN is Metropolis Zone so fucking annoying to get through.
Skill issue on my part but damn that zone is even more annoying than Labyrinth Zone in Sonic 1, not kidding
Skill issue on my part but damn that zone is even more annoying than Labyrinth Zone in Sonic 1, not kidding
This game just isn't worth coming back to. I still miss the hype around this game and its DLC back then but looking back at this compared to every other Smash game (INCLUDING 3ds) it's the worst IMO outside of maybe edging the original N64 title.