When this was revealed, I said "Cool, more DOOM 2016." That couldn't have been a more wrong first impression, and I'm losing my mind over how good this game is. Eternal is all about crowd control and being the fastest thing you've ever fucking played. 2016 is honestly quaint in comparison...I loved that game, but I can't imagine going back to the constant cycle of being locked in a room, fighting a few waves with your basically infinite ammo, and moving to the next room that does the same. I originally thought that game was frantic and fast-paced, but the sensory overload and forced flow state of Eternal blows that game out of the water in every way.
I should mention that FUCKING "mortally challenged" joke that is like attack helicopter-tier Gamer bro "anti-SJW" garbage and they repeat it over and over throughout the whole game. I wouldn't mind it so much if I didn't have to hear it CONSTANTLY. Someone was clearly proud of that and I hate them for it. I guess I shouldn't have expected much better...the joy of this game is in its unrelenting immaturity. DOOM 2016 tried to still be 'classy' and grounded in a way that this just has no interest in replicating.
That's the worst and the best of Eternal, if I think about it. It's a pain in the ass and almost sickeningly masculine. Doomguy ascends from action-hero-cool to horny-audio-logs-calling-him-a-god cool. It's pretty obnoxious at times, but moreso admirable in how boldly ridiculous the whole thing is. It's in no way self-conscious, instead being such a silly over-the-top power fantasy that you can't help but be charmed. There's none of the weak attempts at being taken seriously that plague AAA games, and that opens up DOOM Eternal to things its predecessor wouldn't have dreamed of. Environments are abstract and overwhelmingly "gamey," fitting in perfectly with the drastically expanded movement systems and coming together into a whole so satisfying that I actually LOVED first person platforming. Who knew it was possible?
The new combat loop is a brilliant innovation that is literally the biggest breakthrough in the fps genre in decades. I'm not sure how to really put into words the amount that this adds. I'll have to write about it on its own sometime. I love how this game makes you play it on its own terms. If you're playing on ultra-violence, at least, you can't get away with just being good at first person shooters like you could with 2016 and most of the rest of the genre. No, mastering The Loop is absolutely essential and forced me out of my comfort zone in such an exciting way. Nothing feels like this game. Nothing moves like this game. Nothing is like this game.
As much as I've loved calling Amid Evil my favorite first person shooter and love how it looks on my profile, DOOM Eternal clearly stands above every previous fps. Somehow id managed to reinvent the genre that they effectively launched with their original classics. Good fucking lord.
I should mention that FUCKING "mortally challenged" joke that is like attack helicopter-tier Gamer bro "anti-SJW" garbage and they repeat it over and over throughout the whole game. I wouldn't mind it so much if I didn't have to hear it CONSTANTLY. Someone was clearly proud of that and I hate them for it. I guess I shouldn't have expected much better...the joy of this game is in its unrelenting immaturity. DOOM 2016 tried to still be 'classy' and grounded in a way that this just has no interest in replicating.
That's the worst and the best of Eternal, if I think about it. It's a pain in the ass and almost sickeningly masculine. Doomguy ascends from action-hero-cool to horny-audio-logs-calling-him-a-god cool. It's pretty obnoxious at times, but moreso admirable in how boldly ridiculous the whole thing is. It's in no way self-conscious, instead being such a silly over-the-top power fantasy that you can't help but be charmed. There's none of the weak attempts at being taken seriously that plague AAA games, and that opens up DOOM Eternal to things its predecessor wouldn't have dreamed of. Environments are abstract and overwhelmingly "gamey," fitting in perfectly with the drastically expanded movement systems and coming together into a whole so satisfying that I actually LOVED first person platforming. Who knew it was possible?
The new combat loop is a brilliant innovation that is literally the biggest breakthrough in the fps genre in decades. I'm not sure how to really put into words the amount that this adds. I'll have to write about it on its own sometime. I love how this game makes you play it on its own terms. If you're playing on ultra-violence, at least, you can't get away with just being good at first person shooters like you could with 2016 and most of the rest of the genre. No, mastering The Loop is absolutely essential and forced me out of my comfort zone in such an exciting way. Nothing feels like this game. Nothing moves like this game. Nothing is like this game.
As much as I've loved calling Amid Evil my favorite first person shooter and love how it looks on my profile, DOOM Eternal clearly stands above every previous fps. Somehow id managed to reinvent the genre that they effectively launched with their original classics. Good fucking lord.
Reviewed on Jan 15, 2021
SuperSpeedRaven
3 years ago