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Clearing My Backlog #12
“Rip and tear, until it is done!”
DOOM Eternal fucking rocks. id Software manages to seamlessly blend so many different genres together, with the exhilarating— almost puzzle-like FPS gameplay, the simple— yet refreshing platforming segments, and the out-of-place but welcome boss fights. All of these different components work in tandem to create some truly ever-changing gameplay; and I for one, loved every fucking bit of it.
This might very well be the best FPS of all time. I played nightmare on my first try, and it’s one of the most challenging, but fun and rewarding FPS’ ever made. It never felt like the game was unfair or undoable, there was always something that I wasn’t effectively using that stopped me from completing an arena— a part of the puzzle that I was missing… which is the exact reason I love the shooting in DOOM Eternal. Every problem has a solution; want to take out the heavy hitters first? Destroy their weapons so they don’t bother you as much. Need health? Use the flame belch on a group of zombies and then throw down a grenade to blow them up at once and get full health. Need ammo or time to think? Use the chainsaw on an Imp and decide what your next move will be. Need space? Use the Meat Hook to quickly get to the other side of the map and go from there. You’ll get to the point where you’re utilizing all of these different methods and tactics to your advantage, and it’ll turn into one of the most chaotic and hectic games you’ll ever play— it certainly did for me. Part of this is due to how many weapons there are, and in the ways you can use each one; the puzzle comparison is reinforced even more thanks to how the game incentivizes you to use each weapon for specific demons, not to say that you can’t mindlessly shoot every enemy with whichever gun you want— because you can, but only if you want the gameplay to feel slow and dull.
The gameplay loop doesn’t even get a chance to become boring, as the game is perfectly paced with new mechanics, enemies, and weapons constantly being introduced in almost every single level throughout all 13 levels. The enemy variety alone keeps it fresh and interesting, and I’m one of those people who has no issue with The Marauder. To many he’s seen as something that doesn’t represent or belong in the franchise; I disagree, and hear me out… he fits in perfectly. You almost have to treat the fight with him like a dance— dashing away or towards depending on what he does, and shooting accordingly. You can manipulate his behaviour by being at a midrange distance from him, so that he doesn’t spam ranged attacks but instead goes in for melee hits, which is when you can attack him. It’s still just another puzzle to figure out, and I love that. All of these great mechanics are covered in a beautiful coat of paint too, which is the dismemberment/flesh system. I’m a sucker for flesh systems in games, I just love the idea of certain body parts and limbs dynamically reacting to your actions, it’s always cool seeing a piece of Arachnotron’s brain getting blown up, or a big chunk of a demon’s chest getting exposed to the point where you can see their bones and organs; and I’m glad more games are starting to do this sort of thing, Dead Island 2 in particular seems to have an even better version of the flesh system which is one of the many reasons I wanna get around to playing that game.
The aforementioned platforming is a huge part of DOOM Eternal, as it acts as a sort of break in between the huge arena battles and the lore dumps. It doesn’t outstay its welcome as they’re always relatively short and act as a chance to look at the gorgeous, hellish vistas— occasionally seeing demon kaiju's walking across the horizons; the spectacle of it all is enamouring. The actual point of platforming is exploring the levels, which are filled with neat collectibles; some of these are comprised of albums from other games, cheat codes (which add replay value), toys, upgrades, bonus rooms, etc. It feels extremely rewarding and I loved doing it, even if I never really listened to the music, or looked at the toys, or used the cheats, it’s still just fun. Part of the fun is seeing how all of these levels are designed, I’ve noticed that the game never tries to waste your time with pointless backtracking, since every room and area is interconnected. For example, you’ll randomly go off the beaten path to collect something that caught your eye, and instead of having to come all the way back, a door just opens in the same spot that you were at before, so all you have to do is continue progressing; all of the levels are full of these little intricacies and smart ways that they loop around themselves. The only negative thing I’ll say regarding the level design is that the Fortress of DOOM isn’t that good of a hub world and is a bit annoying to explore, and I’d argue that it isn’t even needed. If they wanted to make a hub world that badly they could’ve designed a better one and had a more coherent layout for it.
Unlike DOOM (2016), Eternal takes a more cinematic approach to its story— or its attempt at one. I know the story isn’t exactly the main thing people play these games for, but it was fairly standard and generic regardless. I liked all of the new first person cutscenes though, I found them entertaining, and it was badass whenever DOOM Slayer did something cool. I’m also mixed with how much they show Slayer’s face in this, it kind of removes the mystery behind his presence and makes him less terrifying, I much preferred 2016’s take on his character— suit and all.
Let’s talk about the technical side of DOOM Eternal. The game is fucking beautiful. It’s so incredibly detailed, whether it’s the environments, the backdrops, the enemies, the guns, the effects, everything is outstanding— and it runs great too (for the most part), even with ray tracing enabled; although to be fair only the reflections are included with the option. I encountered a few bugs, all of which were minor ones and nothing that distracted me too much. Overall, it didn’t have too many issues, which is refreshing to see because most games today seem to release broken and unfinished.
And how could I forget the best part of the game, which is the multiplayer! I’m kidding of course, because it’s pretty bad. It offers almost no replay value whatsoever because there’s not much there to begin with, sure you can play as six different demons and also the Slayer, but that doesn’t change the gameplay up in any meaningful ways. There’s just not much there to do, you’ll probably get bored of it in a couple of hours. 2016’s multiplayer was way better, and even that was fairly basic TDM type schlock that most multiplayer games were spewing out in the early 2010’s. I honestly don’t even know why these games have multiplayer.
Some notes:
- The soundtrack FUCKS. Although it’s sad to hear how Mick Gordon was treated, and I would’ve loved to see the OST be a bit more polished had he actually been given the time to edit and refine it.
- I’m a really big fan of the HUD/UI change here, I didn’t like the muted tech-y style of 2016’s version. There’s so much colour and life (ha) in the UI in Eternal and it’s great.
- Horde mode is a very enjoyable post-game piece of content that is basically the best part of the base game.
“The only thing they fear is you”
Playtime: 31.5 hours
Every Game I've Ever Played - Ranked (By Score)
Clearing My Backlog
2020 - Ranked
Clearing My Backlog #12
“Rip and tear, until it is done!”
DOOM Eternal fucking rocks. id Software manages to seamlessly blend so many different genres together, with the exhilarating— almost puzzle-like FPS gameplay, the simple— yet refreshing platforming segments, and the out-of-place but welcome boss fights. All of these different components work in tandem to create some truly ever-changing gameplay; and I for one, loved every fucking bit of it.
This might very well be the best FPS of all time. I played nightmare on my first try, and it’s one of the most challenging, but fun and rewarding FPS’ ever made. It never felt like the game was unfair or undoable, there was always something that I wasn’t effectively using that stopped me from completing an arena— a part of the puzzle that I was missing… which is the exact reason I love the shooting in DOOM Eternal. Every problem has a solution; want to take out the heavy hitters first? Destroy their weapons so they don’t bother you as much. Need health? Use the flame belch on a group of zombies and then throw down a grenade to blow them up at once and get full health. Need ammo or time to think? Use the chainsaw on an Imp and decide what your next move will be. Need space? Use the Meat Hook to quickly get to the other side of the map and go from there. You’ll get to the point where you’re utilizing all of these different methods and tactics to your advantage, and it’ll turn into one of the most chaotic and hectic games you’ll ever play— it certainly did for me. Part of this is due to how many weapons there are, and in the ways you can use each one; the puzzle comparison is reinforced even more thanks to how the game incentivizes you to use each weapon for specific demons, not to say that you can’t mindlessly shoot every enemy with whichever gun you want— because you can, but only if you want the gameplay to feel slow and dull.
The gameplay loop doesn’t even get a chance to become boring, as the game is perfectly paced with new mechanics, enemies, and weapons constantly being introduced in almost every single level throughout all 13 levels. The enemy variety alone keeps it fresh and interesting, and I’m one of those people who has no issue with The Marauder. To many he’s seen as something that doesn’t represent or belong in the franchise; I disagree, and hear me out… he fits in perfectly. You almost have to treat the fight with him like a dance— dashing away or towards depending on what he does, and shooting accordingly. You can manipulate his behaviour by being at a midrange distance from him, so that he doesn’t spam ranged attacks but instead goes in for melee hits, which is when you can attack him. It’s still just another puzzle to figure out, and I love that. All of these great mechanics are covered in a beautiful coat of paint too, which is the dismemberment/flesh system. I’m a sucker for flesh systems in games, I just love the idea of certain body parts and limbs dynamically reacting to your actions, it’s always cool seeing a piece of Arachnotron’s brain getting blown up, or a big chunk of a demon’s chest getting exposed to the point where you can see their bones and organs; and I’m glad more games are starting to do this sort of thing, Dead Island 2 in particular seems to have an even better version of the flesh system which is one of the many reasons I wanna get around to playing that game.
The aforementioned platforming is a huge part of DOOM Eternal, as it acts as a sort of break in between the huge arena battles and the lore dumps. It doesn’t outstay its welcome as they’re always relatively short and act as a chance to look at the gorgeous, hellish vistas— occasionally seeing demon kaiju's walking across the horizons; the spectacle of it all is enamouring. The actual point of platforming is exploring the levels, which are filled with neat collectibles; some of these are comprised of albums from other games, cheat codes (which add replay value), toys, upgrades, bonus rooms, etc. It feels extremely rewarding and I loved doing it, even if I never really listened to the music, or looked at the toys, or used the cheats, it’s still just fun. Part of the fun is seeing how all of these levels are designed, I’ve noticed that the game never tries to waste your time with pointless backtracking, since every room and area is interconnected. For example, you’ll randomly go off the beaten path to collect something that caught your eye, and instead of having to come all the way back, a door just opens in the same spot that you were at before, so all you have to do is continue progressing; all of the levels are full of these little intricacies and smart ways that they loop around themselves. The only negative thing I’ll say regarding the level design is that the Fortress of DOOM isn’t that good of a hub world and is a bit annoying to explore, and I’d argue that it isn’t even needed. If they wanted to make a hub world that badly they could’ve designed a better one and had a more coherent layout for it.
Unlike DOOM (2016), Eternal takes a more cinematic approach to its story— or its attempt at one. I know the story isn’t exactly the main thing people play these games for, but it was fairly standard and generic regardless. I liked all of the new first person cutscenes though, I found them entertaining, and it was badass whenever DOOM Slayer did something cool. I’m also mixed with how much they show Slayer’s face in this, it kind of removes the mystery behind his presence and makes him less terrifying, I much preferred 2016’s take on his character— suit and all.
Let’s talk about the technical side of DOOM Eternal. The game is fucking beautiful. It’s so incredibly detailed, whether it’s the environments, the backdrops, the enemies, the guns, the effects, everything is outstanding— and it runs great too (for the most part), even with ray tracing enabled; although to be fair only the reflections are included with the option. I encountered a few bugs, all of which were minor ones and nothing that distracted me too much. Overall, it didn’t have too many issues, which is refreshing to see because most games today seem to release broken and unfinished.
And how could I forget the best part of the game, which is the multiplayer! I’m kidding of course, because it’s pretty bad. It offers almost no replay value whatsoever because there’s not much there to begin with, sure you can play as six different demons and also the Slayer, but that doesn’t change the gameplay up in any meaningful ways. There’s just not much there to do, you’ll probably get bored of it in a couple of hours. 2016’s multiplayer was way better, and even that was fairly basic TDM type schlock that most multiplayer games were spewing out in the early 2010’s. I honestly don’t even know why these games have multiplayer.
Some notes:
- The soundtrack FUCKS. Although it’s sad to hear how Mick Gordon was treated, and I would’ve loved to see the OST be a bit more polished had he actually been given the time to edit and refine it.
- I’m a really big fan of the HUD/UI change here, I didn’t like the muted tech-y style of 2016’s version. There’s so much colour and life (ha) in the UI in Eternal and it’s great.
- Horde mode is a very enjoyable post-game piece of content that is basically the best part of the base game.
“The only thing they fear is you”
Playtime: 31.5 hours
Every Game I've Ever Played - Ranked (By Score)
Clearing My Backlog
2020 - Ranked
2 Comments
@Alaskanwitch Thank you! I try to, still improving in that regard though!
alaskanwitch
6 months ago