Doom Eternal Review (2020, PC/XBONE/PS4, FPS/Action, Id Software/Bethesda)

Rip & Tear!

More of the same, kind of? 

Nah, this is an evolution of the franchise in mostly every way possible. Eternal kind of raises the stakes both thematically and mechanically; Earth, in the story proper, is being ravaged by the forces of Hell; new gameplay mechanics, enemy and weapon types, and a huge change in pacing take center stage. You won't miss a thing that Id Software has added to the mix for this round.

Does it all add up, though? Does it blow 2016 out of the water, or merely do its own thing well enough that you can't quite compare the two?

Well, both are kind of true here.

Like its predecessor, when you deal with enemies, the game takes on a sort of presentation that we've seen in the likes of Serious Sam and PainKiller. Exits close off and the hordes of Hell pour in over time, trying to slay your ass. You are often contending with such a varied minutiae of hellspawn at any given time that there`s actually a level of depth to the gameplay: never stop moving (if you can help it), keep shooting, but mind that some monsters are weaker and stronger against certain weapons than others. And each monster has different ways of trying to kill you and keep you moving. It`s just like before (minus the gore nests, which only show up to trigger `special encounters`, new to this title), only now it`s even more hectic.

One thing you`ll notice, visually, is that enemies look different this time around. Shy of the newcomers, such as the Arachnotron, Marauder, Dread Knight, Pain Elemental and plenty others, the ones who are returning may invoke feelings such as, "I've seen this before, but where was it?" Well, that's because this time around, the imp, zombie soldier, legendary Cacodemon, and even Mancubus (to name a few) have designs that hark back to the classic games of the early nineties. One or two enemies didn't really seem to fit in with this new visual theme, for some reason or another, but overall the developers pulled that off.

You have new means of dispatching demons at your disposal, whereas most of the arsenal from before make a return as well. The super shotgun, for instance, comes pre-packaged with a meathook, which allows you to rappel right toward your foes by anchoring the hook into their flesh. Neat. The chainsaw as well plays a more prominent role, too. You have a grenade launcher, with two grenade types, instead of having to use your hand as before; the reliable fragmentation grenade for the simple task of slaughter, and the ice grenade for slowing and freezing enemies. You can upgrade these two in the Praetor Suit upgrade menu, which also returns.

Some weapons have their methods of attack slightly changed, or in a few cases, their alternative modes changed entirely. The assault rifle, for instance, has a slower semi-automatic mode that deals greater damage at the expense of using more ammo; the super shotgun eschews the mastery that allowed for firing two barrels before reloading; the chaingun is an energy weapon that replaces the mode that keeps the firing mechanism winding in favor of an energy shield, and more. As mentioned before, you don't throw grenades, but rather you fire them with a new attachment to your suit. They are the frag grenade, the ice grenade, and then the "flame belch." The latter of these attacks is crucial to keeping armor drops coming during the heat of battle. 

The gauss cannon has been replaced by the ballista, which is a magic-based weapon (that uses cells, for some reason). You now have a blade attachment on your left arm which is used during some of the glory kills, but never has an active presence in real-time combat. The chaingun, like before (but more crucial than before given how little ammunition you can stock up on) serves to replenish your reserves when used on the forces of evil. The way you slice and dice with this bad boy is always fun to watch.

Glory kills make a return as well, which makes sense given how they helped 2016 achieve such popularity.

The new enemies really liven up the pacing of combat. Arachnotrons, highly mobile unlike in the good old days, like to pelt you with plasma from afar. Gargoyles, more or less flying imps, force you to keep on eye on the sky. Pain elementals like to throw lost souls at you, literally, and "walk" while floating in the air right towards you. Arch-viles, introduced in Doom II, make a triumphant return as one of the toughest foes in the game. A throwback monster in the Tyrant shows up here and there, to remind you that the infamous Cyber-Demon of old is still very much in the minds of the masters of hell. The Dread Knight is basically a cyborg Hell Knight which comes with an area-denial ability. The Baron now has blades of argent energy on their forearms which they use to gut you like an armored swine. The Cacodemon is more aggressive and really wants to take a bite out of you.

Then we get one of the most impressive enemies in the game: the Marauder. He's the foil to the Doomguy, basically. He's smart, highly defensive, very fast on his feet, toys with the player (fires his own shotgun if you're too close, or throws argent energy beams at you if you're too far), can summon evil wolf spirits, and leaves you with few opportunities to actually hurt it. In fact, you can't even nuke him with the BFG 9000. When you have to deal with him, make sure you take care of other demons first, because he's the one who'll give you the most stress of them all.

There are multiple bosses this time around: the cybernetic Doom Hunter, which has a shield and (at first) flies on a robotic platform; the first time you meet a marauder; the Gladiator, which resembles an even bigger "hell noble" demon that uses a shield offensively; the Icon of Sin, and then its master, Khan Makyr. Pretty impressive, compared to the previous game anyway. 

Rather than present the game in an entirely linear fashion, you now kind of "hop" between levels using portals in your newly-introduced hub area, lovingly called the "Fortress of Doom." The hub is impressive, as you can upgrade your suit and abilities here (with the help of various rewards you find in gameplay), gain a couple of important new tools, can play around with enemies in the "prison" area, and even attend to a room that showcase your collectibles and progress. There's even plenty of Easter eggs and nods to not only the older entries in the franchise, but pretty much anything that falls under the Zenimax Media/Bethesda family of games. Yes, you can find a reference or two to games like Fallout and Wolfenstein, to name a few. Talk about welcome fanservice.

Like before, the game encourages exploration between your bouts of slaughter. You also have new means of getting around: Doomguy can cling to climbable walls, and you can gain the ability to dash up to two times whether on foot or in the air. The meathook, as mentioned before, can also help you get around, too. Doomguy can smash in walls that have cracks in them. Much of this is meant to facilitate rummaging through the levels to find various secrets and collectibles. One new kind of artifact, if you collect 6 of them, can allow you to wield the "Unmakyr", which is basically Doom 64's "Unmaker" once again. Oh and there are now secret encounters, which if finished before the clock runs out, award you with weapon points. 

The story is a bit more serious, and goes kind of like this: Doomguy, at some point after the previous game, took over the Fortress of Doom and uses it to get to Earth, as the latter is being ravaged by Hell. Humanity is on the brink, only barely surviving thanks to a resistance movement, and Doomguy is the anti-hero that the (non-brainwashed) humans are leaning on to save the world. In order to stop this invasion for good, he has to find and kill three Hell Priests. However, as he moves from one to another, he gets stifled by a much more powerful entity that has basically orchestrated humanity's downfall. The motivation for this big bad wanting to kill humanity is cliche and uninteresting, but we still get to enjoy watching as the Doomguy shows everyone and everything that he's sick of all of this bullshit. You can almost feel his glare through his visor. Did I mention that we can see his eyes through his visor? Also, as the game nears completion, we get to see flashbacks that show that not only is this Doomguy the same one we loved from the classic games, but how he became the veritable force of nature that he's been since 2016. Let's just say that if you've read the infamous Doom Comic, then you'll notice the obvious call-out to that same devilishly hilarious piece of limited print.

It's not all rosy, though. Your mileage may vary on this, but at times, the game becomes borderline unfair. You get less ammo, even with upgrades, and often find yourself scrambling to murder a demon that is chasing your armored ass before he murders you. While you have several different ways of replenishing your health, armor, and ammunition (arguably most important), you're sometimes so overwhelmed by the proceedings that you might just forget to use these tools on hand to keep the fight going in your favor. Also, there were a few areas in the game (not including Slayer Gates, which can throw enemies often above your level right at you) that were downright aggravating to get through. An annoying new addition to the game, which thankfully only happens a few times, is this thing (or enemy, such as the Arch-vile) that provides buffs to enemies. Said buff makes enemies ridiculously fast, which can outpace YOU in the worst of times. Also, they keep coming and coming until you destroy the source of their buff. The worst thing about these sequences is the matter of finding those sources, which, in the case of the Arch-vile, can be a huge hassle to do while you're avoiding the bloodthirsty demons zipping your way.

It also gets a bit tedious at times. You feel like you're doing the same thing over and over, and it doesn't really mix things up much. We played this in 2016, and aside from the new additions to the formula, we're doing the same thing again. Only, this time for a good 15 or so hours. That's not a terrible thing, but depending on how you take the experience, you may grow weary of it or appreciate it. I kind of found myself slightly leaning toward the former, unfortunately. Especially in areas where I constantly get killed. A slight reprieve from getting killed over and over is that you can sometimes find (and eventually hoard) "extra lives", which simply revive you immediately when you'd otherwise die. If you don't have these, though, you have to reload the game. And while reloading the game doesn't take a painful amount of time, it's still time wasted, which can take you out of the frantic mood of the game, especially if it happens too often.

But at least it's more Doom. That, to me, is a welcome thing. Overall, this is a great purchase and we've all been promised additional single-player content in the coming months, unlike last time. I haven't tried the multiplayer mode, which has been flipped on its head this time around, but it seems to be a mixed-bag anyway. There's a lot of unlockable rewards that allow you to customize the Doomguy, the way monsters and weapons appear, and even trivial crap like character poses and introduction music. With new challenges and tasks to complete as time goes on, rewarding new skins and the like, the game will remain active for a while to come. Good on Bethesda and Id to listen to the fans this time around, and give us a more rewarding experience.

B+

The Good:

+ Same great gameplay

+ Lots of new enemies to eviscerate

+ As you pick your enemies apart, their skin and hide gets sloughed off. You'll even see the bones of your prey.

+ Great placement of secrets

+ Very rewarding to find upgrade points and the like

+ Funny and reverent Easter eggs to find, including the Dope Fish!

+ Looks fantastic, and runs smoothly as before, too.

+ Enjoyable soundtrack, with many more throwbacks to the old games than 2016 had. Even the main menu music is recognizable to fans of the series

 + The Doomguy is cooler than ever, and will go down as one of the most badass player characters in gaming

+ More single-player content is forthcoming, as of this writing

+ Customizable, thanks to revolving gameplay challenges and the rewards they grant

The Bad:

- Sometimes feels tedious

- Some areas are borderline unfair, even if you've been upgrading your weapons and character

- A few monster designs don't look as stunning or monstrous as they did before, taking away the 'wow' factor they presented in 2016

- The story is just an excuse to drive the game along, more or less. That's fine, though

- You often find yourself devoid of ammo, before you even realize it. It can be replenished fairly easily most of the time, but you're often too distracted by constant combat to notice before it is too late

- Rather lackluster multiplayer. While you do get to attack the Doomguy as a demon, this is basically the formula you always use: attack the Doomguy as a mook. 

- Platforming, while nothing like a dedicated 2D platformer in terms of difficulty, seems a bit tacked-on, to serve as an excuse to add extra mobility functions. 

Doom IV/2016 (PC, PS4, Xbox One, 2016, id Software/Bethesda)

Doom is back.

Then again, it has always been here. From 1993 onward Doom has shaped and re-shaped the First Person Shooter genre with each release. Yeah, even the re-hashes of the "classic" era. The very first title gave us the gift of shareware distribution, a new way to play with others, and truly visceral & in-your-face gameplay. Doom 2 didn't introduce much but gave us a more honed experience with tougher (new) monsters, the infamous double-barreled shotgun, and far more effective level design. Final Doom made the series start to look stale and the ever-increasing difficulty didn't help matters. And Doom 64, love it or hate it, was the epitome of how atmospheric and creepy the franchise can be. 

Doom 3 took the series in another direction almost entirely. Or at least it was initially supposed to, much to my disappointment. If you're going to do something new then go with it, but if you're going to play it safe with old mechanics, don't do it worse than with previous installments. While it was graphically outstanding for its time (in spite of the decidedly saran-wrapped look of everything and the low polygon counts that were never addressed with the advent of improving gaming hardware) the game seemed to lack an identity of its own gameplay-wise. It didn't help that because of the loss of John Romero, the genius behind the superb level design of the classic games, Doom 3 had decidedly underwhelming (albeit more grounded in reality) aesthetics in mind. And most of the game was set in tight corridors. It could challenge you, sure, but the old games were far better in this regard. And more fun. Oh and don't get me started on the flashlight mechanic. Many people loved that but I found it to be an example of laziness on part of the team. I mean, the game is set in the 2100's after all...

Now, 12 years of waiting has given us a game that had many of us worried, but delivered far more than we had thought. Initially envisioned as a sequel to Doom 3, set on Earth (!) no less, that was scrapped due to being dubbed a "Call of Duty" clone, with too many set-pieces and lack of thrilling gameplay. Plus being on Earth should afford you much more breathing room, right? Well, a newer iteration of id Software seemed to remember what made this series fucking badass, and gave us this game. While the entire suite isn't perfect *cough* derivative multiplayer *cough*, the one aspect of the game that really matters is what makes this title better than the franchise has been in practically two decades. Yeah, better than Doom 3. 

Immediately you realize that this title was made for the sole purpose of giving you a total joyride, blowing demons apart as you would. Our marine, or whatever he is now (he's the Doom Slayer now, but still Doomguy nonetheless), outright smashes a possessed guy's head as it attacks him after he wakes up in shackles. You proceed to do the same to all of his immediate buddies. We get treated to a view of who is definitely the game's antagonist, and stumble upon a newly realized suit of marine armor. He puts it on, hears some decidedly robotic voice plead for his co-operation, and hearing about how the UAC fucked up again he smashes a screen. You better get used to him smashing important things throughout the game, because it seems like Doomguy has now had enough of everyone's bullshit. After all, if this is the same Doomguy as of yesteryear then how can you blame him for having to destroy Hell numerous times by now? Thanks to the UAC, of course.

Anyway, it immediately dawns on you that this is, no kidding, a fast-paced shooter. Not only do you move fast but your enemies, at least demonic ones, do as well. And if they're not lobbing fireballs at you while keeping a modest distance from you, they're closing in to get a swipe at you. Get used to that, too. It gets harder and harder from here. You are not going to be playing this like Call of Duty at all, so if you're used to sitting behind cover, then you're going to be out of your comfort zone entirely.

It's been said that this game follows a very similar formula to that of Painkiller, another FPS title that I enjoy playing that, too, has been compared to the likes of Doom. Painkiller gave us sequential progression, wherein you get sealed up in a room and have to clear out the bad guy quota to proceed. It's not as obvious in Doom 2016, but you will notice it if you play enough, or even care to realize it. Not that this detracts from the experience because the game is a fucking blast to play.

One aspect that I admired about this outing is that it encourages you to play with an open mind. From exploring the levels for all of its secrets & collectibles, to changing up your tactics as the forces of Hell bear down on you with the countless combinations of tactics they are capable of. It opens up replayability and promotes active participation. To stay still is tantamount to throwing in the white towel, but you still know that Hell will just fucking gut you like a pig anyway no matter how they get you. Just like you did to them the entire game. Pay Hell unto Hell, they say? Pay Hell unto Doom Marine, too. You're sick of the UAC and of Hell, and Hell is sick of you.

It has awesome pacing; the story is kind of nonsensical but funny & interesting in spite of that; you can acquire various upgrades for your weapons, suit, and runes that grant you additional functionalities like increased pickup range and others. Enemy designs are as good as ever, often paying homage to the classics and to Doom 3. And rather than lumber at you, many of them haul ass in your general direction to get as much of a furious, hate-filled punch or swipe in as possible. Weapons have "oomph!" again and when you think the game isn't cleverly mixing things up enough, their various upgrades present more possibilities in battle. 

Level design was important to the single-player aspect of Doom 4, because had it been slouched at all, or reduced to the very tedious and restricted corridors of Doom 3, then this game wouldn't be as impressive as it actually is. You're not going in straight lines this time around, and you're not going to be restricted to just backpeddling away from an oncoming threat. Levels tend to be not only very open, but have many twists and turns and, most noticeably, height plays a huge role this time around. Since Doomguy now lifts himself up on ledges and can gain an upgrade in the game to make this process more efficient, you WILL be climbing ledges, crates, cliffsides, and whatever else there is in the environment. There are also secrets strewn about in all of the levels, multiple ones each, and often just outside of your general vision. The game encourages exploration in this way, and it's fantastic.

I can't really say the same about multiplayer. Doom has never, in my opinion, had truly breathtaking multiplayer. The classics definitely brought some big new technology to the table, thus opening up multiplayer options at the time, but they have not since stood the test of time. That distinction actually belongs to the franchise's sister series, Quake. Nonetheless, there's no excuse for what we got here, given all the "this isn't Call of Duty; this is Doom!" hype we were given leading up to its release. While that statement was mostly true, there's one glaring elephant in the room that makes the game resemble COD; load-outs. People did tell Id that they didn't like that functionality, but someone didn't listen and it made it to the final product. So instead of having to grab weapons in the level as you compete against others, you can now start with two weapons of your choice at the expense of getting others as you play. By resorting to this method they've actually created, inadvertently, massive weapon balancing issues. Because of this damn near everyone equipped only certain weapons, making it another missed opportunity. And that game narrator just sounds uninterested. Where's the deep, booming voice we heard in Quake 3 Arena? Unreal: Tournament?

SnapMap is another major feature of the game and while the potential for greatness was there, there were a number of issues at hand. The limitations are those issues. You can only play with up to 4 players in your creations, you can only use pre-made tilesets in your designs, and the maps tend to be rather small because of the limits. Some very creative, sometimes hilarious results have come from the community because of this mode, sure, but unless Id/Bethesda commissions some major overhauls to this mode, it won't have lasting power.

But like many who are enjoying Doom 4, I mostly judge a game by its single-player experience. And in that regard, Doom 4 succeeds admirably. Doom is relevant again, and I'm fucking happy about it. Let's just hope those guys who made the multiplayer suite don't come back in the event that we get a sequel. And can it be set on Earth, this time?

B+

The Good:

+ Fast-paced, brutal combat
+ Enemies are fun to fight again.
+ All of the weapons are useful, and they're all a blast to shoot with.
+ Much better level design than Doom 3. Why? Because it's not a corridor shooter, now!
+ Even zombies pose a threat, unlike in the aforementioned game.
+ Levels are made for you to explore, promoting growth in the process
+ Many upgrades, boosts (runes), and the like open up more gameplay options
+ The Hell levels are worth the time to experience.
+ That fist-bump sequence.
+ That opening sequence. Holy shit!
+ Doomguy doesn't give a shit anymore, and would probably give Duke Nukem a brutal Glory Kill if he ever ran into him. You've been warned, Duke.
+ Generally nice to look at
+ SnapMap is great, in theory.
+ So too, could have been the case for the Multiplayer suite...

The Bad:

 - Texture pop-in issues
-  SnapMap ends up being a disappointment.
- The Multiplayer was an even bigger disappointment.
- Classic levels (these are secrets found in each level) were translated quite strangely in this game. They do bring nostalgia factor, but they don't function the same and it's awkward to play in them.
- It eventually ends.
- It may remind you a bit too much of Brutal Doom, which is a starkly overrated mod for the classic games.
 

Happy 20th Birthday DOOM!

Doom turned 20 years old today, and this post is to celebrate that milestone. This series remains one of my favourite, from all the way back to the time of its release. No other FPS game, for me at least, has hit the same notes as Doom still does to this day. It's simple but complex; at times scary but most of the time downright thrilling; has a simple but awesome array of weaponry; you travel through Hell; has a fantastic, very active, and most of all astonishingly creative modding community; and it's what a game needs to be: fun.

Here are a select few pictures to celebrate. And if you don't have this game, then why not? It's cheap, easy to attain, and the array of mods is so large and fantastic that you may just find what you're looking for if you just care to find it.

 

 

Thanks to emortal982.deviantart.com for this one.

Thanks to art.kracov.org for this one.