Doom Eternal

Do you have problems? Do you often feel frustrated at the end of the day with the state of the world around you? Do you oftentimes feel as if you are slowly drowning amidst an ever-connected world that is slowly eating itself alive? Do you find yourself frustrated by the lack of control you have over your life? Are you one of many unfortunate souls who is perpetually glued to the familiar glow of a blue screen, hoping that it might offer some sort of truth in your life? Have you woken up recently and discovered that the world you once knew seems to be disintegrating at a rapid rate due to some microscopic killing machine that can't be bought, bargained, or reasoned with? Does the uncertainty of life get you down? Does existential dread leave you with a frown? Have you lost faith in yourself, the people you love, or other things important people told you were worth caring about? Do you have demons? Are they the things that you are always waging a silent war against despite your best wishes? Do you feel overcome by that battle and feel it futile in the long run?

Well you're not the only one who has problems. Doomguy has problems. Doomguy fights demons. In fact, he fights a hell of a lot of them and from what I can gather, he seems to be pretty damn good at fighting them. Doomguy doesn't get bogged down in the crippling and troubling reality of human existence because Doomguy ain't got time for that shit. Doomguy's far too busy ripping and tearing his demons to pieces, eviscerating the slightest hint of their puny, pathetic existence. And you would think that he might eventually be crippled or hindered by the burden of being Doomguy, but no, Doomguy simply does. In the face of a chaotic and unpredictable world that is falling around him, he does not falter. Doomguy isn't troubled or terrified by the void because he is the void—the void for all those horrible, evil things of which he is absolutely sure will stand in his way. Doomguy isn't disturbed by this. He knows exactly who he is and that he is necessary. No demon, no matter how gruesome or massive will faze that guy, because that guy knows a solitary truth: whatever unimaginable evil that might stand in his way isn't resilient or stubborn enough to survive like he is. For those unimaginable evil things aren't so terrifying after all. Though they may look menacing and treacherous, Doomguy knows the thing that they fear. It is the thing they are plagued by late at night when they are trying to rest beneath their unholy headboards. It is the thing they check for beneath their beds every night in terror. It is Doomguy and it is no one else.

Be like Doomguy. When the world's got you down and existential dread is making you frown, remember that you're not the only one who fights demons. Let them know you ain't in to negotiating. You're the one that those demons get to negotiate with.

Oh, and if the state of the world has you feeling anxious or sad right now, please play Doom Eternal. There's nothing more pure and cathartic than shaving a demon's face with a chainsaw. Nothing will get your mind off of the world faster than Doom Eternal. Like a righteous needle of adrenaline being injected directly into your eyeball, it'll get the job done.

With the amount of enemies, the fact you don't get much ammo and the sheer speed of how things went it made for the most engaging shooter I've played in a long time, if not ever. Whether I was shooting demons or looking endlessly for secrets, I was not once bored or out of the experience and I ended up getting all the little toy collectables, the albums, all the upgrades, did all the mission challenges and just overall did everything there was to do, I never do that shit in video games, collecting collectables is the thing that always keeps me far away from even attempting to 100% a game but here I actively looked for all of them.

This game feels like it was made to simply be a lot of fun and every decision made was to keep you engaged with it's combat which is very refined and feels a lot better than in Doom 2016, it's also more brutal, longer, more action packed and lacks the little moments of boredom that 2016 had in it.

I don't mind the addition of cutscenes and making the game...well not more story focused, but just have more story in general, personally thought the story was fine and that's more than I could ask for in a Doom game given that...I couldn't care any less about whatever was going on story wise in Doom 2016 (not necessarily a negative, the Doom Slayer himself didn't seem to care about it either) but here...well I also didn't care much but I was following the plot and not zoning out whenever someone was talking with me. Cutscenes being included also means that there aren't any parts where the game's pace slows the fuck down so that robot guy (forgot his name) can talk to you for 3 minutes in his office.

The multiplayer is cool, it's like reverse Evolve where there's 3 demons vs one Doom Slayer. It's a cool little time killer that I honestly didn't care much for but I enjoyed the little time I played with it and it’s a LOT better than the MP in doom 2016.

I remember when this game dropped, I downloaded it legally*n’t* to try it out for an hour or 2 before I bought the game, what happened is that I beat the game and didn't play anything else until I made sure that I had beaten it because it was just that mind blowingly good and addicting.

Now I got the game on steam and replayed it, just as good as the first time, maybe even better. I also got the DLC which I’m looking forward to playing.

My only issue is that the gameplay loop has been so perfected that there really is nowhere to go but down from here if they choose to make another Doom game anytime soon, if it becomes any more complex it'll be too much but if the next one goes for something a little more back to basics it might seem like a downgrade, and if they add nothing then it’ll feel pointless.

But at the same time it says a lot about how much I loved a game if the only negative I have about it is that it’s so good no sequel can even dare to match it.

I was on the fence of giving this game a perfect score initially, after all, any game that has the marauders in it is doing something wrong, however that's my only real complaint here as the rest of the game is top notch from the presentation to the lore to of course the gameplay.

The highlight for me had to be the gameplay, specifically how it's a combination of an FPS and a platformer which admittedly shouldn't work but works wonders in the game due to how smooth the controls are and how the platforming is simple and fits with the flow of the combat. The level design is great as always, further accentuated with breathtaking landscapes that are a departure from the space and hell environments the franchise is known for (for the most part.) The cast of enemies is also fantastic (barring those accursed marauders who are a serious pain) as the game presents the best designs of these enemies the franchise has yet seen.

It's a game that deserves all of its praise and then some, apart from removing the marauders, there's nothing I can think of that can possibly improve it.

"Doom Eternal" is "just" a perfected version of its already brilliant predecessor. Notable additions include simple platforming and wall-climbing segments, double sprint, a diverse array of weapons, a grappling hook, and a flame belch. The core gameplay has been ingeniously diversified, propelling players into adrenaline-pumping combat right from the outset, unlike the slower beginnings of the previous "Doom" entry. While the platforming sequences might disrupt the pace for certain players, I found their inclusion acceptable as someone who relished the exploration for collectibles in the last game. However, it's worth noting that these segments could have used a touch more polish to fully integrate with the overall experience.

Despite the more pronounced shift towards delving into the game's lore and narrative, complete with relatively cinematic cutscenes, the absence of truly memorable boss battles or standout enemies is still noticeable. It seems that the emphasis on maintaining a consistent pacing has occasionally overshadowed the potential impact of individual adversaries. The final boss encounter, in particular, felt particularly overwhelming.

Much like its predecessor paid homage to the first game, "Doom Eternal" draws parallels with "Doom II." This connection serves as a nod to the franchise's roots while demonstrating the evolution it has undergone. In striving for a balance between innovation and nostalgia, the game manages to carve its identity while paying homage to its heritage.

I kind of liked Doom 2016 better than this one. There's just a little too many buttons and too many mechanics going on at once. I find myself just sorta spamming buttons sometimes, not really remembering do I need to glory kill? Chainsaw? etc. I supposed this does increase the skill ceiling (if you can effectively use all the stuff) but it just seems a little much. But the game still rules.

Kind of a step back from Doom 2016 in my opinion. It tried taking that game and just adding more on top. And while it had a lot of cool ideas in there, it did feel overwhelming with how many things you could do. Like every fucking button does something different and they're all important to one of the enemies. It's just a lot to have to take in at once. It's still a lot of fun, but I prefer the Demon Killing simplicity of 2016. Also, another really impressive Switch port that worked way better than anyone would've expected. Still haven't played the DLC tho, I'll get to those someday.