4/5 ★ – Kalle_Deimos's review of DOOM Eternal.

TLDR: As much as I like the carnage Eternal brings, I prefer the more focused and concise design of 2016. Gameplay: DOOM Eternal turns Doom 2016's gameplay up to 11, and sometimes even 12. Eternal loves to throw you deep into arenas filled to the brim with demons that are going absolutely nuts while you zip around the map. There's so much going on in Eternal that there is a significant learning curve when you get into it because when you start playing the game it feels like your head is gonna explode. Granade launcher, flame belch, cry cannon, chainsaw, blood punch, weak points, crucible, empowered demons, buff totems it NEVER ends. There is always something springing forward at you, which isn't necesserily a bad thing. Doom Eternal is trying to be as blood pumpin as it can be, and it is for the most part. What is a bad thing is the amount of tutorials and tool-tips that pop up on screen to try to teach the player. Sometimes tutorials will warp you a training zone to teach you and completely take you out of the gameplay. Whenever a new enemy is introduced, a tutorial pops up that tells you EXACTLY how to deal with it before you even see it. So not only does that spoil the encounter thats about to happen, it ruins the excitement of learning a new enemy. Plus, when you defeat an enemy for the first time, its weaknesses get added to it's codex. Shouldn't that be enough? But once you get that out of the way and understand the flow of battle, the gameplay is amazing and is frequently even better than 2016. Although not as consistent. Constantly swapping weapons, blasting apart hordes and chainsawing a stray demon for ammo is a gameplay loop that keeps you perpetually engaged. It's tense, punishing and rewarding. There's a lot of think about for each encounter, so engaging with it thoughtfully is the key to victory. Which is easier said that done when you're being pelted by 200 projectiles. But this is a good thing as it adds plenty of thrills and tension. When I first played Eternal I caught myself holding my breath during combat. It's an amazing feeling. Some mods are really good (Gatling Shotgun, Shielded Chaingun) and some mods that are...not good. Mods like the Devastator Blade or the Microwave Beam where you have to move slowly in a game about moving your ASS. So fuck it, just avoid those mods until the DLC forces you to use the Microwave Beam. Other than that; it's just amazing gunplay mixed with some platforming and light traversal. Is it silly to see the Slayer clamboring up walls with claw gripped hands and swinging on monkey bars? Yes. It is very "video gamey", so video gamey that it might take you out of the moment when you see a floating weapon or key. Directly contrasted to Doom 2016 having weapons and key items organically placed in the world, it's quite jarring. Eternal is a bell curve of enjoyment. The beginning is kind of a mess, its phenomenal once you get the hang of it and then it becomes too natural to the point where you arent even really paying attention to the game.. You're just...doing. Until you play the DLC and have to deal with those enemies that HAVE to be dealt with in a very specefic way and it throws off everything. Im looking at YOU Cursed Prowler, what a stupid idea. Story: Doom Eternal's story is almost a complete mess. The Doom Slayer is depicted as an almighty god and they really lay it on thick so it comes off as cringe. Gone is the relatively contained plot of Hell on Mars. Now we have multiverse portals to different dimensions, characters who show up for one scene only to fuck off forever, dense lore that almost seems to consistently retcon itself. Just so much to keep track of and absorb and it is just is not cohesive. The end of the DLC (and seemingly the series) ends with the antagonist going "the backstory that was built up for the whole game? It was a lie, I'm the creator of all life actually". ??? Okay??? Why??? Why does Davoth look like Doomguy??? What do you mean "He's you in their world", what the fuck is going on??? And the references and trying SO hard to be cool. I will admit, Eternal is a badass game and it is cool. But sometimes it tries way too hard. I mean, the final mission of the DLC has an Endgame style army entering through portals and its just too absurd to be cool. "Get to the CHOPPA"? cmon man, we dont even go to a helicopter. The UAC Spokeswoman is really annoying and I do not like what the whole "mortally challenged" thing is suggesting. I'm actually suprised how some of these creative choices went through because of how blatently off-putting they are. And it isn't really as ignorable as it is in Doom 2016 so if you aren't for it then too bad. Graphics: Doom Eternal looks fantastic both graphically and design wise. Most of the recurring demons sport a design lifted right out of Doom / Doom II. Seeing highly detailed, intricately designed zombie soldiers that bear a direct resemblance to original sprites puts a smile on my face. We do lose out on the cyclops mancubus tho which was really funny. Level designs are colorful and have so much shit going on. Theres wide sweeping landscapes in the distance of destroyed cities and distant realms. Sometimes there is a massive demon hobbling through the lava. Very cool. Lots of colors used. Glory Kills are better than the original with the DOOM BLADE. The Slayer now slices and dices instead of just using his guns. Lots of Glory Kills have a 'punchline'. One in particular has a demons head getting punched into its chest and it makes a stupid face before falling over. That's another thing, the Demons are super expressive and make so many faces during glory kills. On top of that there is also the 'destructible demon' system which gives demons battle damage as you fight them. This is cool but for certain demons it kinda looks bad like the Fire Baron. Sound: Metal metal and more metal. The main menu thing gives me chills. Doom Slayer Base has a sick baseline throughout the whole level that is so awesome. Good stuff. Sound effects also sound great. Big shoutouts to the shotgun sounding like it hurts BIG TIME. Extra: Lots of secret things and extra objectives to find. Collectibles are a bit more fun to find since there is platforming sections to navigate towards one instead of just getting lost for 10 minutes. Weapon Mastery challenges are not as thesible as they used to be. The requirements are too much for each weapon so we now have 'weapon mastery tokens' which skip the requirement immediately. I don't really appreciate these because it incentivises me to skip aspects of the game when I'd much prefer the requirement to be less tiedous. Favorite Thing: That one glory kill where you sneak up behind a Arachnotron and throw him onto his head Not My Favorite Thing: "He is...DOOM."