DOOM Eternal Review

One word… DOOM. This series needs no further introduction and honestly, Bethesda have earned it. In modern Doom fashion, let’s jump right in. Doom is for any gamer, so long as you are ok with mindlessly killing aliens and upgrading your weaponry to simplify your means of hacking, slashing, and simply obliterating those standing in your way. If this is your first time embodying the classic “Doom Guy”, fear not there is no need to google or youtube mountains of data to learn of prequels, sequels, reboots, or chronological orders. Each game does an amazing job of being part of the franchise universe while also being as enjoyable as an individual entity.

You = Good. Aliens = Bad. Right?? What could be more self-explanatory? Doom starts off with minor tutorial as you are given a shotgun and approached by aliens. Just kill everything! The game has only 2 NPC’s on your side and they are the voices in your helmet as Your computer guides you in the right moral direction. So no need to worry about stopping and talking to anyone for side quests or accidentally angering society by killing the wrong people. Doom does an impressive job of giving you just the right amount of information as it is needed throughout gameplay to keep you on pace and not overload you introducing all items and monsters at one time. It has everything from love, comedy, and family…. I mean, that is if you love killing extra terrestrials and keeping them from carrying out their ancestors will to destroy Earth all in hilarious fashion. If you want a pro tip I would definitely take the first few minutes of game to fine tune your Vertical and Horizontal movement sensitivity.  From their background in PC games ID Software wasted no time making sure a slight flick of the aiming joystick will definitely establish a great deal of movement.

The controls are pretty standard to your point and shoot action games. There is one major difference that I must admit does take a little adjustment period; Your typical Aim down sights button is an activator for your weapon mods like changing a shotgun into a grenade launcher and so on. This may be a deal breaker for some, being that the entire game is basically shoot from the hip (as the original). I insist you to not lose faith because what it lacks in slow calculated long range focus, it does make up for in close to midrange slaughter. You are a powerhouse and the potential to enact your will and carnage is endless. Ranging from your handy chainsaw, a flame thrower, and a violent array of lasers, rockets, and bullets. There is a gun called the BFG 9000 (yea, for you original DOOM players) for crying out loud, the likes of which I’m sure you can guess the wake it leaves behind and the involuntary maniacal laughter that follows.

Lastly and probably the most fun, as you leave your enemies just one hit away from certain -Doom- you can also choose to perform a brutal “Glory Kill” each enemy, action, and even angle that these are performed can be pretty unique making it an extremely fun way to finish a fight. You will find yourself especially anxious for this when you are presented with an enemy known as “Marauders” a definite pain in your Beefcake Slayer Posterior. You will need to learn to keep balance between your hasty firing and your melee intentions as each one has a special way of refilling your ammunition, health, and armor.

You are granted a Mothership for safe haven between levels and an array of upgrade points you may use to make the experience even more entertaining. The ship acts as a secondary main menu allowing you to replay levels, admire your collectible progress, and even unlock additional items for use on your quest.  I implore you to make the most out of every hallway and passage in the game as there are many secrets to be found and much to discover that can expand your gameplay immensely beyond just the start to finish levels. This way you can tackle challenges, find treasures, hidden secrets, and easter eggs. However if you only care about storyline progress it is easy to do so, when in doubt just look for a green light to regain your sense of direction.

When all is slain and done this game has a simple premise, a dash of storyline, and a whole lot of fun packed into one. The replay value is very high whenever you wish to just jump into a game and not worry about the grinding hours of side missions to be the level you once were. If you find yourself not in the mood for just the run and gun, you may turn to customization of your avatar and the famous Doom Multiplayer. There are arena style death match games like Slayer, Team Battles, and Quickplay. And the ALL-NEW “Battlemode” In which you can choose to be one of the aliens that over the years, you have hated so much and utilize their powers in a team up against other  “Doom Guys” or you can test your might against other Slayers for hours on end. I guess the game really lives up to its name because it is definitely one to keep around on your shelf and not turn in because at some point you will find yourself needing a little bit of that BFG in your life, and that is what makes  “Doom Eternal”.

In the end with beautiful graphics and time put into the game Bethesda really put heart and soul into this new DOOM and you can feel it as you go through this masterpiece. There isn’t much negative to say about the game, the controls offer no lag, the graphics are pleasing to the eyes, the replay value is there and this makes DOOM Eternal definitely worth your time, energy and money. All in all – it’s truly amazing!

Game 2 Gamers Final Score – 4 / 5

Replay Value – High

Frustration level – Low