Gamescom 2020 showed off a multitude of new releases for both brand-new titles and existing games, and one of these reveals is a DLC expansion for DOOM Eternal which, despite promising a follow-up to the base game's story, does not show much new content when it comes to gameplay.
DOOM Eternal has been one of the most celebrated shooters for 2020. The game received widespread praise for the ways in which it expanded on the mechanics established in its predecessor, story of the original Doom to flesh out the character of the Doomslayer and gracefully connect the original Doom games to the new ones. The game's new DLC expansion, DOOM Eternal: The Ancient Gods Part One is set to release on October 20th, and seems to be following in the same direction as Eternal story-wise by expanding on the series' lore. However, it seems to be lacking in new gameplay mechanics, with a few minor exceptions.
The official reveal trailer for DOOM Eternal: The Ancient Gods Part One shown off at Gamescom gives only a glance at the content in this DLC. Apart from a possible submarine vehicle, there seems to be no new gameplay additions to the Doomslayer's toolkit. The brief gameplay sequences shown in the trailer reveal no new weapons, movement options or abilities of any sort. For the most part, the demons the Slayer is slaughtering are the same, too. Cyberdemons, marauders, and pinkies are all standard affair at this point.
What DOOM Eternal: The Ancient Gods Part One Adds
However, there are a few new opponents to rip and tear. It seems as though another enemy of the Maykr race, introduced in Eternal, has been added. This somewhat angelic entity floats around and fires multiple cross-shaped bolts at the Slayer, followed by a possible area of effect attack indicated by a golden aura surrounding them. Furthermore, it seems the summoner enemy from DOOM (2016) is making a return. Unlike it's predecessor, however, Eternal's summoner differs severely in function and appearance. Now, it possesses ghost-like translucency and appears to be capable of possessing other enemies. It's unknown how exactly possession affects enemies, but the summoner does survive the destruction of its host.
Aside from the new Maykr enemy and the returning summoner, Eternal's expansion trailer reveals no new recruits in hell's army. A living titan, which has usually only been depicted in corpse form, appears. However, it is unknown if the Doomslayer will get the opportunity of ripping (and possibly tearing) it to shreds. There is also no clear indication as to what "Ancient God" the DLC's title refers to. Presumably, it would be another powerful Maykr similar to the main villain of Eternal's campaign, as a possible new Maykr antagonist appears in the trailer's beginning.
It is uncertain whether or not this new Maykr is the person narrating the original teaser trailer from QuakeCon. Unfortunately, uncertainty seems to accurately summarize the state of DOOM Eternal at the moment. The only certainty which players can bet on is that this DLC will deliver a new set of levels to play through. Still, everything that surrounds those levels is a regrettable enigma.
