We were all there in 2016, scratching our collective heads about the suspicious yet serious sequel Doom. id Software's beloved monster hit from the the 90s—the genre-defining demonic FPS which would become a household name and influence countless games to follow—now had a newer incarnation which would, this time, refine the genre. Looking back, it feels like DOOM Eternal, they seek to slay that most tenacious and damning of demonic forces: the sophomore slump.
DOOM Eternal sings the exact same gleefully self-serious heavy metal murder ballad as its predecessor, with gameplay that seems fundamentally polished more than reinvented. That means that carryover systems from the first game—the lack of reloading, one-hit "Glory Kills" for rewards and brevity, a bevvy of secrets in each area, and so on—feel like indispensable aspects of our new understanding of the brand. In addition, the Doom Slayer’s double jump is automatically equipped when you kick off this direct continuation of the story, but don’t be led to believe that you drop into the shoes of the fully-upgraded space marine from the end of the previous game.
Speaking of that story, DOOM Eternal’s narrative seems more emphasized and front-and-center this time around. Slick cutscenes abound, despite the fact that our protagonist remains as mute as they come, unless you count his grunts and unintelligible battle-cries. A few key characters emerged out of the carnage in our short time with the preview, all of whom spout dramatic soliloquies on topics which delve further into Doom’s lore. The game also seems to largely take place in a number of distinct environments, including Earth’s pillaged surface.
It’s fascinating how Doom managed to both take itself seriously while simultaneously reveling in its grimdark adolescent fever dream. That magical combination persists here, but players get even more movement abilities and equipment to contend with each threatening pitfall and battleground. In addition to the double-jump, you soon obtain a double-dash ability, letting you soar short distances in the air or on foot. This plays into the numerous jumping puzzles available in the first few hours, which should further satisfy anyone who's spent the majority of their time in the previous game hunting down secrets in far-off corners of the map.
Of course, the double-dash isn’t only useful outside of combat, and with thicker-populated fights it proves invaluable to keep safer distance from hordes of enemies. Even on the standard difficulty mode, the combat in DOOM Eternal feels more intense and the enemies fiercer and hungrier. Many familiar faces re the fracas, including the Mancubus, the Revenant, and those tenacious Imps and Cacodemons, all of whom have been significantly redesigned and transformed. Presumably this stems from the presence of these creatures in environments other than Mars, with some of the enemies in the prior game having been “repurposed” from the bodies of many thousands of dead scientists and employees.
It’s not a purely visual overhaul—many of the tougher mobs can now be disarmed by targeting specific parts of their bodies. The huge arm cannons of the Mancubus, for instance, can now be blown completely off, and the Revenant’s familiar and lethal homing missile launchers can be sniped off of its jetpack, turning it into a considerably weaker melee threat. Decisions as to which hellspawn should be tactically picked apart rather than mowed down dynamically plays into the already sweaty combat, but the game also seems to throw more more special-type enemies per encounter than before.
Aside from dashing all over the place to avoid them, you also get some shoulder-mounted gear, including a frag grenade, a (tremendously useful) ice bomb, and even a flame thrower. Using the flame thrower, the quick melee Glory Kill, and the chainsaw returns increased armor, health, and ammo pickups, respectively, presenting another layer of decision-making to the action. Director Hugo Martin describes this concept as the “resource puzzle” that lies at the heart of the game.
While the prior Doom wasn’t an imable challenge to complete on standard difficulty settings, DOOM Eternal does feel tougher overall. Even Imps feel harder to hit and much more of a threat than they once were, and prioritizing them in battles with many tougher foes in the mix felt like an absolute requirement. Maybe this is why you can now find a few scant 1-ups in secret areas, which offer you an instant second wind after going down, though these immediately disappear from your inventory after use.
Doom’s crimson-brown industrial visual theme did not waiver for most of the campaign, but DOOM Eternal’s early hours goes all out on its design with highly differentiated backdrops. There are still post-apocalyptic canyons covered in flames and chains, but the early Cultist Base level presents a frosty blue mountainside hiding a high-tech temple. The prior game was certainly attractive, but DOOM Eternal feels not only larger and more detailed, but also more accelerated in its pacing. While it was fun to rummage through labs and foundries for secrets and keycards, Eternal is seemingly more concerned with pushing you forward and on to the next area rather than leaving you to your own devices to solve your way past three color-coded door locks.
There’s also a truly gorgeous hub area, in the form of an orbiting station that leads you to each level via portal coordinates. At first glance, it feels a little reminiscent of the hub ship in Warframe, but a few levels in reveals a cavernous interior. There are sectors with different unlockable Praetor suit skins, weapons, a “prison” where you can skirmish with enemies at your leisure, upgrade stations and bonuses—the works. The portal system also means that id Software can essentially lead you to disparate areas for each mission, which seems logically related to the aforementioned visual diversity.
While multiplayer wasn’t an active option in our demo, there are some interesting ways that DOOM Eternal intends to incorporate gibbing with friends. For one, special high-powered demons who’ve previously killed another player in their own game will randomly spawn into your single-player campaign, offering up bonus drops for defeating them (sadly, you only get one shot at them, as they will not respawn on a reload). Additionally, there’s a purported option to “invade” other player’s games as fully-controllable enemies, though we didn’t get to see this feature in action. That being said, an opportunity to temporarily control a demon in the Cultist Base seemed like a taste of this unique gameplay twist.
Doom didn’t just perform or sell well in 2016—it showed players and critics that there was a way to carry the sensibilities of an ancient classic into the modern gaming era, all while feeling fresh. Some (but not too much) fan-service silliness in between the guts and gore gave it some charm, but the rock-solid combat and map-crawling scavenger hunts made it unexpectedly satisfying, feeling like a proper and respectful successor to the franchise. DOOM Eternal looks to double-down on that with an expanded combat vocabulary, gorgeous environments, and increased challenge...and many, many more dismembered demons.
DOOM Eternal releases on PC, PlayStation 4, Stadia, and Xbox One March 20, 2020 and later in 2020 on the Nintendo Switch.
