We can all agree that Doom was a surprise to a lot of retro gamers out there. What should've been a last effort for the franchise to return to its former glory became a standard for first-person shooters. Doom 2016 mixed both old and new while staying brutal as hell; everything we could've wanted from a Doom reboot.
So, when a sequel was announced, everyone was excited but also a little skeptical. Where else could this franchise go, could it improve on the faults of the previous game? As per usual, there were things we loved about Doom Eternal, and things we felt missed the mark a bit.
10 Loved: Easter Eggs & Secrets
Unless you're talking about Doom 3, hidden secrets have always been a large part of the Doom experience. Doom 2016 wanted to bring this idea back to the new gaming generation and it became better than ever. No longer restricted to 2D, developing in three dimensions allowed the creators to give gamers the challenge of searching a level's every nook and cranny.
The previous game had hidden toys and classic levels, but Eternal wanted to give their Easter eggs more depth. Players were able to find references to other games, records to their soundtracks, and even cheat codes to use when revisiting levels. Needless to say, players will be jumping back into the fray to find all of these secrets.
9 Missed The Mark: The Story
Did anybody really care about Doom's story? Sure, it'd be interesting to learn how scientists became entangled with the likes of Hell, but that's never been the focus. The focus of Doom is violence and how much you can unleash. 2016's Doom understood this by, quite amusingly, having the Doom Slayer immediately break a console when exposition was presented to him.
Doom Eternal on the other hand, tried to bring in a more serious tone and it just seemed out of place, trying to bring character to the Doom Slayer, which has never been a complaint. Players don't want their fun interrupted to read documents just to understand what is happening in the story. We're not here for story, we're here for crazy, over the top action.
8 Loved: The Soundtrack
If there is one thing everyone agrees on for both of the recent Doom games, it's that the soundtrack perfectly fits the tone of the action. The heavy metal notes and beats make each gruesome kill more thrilling than the next. Composer Mick Gordon wanted to take the "Argent Energy" that was so prevalent in the game's plot and make it match the music through sick guitar riffs, sine waves, and white noise to create the Doom sound we're familiar with today. There's a reason people enjoy listening to Rip & Tear while working out.
7 Missed The Mark: Platforming Puzzles
To give the gameplay some more variety, id Software implemented some platforming sections. It was welcomed in Doom 2016, giving the player more access to the 3D map and allowed for more in-depth Easter egg searching. However, when we said we "liked" the platforming, they took it as "we should have more of it." We did not mean that. On one hand, the platforming was an upgrade, going from simple jumping to swinging and climbing up walls. However, it can get quite tedious when you're stuck and you have no idea where to jump next. While we enjoyed the variety, let's hope it's dialed back in the sequel.
6 Loved: The Hub
You wouldn't think that the Doom Slayer would need a base of operations, but id Software was in an experimental mood when developing Doom Eternal. So, in between missions, players were given the opportunity to roam The Fortress of Doom, where they could unlock new useful items to help you along your mission to save what's left of Earth.
There's also the Demon Prison where you can let off some steam and kill a horde of enemies without the fear of dying or losing any essential ammo or items. Then at the end of the day, you can relax in the Doom Slayer's personal quarters, playing on the computer and checking out his toy collection. It'll be interesting to see what the developers will do with this idea in future installments.
5 Missed The Mark: Bethesda.Net
If there was anything that gamers disliked the most about Doom Eternal, it's how they were forced to create a Bethesda.net account. While it doesn't take anything away from the actual game, creating an account doesn't add anything to the experience either. It's just something else to build up junk email in your spam folder. It would've been fine if we were just given the option to create an account as Ubisoft does but the fact that we couldn't even get to the game without an account left a bad taste in a lot of players' mouths. There's no point to this and it comes off as more of a bother than a perk.
4 Loved: Difficulty
If you're a veteran shooter gamer like most Doom fans, chances are you've pretty much perfected on how to handle yourself in a virtual gunfight. With that said, we can probably all agree that, as fun as Doom 2016 was, it was a little on the easy side. Sure, it could offer a challenge here and there, but the more seasoned gamers could probably get through it no problem. Eternal wanted to fix this issue and offer up a real challenge.
With limited ammo and double the demon hordes, that's the kind of difficulty Doom fans were expecting. Every battle felt like a strategy for survival, one missed bullet or wrong move could be the difference between 100 health and 25 health. This made the action more exciting and gripping, something that seemed lost on the franchise.
3 Missed The Mark: Learning Curve
While the game's difficulty was a welcomed change of pace, we can't ignore the fact that there was a steep learning curve. A lot of the mechanics from the previous installment return like weapon mods, the chainsaw, and glory kills. But, like any other sequel, they did put in some extra. Now there's a grenade launcher that cools down after use, along with napalm fire that acts as an armor buff, and a new melee weapon.
Each enemy also has a weak point you can exploit to weaken their attacks. This is a lot to keep track of when you have a dozen demons throwing projectiles at you while you're keeping track of your limited ammo. You will get good at it, but it'll be a while before you do.
2 Loved: Visuals
id Software wanted to bring the original enemy and environment designs we loved back in 1993 into the third dimension and we can agree that they succeeded. However, the game was still repetitive with its setting, going from one gritty-looking room to another with a Mars landscape. Even Hell was more of the same, just with more red and fire.
Eternal finally left the Mars setting behind to bring us to an invaded Earth, a first for the franchise. This allowed more city-based environments and even an arctic-style level that brings in some light. Also when you shoot demons, you actually see the bullets degrading their bodies down to muscle and bone, making each kill all the more satisfying. The developers have definitely made a standard for shooting games in the future.
1 Missed The Mark: Multiplayer
This is probably going to divide a lot of players because the multiplayer did improve from Doom 2016. Instead of generic games, they decided to try a twist called Battlemode. This allowed gamers to enter someone's game playing as demons; they could summon other enemies to the fight while also disabling the Doom Slayer's ability to drop pickups. So what's the problem?
Well, much like the original gameplay, there's a steep learning curve if you want to get good at it. While trying to figure out how to summon allies and understand how each demon moves, you might meet an early bloody end. A creative addition to the Doom games, but it could use slight tweaking.