Review: Doom Eternal is a relentless rush of frenetic chaos

In 2016, id Software “rebooted” one of the most beloved franchises to ever grace the gaming medium. In 2020, id has finally released the long-awaited sequel in the form of Doom Eternal.

Hell has conquered Earth. Demons have overrun the planet as humanity cries out for its one and only savior: The Doom Slayer. We know how this goes, you grab a shotgun, a chainsaw, and armor up as you rip and tear through the most vile creatures you’ve ever laid eyes on.

The story of Doom Eternal isn’t anything to write home about on the surface. There are some interesting attempts to flesh out the Slayer himself as well as build lore but ultimately, it feels like background noise at a certain point. It’s not bad but it definitely feels weird in comparison to its predecessor.

Doom (2016) didn’t really have cutscenes, it kept you moving almost constantly. With Doom Eternal, every now and then, will pause you briefly to introduce characters, exposition, and build the lore. It seems to want to tell a story but doesn’t want to commit as much to it as the narrative they want you to care about truly demands.

A lot of the most interesting stuff is buried in codex entries and collectibles rather than in the game itself. There was some of that in Doom 2016 as well but it felt like it worked more because the game wasn’t trying to push a “real” story. Doom Eternal wants you to invest 20 hours or so into it while not being sure if its own players want to have a story told to them. So we get this strange in-between as a compromise.

Again, it’s not bad, I still had fun and thought what was presented was really enjoyable. The problem is that I wish it had done more to show it rather than splicing in cutscenes rather infrequently. Eternal’s story feels like they wrote an outline but didn’t expand on it beyond that. It makes it almost jarring when big things, like the final boss, happen because there was next to no build-up to it.

Doom Eternal also suffers from pretty major pacing issues. Levels go on for way too long, new stuff is being introduced quite rapidly, and it feels incredibly overwhelming. There’s an overabundance of tutorials to read that are telling you all the different systems, enemy-specific traits, and in a game that relies heavily on the idea of everything just flowing and moving, it wants you to memorize so many different things.

The basics like glory kills = health, chainsaw kills = ammo, and lighting enemies on fire = ammo is great. When you start introducing more than 20 enemy types, many of whom have to be damaged/killed in very specific ways, it gets incredibly aggravating. I don’t need Doom to be mindless killing but I do need it to be thoughtful in its design.

Its insistence to overcrowd you with concepts and mechanics ultimately defeats its desire to set itself apart from other shooters. At first, I actually liked how it was constantly adding more layers… but it just never stopped. Towards the end of the game, you get a really powerful, badass melee weapon that requires a specific item pick-up to be used.

You can’t get it from killing enemies, it has to be found in the world. Outside of one or two times, I found myself pretty much not being able to use it until the final boss battle. There’s an entire level dedicated to getting this weapon and it feels like you barely make significant use of it.

On top of that, there are at least three different upgrade systems within the menus and some of those upgrade systems have even MORE upgrade systems buried inside of them. There are so many currencies and things to unlock, it feels like id wants to have all this choice but it would feel much better if everything had a sense of focus. With all the upgrades and incredibly annoying enemy types that throw up shields constantly, there’s a lot that directly counters the gameplay philosophies of Doom.

Doom Eternal still has a lot of fun to be had, despite its annoyances. The combat absolutely rips with the Super Shotgun’s meathook being one of the greatest implementations of a grappling hook I’ve ever seen. Using a pole to swing into the air and then sinking your hook deep into the chest of a demon, only to pull yourself in and blow their head off is endlessly satisfying.

Doom Eternal also sticks to the purity of its old-school roots that rocks you with nostalgia without feeling like its pandering. The level design is reminiscent of arena shooters of a bygone era with jump pads, platforms to bounce between, and packs of health scattered throughout.

Whenever I entered a new arena and heard the music revving up, it was like a shot of adrenaline to the heart. This high-energy and frenetic nature also carries over into Doom Eternal’s multiplayer component, Battlemode.

I have a feeling this will be slept on but the way it blends the game’s meta into a multiplayer setting is fantastic. Two players play as demons trying to kill a third player who is the Doom Slayer. The Slayer is fully-equipped with all his weapons and abilities while the very powerful demon players can overwhelm him with demons, traps, and more.

It’s a much better solution to multiplayer than standard deathmatches as it adds a super creative spin to multiplayer. It’s all about applying pressure to the Slayer as he tries to keep himself above water by ripping and tearing through fodder enemies while killing the player-controlled demons. It’s incredibly well-made and an excellent team-based game mode for demon players.

The Verdict

Doom Eternal’s issues largely feel like a victim of ambition. They wanted to double down on the balls to the walls craziness and instead of saying no to some ideas, it feels like they crammed absolutely everything into the game. While Eternal manages to still be very fun and a worthy entry in this legendary franchise, it needs to realize there is such a thing as too much of a good thing sometimes.