Doom Eternal finally arrived and I could barely contain the anticipation of playing it. After all, I’ve followed the franchise since its birth and I’m a great admirer of its creators, especially the legendary John Carmack and John Romero.
Although they are no longer at id Software, the reboot of the original game released in 2016 clearly showed that the current heads of the studio are truly dedicated and passionate people about Doom, with the four-year-old game unquestionably one of the best shooters ever. done.
To the delight of all fans of this genre, Doom Eternal does not let the shuttle drop and will also have a guaranteed place in the pantheon of immortal first-person shooters, thanks to the various improvements it received over its predecessor.
The game starts a little slow, so you get used to the gameplay again, which is more frantic than ever. The pistol, present in the previous title, was left out, making the shotgun the first weapon you have contact with, and serves as an alert for what is to come.
The slowdown lasts a short time, with you being thrown into the middle of mind-blowing confrontations with several simultaneous enemies wanting to end your race. Being fast and accurate is key to survival, and fortunately Doom Eternal manages to allow you to be both, and with excellence.
The combats get more and more insane as new weapons are added to your arsenal. Using them well is essential when facing more powerful enemies, since ammunition at the beginning of the journey is very scarce, requiring constant use of the chainsaw on weaker opponents to replace your bullets and be able to continue shooting.
This limitation on the amount of ammunition that the Doom Slayer can carry can bother some players, but fortunately there are improvements that allow you to increase this capacity. Not only that, of course, but you can also increase your life and maximum armor, and get passive benefits that make the character much stronger and prepared to face the many challenges imposed by the game, much greater than those seen in the previous game.
Make no mistake, however. Even with all this, it is essential to use the right weapons for each type of enemy. The cacodemon, for example, is easily neutralized if you make it swallow an explosive projectile. Energy shields can be overloaded with plasma gun fire. This is just to name a few examples. You can even perform combos with the weapons, quickly switching between them, when facing exceptionally strong demons.
Continuing to talk more about the weapons you have at your disposal, each of them has improvements that completely change the way they can be used. The shotgun can transform into a grenade launcher, the machine gun into a sniper rifle or even a mini rocket launcher, and so on. There’s also a cannon that sits on your left shoulder, received sometime after the game starts and comes in handy in tight spots.
The weapon with the coolest upgrade, however, is the double-barreled shotgun, which has been given a grappling hook which allows you to quickly get to a given enemy and fill him with lead. And yes, it remains an extremely strong and delicious weapon to use.
Another aspect that greatly enhances Doom Eternal compared to its predecessor was the level design. The levels are huge, full of verticality, and are so well built that you’re tempted to explore every corner in search of secrets. When you reach the final part of the level, the game releases a fast travel feature, so you can explore its many sectors again (with the help of the map) and go after something you left behind. Among the mechanics that help you in exploration and navigation are the possibility to cling to certain walls and give impulses in the air forward, in addition to the double jump.
All of these gameplay aspects work so organically and well together, that many of you won’t even see the hours go by while tackling the various challenges posed by Doom Eternal, both the mandatory ones that are necessary for you to advance in the campaign, and the optional ones , including Slayer’s Gates, which provide battles that are much tougher than those found in the main game, and time challenges, where you need to kill the demons that appear before the timer runs out.
Graphically, Doom Eternal is a visual spectacle, showing the power and versatility of the brand new id Tech 7, the graphics engine that brings the game to life. It is possible to enjoy the game satisfactorily whether on consoles or on PC, with computers, of course, having a large advantage over PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, since in them, if you have a good machine, you will easily be able to reach 60 fps spiked with the visuals at maximum.
In my case, I played using a PC with an i7 4790K processor, 2x8GB, GeForce RTX 2070S, with the game installed on a traditional SSD. I was able to enjoy the game calmly in 4K and 60 fps, with very few moments of performance drop, easily revealed with the use of dynamic resolution.
The soundtrack is also a show of its own, giving the right touch to each of the frantic combats that the game provides. The multiplayer, called here Battlemode, where a player in the skin of a Slayer needs to face two others who control demons, loses its charm after a short time. This is so true that it was very difficult to find games to play and test this mode. I believe a kind of Horde mode would have been better, with several waves of demons coming at the player.
CONCLUSION
With impeccable gameplay and level design, Doom Eternal stands as one of the best first-person shooters of all time. It manages to improve every element present in the predecessor and on top of that it offers a rewarding challenge for all those who are tired of the cakewalk of other games of this genre. Don’t think twice: if you’re into shooters, it’s a must-have addition to your collection.
PROS
- Excellent graphics (and light!)
- One of the most competent gameplay ever made in a shooter
- Soundtrack that dictates the pace of battles
- Difficult and at the same time rewarding
- Out-of-this-world level design
CONS
- multiplayer could be better
- Low ammo in weapons can annoy some players at first
GRADE – 9.5
A PC (Steam) copy of the game was provided by Bethesda for this review.
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