Another day, another fantastic game in the bag. This time, I truly am pleased to get this out of the way because although it's an absolute blast from start to finish, it's the most chaotic, adrenaline-laden headfuck I can ever remember playing. Ever had that feeling of being absolutely wired after a very intense gaming session? Doom Eternal is like strong caffeine. Do not play this late at night and hope you'll fall straight asleep afterwards, because that's just not going to happen in the same way that a double espresso would do more harm than good.
I really enjoyed 2016's Doom remake - they managed to keep so many aspects of the 90s classic without scrimping on the chaotic run and gun feel. Eternal basically notches EVERYTHING up several times and I think it's a better game for it. The 21st century seems to be the 'batshit mental plot you don't need to pay attention to' era for FPS campaign modes, but what I like about Eternal is that there's a shitload of lore here but you can easily ignore it, because pretty much everything is told via codex entries, found on each level. Want to read up on the various demons/factions/planetary portals etc etc? Go ahead - but if you just want to carry on slaying evil things like a badass, carry on.
The hectic gunplay of Doom Eternal is unlike anything I've ever played before, because somehow, despite everything moving at 1000 mph, there's actually a lot of strategy at play here due to the clever controls and mechanics. Fast and frantic - definitely, but it's anything but a button basher. One of the best things I can say about it is that it really does make you feel like a demon slaying demigod at times - when you time everything right, pop some headshots from range, change to a shotgun for some close quarters combat and then break some shields with a plasma rifle, it feels fantastic.
And it's not as simple as shooting anything that moves, because you always need your wits about you, and be aware of what's on the field in front of you. Out of ammo? Press X and chainsaw a demon who will drop some. Low on health? Shoot a bad guy several times until they start flashing, and then press the Right Stick in and dismember them, spilling health pick ups. Need some armour? Press Y and flamethrow a group of enemies and shoot them so they drop armour. The variety of weapons is good, and I did find that I ended up using pretty much all of them depending on the requirements of each mission. Each weapon has 2 alternate modes which range from heat seeking missiles, beams of plasma energy and grapple hooks. And these alternate modes can be upgraded further. There really is a LOT of stuff to unlock - each level has different challenges to attempt, collectables to discover etc etc - you'd need a thorough exploration of each level to find them all in one playthrough, so it adds some replayability.
Confession time: I had to play this on the lowest difficulty setting because Doom Eternal is HARD. Even at this setting, I was finding some areas very challenging - I would imagine that attempting it on higher settings would be a mixture of frustration and masochism. At times, the ridiculous amount of bedlam at screen at once can become almost claustrophobic - yet amazingly, I never experienced a hint of slowdown or drops in framerate. The Series X manages to cope with everything incredibly well - and considering the visuals are drop dead gorgeous anyway, it's really bloody impressive.
There is a fair amount of platforming and puzzles to get through on each level too - it's not just continuous, mindless violence. Double jumps, thrusts, climbing etc are all essential as are working out what mechanics are needed to activate doors and I quite like these sections because using a bit of brainpower in between the bedlam is actually rather welcome. It breaks everything up, helps with the pacing and balance of each level - none of which I ever thought went on too long.
I've played Gears 5, Halo Infinite and now this in a short space of time. Doom Eternal has the most chaotic and downright fun single player mode out of all 3 of them, and I really can't recommend it enough. It manages to get the adrenaline flowing more than any other game I can think of, yet is never anything other than tremendous, bombastic entertainment.
Now to catch up on some sleep after my poor, addled brain has had to work overtime to take everything in.
I really enjoyed 2016's Doom remake - they managed to keep so many aspects of the 90s classic without scrimping on the chaotic run and gun feel. Eternal basically notches EVERYTHING up several times and I think it's a better game for it. The 21st century seems to be the 'batshit mental plot you don't need to pay attention to' era for FPS campaign modes, but what I like about Eternal is that there's a shitload of lore here but you can easily ignore it, because pretty much everything is told via codex entries, found on each level. Want to read up on the various demons/factions/planetary portals etc etc? Go ahead - but if you just want to carry on slaying evil things like a badass, carry on.
The hectic gunplay of Doom Eternal is unlike anything I've ever played before, because somehow, despite everything moving at 1000 mph, there's actually a lot of strategy at play here due to the clever controls and mechanics. Fast and frantic - definitely, but it's anything but a button basher. One of the best things I can say about it is that it really does make you feel like a demon slaying demigod at times - when you time everything right, pop some headshots from range, change to a shotgun for some close quarters combat and then break some shields with a plasma rifle, it feels fantastic.
And it's not as simple as shooting anything that moves, because you always need your wits about you, and be aware of what's on the field in front of you. Out of ammo? Press X and chainsaw a demon who will drop some. Low on health? Shoot a bad guy several times until they start flashing, and then press the Right Stick in and dismember them, spilling health pick ups. Need some armour? Press Y and flamethrow a group of enemies and shoot them so they drop armour. The variety of weapons is good, and I did find that I ended up using pretty much all of them depending on the requirements of each mission. Each weapon has 2 alternate modes which range from heat seeking missiles, beams of plasma energy and grapple hooks. And these alternate modes can be upgraded further. There really is a LOT of stuff to unlock - each level has different challenges to attempt, collectables to discover etc etc - you'd need a thorough exploration of each level to find them all in one playthrough, so it adds some replayability.
Confession time: I had to play this on the lowest difficulty setting because Doom Eternal is HARD. Even at this setting, I was finding some areas very challenging - I would imagine that attempting it on higher settings would be a mixture of frustration and masochism. At times, the ridiculous amount of bedlam at screen at once can become almost claustrophobic - yet amazingly, I never experienced a hint of slowdown or drops in framerate. The Series X manages to cope with everything incredibly well - and considering the visuals are drop dead gorgeous anyway, it's really bloody impressive.
There is a fair amount of platforming and puzzles to get through on each level too - it's not just continuous, mindless violence. Double jumps, thrusts, climbing etc are all essential as are working out what mechanics are needed to activate doors and I quite like these sections because using a bit of brainpower in between the bedlam is actually rather welcome. It breaks everything up, helps with the pacing and balance of each level - none of which I ever thought went on too long.
I've played Gears 5, Halo Infinite and now this in a short space of time. Doom Eternal has the most chaotic and downright fun single player mode out of all 3 of them, and I really can't recommend it enough. It manages to get the adrenaline flowing more than any other game I can think of, yet is never anything other than tremendous, bombastic entertainment.
Now to catch up on some sleep after my poor, addled brain has had to work overtime to take everything in.