callumjbyrne
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140 Reviews liked by callumjbyrne
Doom Eternal
2020
I liked Doom Eternal, but it was definitely a step down from the 2016 Doom.
Eternal takes the encounter format established by their previous Doom (high action, promoting aggression and movement) and layers some very static puzzle elements onto many of the enemies. This definitely reduced my enjoyment of the experience, changing it from dynamic and improvisational to more reactive and puzzle-like gameplay. It is definitely interesting at times, but I found it to be less satisfying overall.
In addition, some of the enemies have very specific counters (Doom Hunter), very small windows of execution for their counters (Marauder), or just have a huge amount of hit points (Pain Elementals), which makes many of them more tedious than fun.
All of this aside, the gameplay is very fun and satisfying -- when it is working, it is ridiculously fun and rewarding to master an encounter and take it apart using all the tools at your disposal.
The story in Eternal is a bit of a misstep for me as well. There is a fairly convoluted narrative about the history of the Doom Slayer and an alien race using humanity as some sort of soul battery to power their civilization, but I kind of don't care. It is also at odds with itself, since the Slayer plows through the game without caring what people are saying, which negates much of what the NPCs are trying to tell you.
Doom looks incredible. The environments are the most extreme, brutal depictions of biblical horror I have seen and manages to modernize the original Doom's heavy metal album cover aesthetic. The enemies are all awesome and the glory kills are definitely glorious. When you are playing this game well it is truly fantastic to watch.
Levels, like Doom 2016, are essentially light puzzle/exploration separating combat arenas. This works super well for the game -- it presents you with sets of enemies that provide an interesting combat challenge and breaks things up with exploration. Some of the exploration sections are a bit long, but the pacing is pretty good overall.
If you liked any of the past Doom games, this one is worth playing. It is a great time to just blast your way through the game, and (like its predecessor) is still one of the only first person shooters to make you feel like you are truly mastering a combat system.
Eternal takes the encounter format established by their previous Doom (high action, promoting aggression and movement) and layers some very static puzzle elements onto many of the enemies. This definitely reduced my enjoyment of the experience, changing it from dynamic and improvisational to more reactive and puzzle-like gameplay. It is definitely interesting at times, but I found it to be less satisfying overall.
In addition, some of the enemies have very specific counters (Doom Hunter), very small windows of execution for their counters (Marauder), or just have a huge amount of hit points (Pain Elementals), which makes many of them more tedious than fun.
All of this aside, the gameplay is very fun and satisfying -- when it is working, it is ridiculously fun and rewarding to master an encounter and take it apart using all the tools at your disposal.
The story in Eternal is a bit of a misstep for me as well. There is a fairly convoluted narrative about the history of the Doom Slayer and an alien race using humanity as some sort of soul battery to power their civilization, but I kind of don't care. It is also at odds with itself, since the Slayer plows through the game without caring what people are saying, which negates much of what the NPCs are trying to tell you.
Doom looks incredible. The environments are the most extreme, brutal depictions of biblical horror I have seen and manages to modernize the original Doom's heavy metal album cover aesthetic. The enemies are all awesome and the glory kills are definitely glorious. When you are playing this game well it is truly fantastic to watch.
Levels, like Doom 2016, are essentially light puzzle/exploration separating combat arenas. This works super well for the game -- it presents you with sets of enemies that provide an interesting combat challenge and breaks things up with exploration. Some of the exploration sections are a bit long, but the pacing is pretty good overall.
If you liked any of the past Doom games, this one is worth playing. It is a great time to just blast your way through the game, and (like its predecessor) is still one of the only first person shooters to make you feel like you are truly mastering a combat system.
Metal Gear Solid
1998
you think that if otacon was just dicking around invisible somebody would notice every room smelled like fucking piss all the time
Hotline Miami
2012
why yes, mr chicken man. i do like hurting other people. quite a bit, actually. may i do it more
Tetris
1989
its almost unfair to the other video games
Witchcraft, how they managed to capture the feel of a BMX with just an analogue stick. Gorgeous, soothing, zen. Occasional mad physics, but that's good for a laugh too. AND at the touch of the B button the rider falls limp like they've been assassinated by a sniper on the next mountain over. A nice time.