Gaming
Games
DOOM Eternal - 6 ways it improves, and moves, the series forward
We've had some very in-depth and long looks at id Software's forthcoming DOOM Eternal, and now we have six reasons why this takes the franchise, and shooters, into all-new territory...
Prior to the release of id Software’s DOOM in 2016, the latest entry in a first-person shooter series known for defining the genre in the first half of the 1990s, the studio was in a weird position where it had to prove itself all over again. Without much in the way of pre-release info, and the series being away from both monitors and television screens for many years, many didn’t know what to expect. Oddly enough the answer to that question was, well, DOOM. Distilled and fermented and baked into an enticing stew of fast-paced, gory, and intense combat. Mixed culinary and beverage metaphors aside, the focus on skill-based combat, collecting coloured keys, and forward momentum created an intensely memorable demon slaying expedition to the surface of Mars.
A Mars where the gates to Hell had opened.
Now revered as a modern-day classic, and Exhibit A in a hypothetical court case proving that the 1990s style of first-person shooter can still work today, the hype surrounding the November 22 release of DOOM Eternal is very real. After getting to play through a lengthy demo ahead of E3 2019, it’s safe to say that it not only lives up to its potential but exceeds DOOM (2016) in almost every way.
Here are six reasons DOOM Eternal takes demon slaying to the next level. Or, circle of Hell.
![Hope the big bloke doesn't try and rocket jump :\](https://img.redbull.com/images/c_fill,g_auto,w_400,h_225/q_auto,f_auto/redbullcom/2019/07/02/7868a1d4-70b1-4bb7-88e2-80b71f79ced7/doom-eternal-screenshot "Hope the big bloke doesn't try and rocket jump :\")
Hope the big bloke doesn't try and rocket jump :\
© Bethesda
Of Grappling Hooks that Love the Meaty, Fleshy, Parts of Demons
What’s even better is that this new feature of the Super Shotgun is but one weapon in an entire arsenal...
The Super Shotgun in DOOM Eternal has an alternate fire mode that hooks onto demon flesh so you can swoop in for a close-range double-barrelled delivery of divine justice. It not only makes a previously close-range weapon more versatile, but also allows the Doom Slayer to channel his inner-Indiana Jones to swing from platform to platform. As long as there are unsuspecting masses of demonic flesh to grab on to of course. What’s even better is that this new feature of the Super Shotgun is but one weapon in an entire arsenal that now features alternate fire modes and updates. Stuff that truly opens-up DOOM Eternal’s combat possibilities. The Plasma gun, returning in a look that channels 1994, now turns into a beam that locks onto demons like a proton pack from Ghostbusters.
A PULSATING charge, right there
© Bethesda
A Flamethrower Here, A Dash of Real-Time Strategy There
With a newly equipped shoulder-mounted flamethrower killing enemies whilst they’re on fire...
Glory killing demons, which is a nice way of saying killing them in a melee display of over-the-top over-the-top-ness, makes a return in DOOM Eternal. As does using this as a method to restore health. Taking this idea more than one step further is how Eternal now implements a system where “how you kill demons” also applies to recovering ammo and bolstering armour. With a newly equipped shoulder-mounted flamethrower killing enemies whilst they’re on fire will have then drop green armour shards. Splitting them in two with a chainsaw and they’ll drop precious ammo. Coupled with already-there pick-ups, this ups the strategy aspect of DOOM Eternal’s combat. Rewarding variety but also forcing you to think strategically from moment to moment. Like a game of StarCraft, where the Doom Slayer is a one-man army against a horde of Zerg.
Can we smell a DOOM addition to the next Soul Calibur?
© Bethesda
Platforming Worthy of a Certain Italian Plumber Turned Princess Saver
Eternal not only seemingly does away with this flow but adds verticality and traversal elements to sit alongside the combat...
If there was one criticism that could be placed on DOOM (2016) is that the progression followed a very repetitive trajectory. Moving from one location to the next, stopping in a combat arena to destroy demons and gore nests. Eternal not only seemingly does away with this flow but adds verticality and traversal elements to sit alongside the combat. Which means you’ll be jumping, dashing in mid-air, clinging onto walls, aiming at jump pads sitting on floating platforms, landing, and shooting your way through hordes of demons. This then leads to specific arenas that feel more natural to style of game DOOM Eternal is and helps add to the feeling of being in a setting overrun by a demonic presence.
This image just makes us pine for a return to Dead Space
© Bethesda
GIBS 2.0
Yeah, it’s a rather violent way to describe anything but in DOOM Eternal the demons you slay will not only explode when they encounter, say, a high-powered rocket, but will break apart...
According to the Quake wiki, a gib is “a remnant of flesh, separated from the body”. A term used lovingly to describe when enemies get blown apart into little tiny chunks strewn across an environment. Yeah, it’s a rather violent way to describe anything but in DOOM Eternal the demons you slay will not only explode when they encounter, say, a high-powered rocket, but will break apart before your very eyes. In an extension of that whole “you can blow off certain limbs” design choice, demons in DOOM Eternal will fall as you shoot them and depending on what they are left with they’ll even switch-up attack strategies and patterns to boot. This also applies to mechanoid demons like the Spiderdemons that walk on metallic legs with mounted turrets – which you can now also blow apart.
But where's Bebop?
© Bethesda
Tech That Showcases a Developer at the Top of Their Game
id Software is also known for creating the cutting-edge tech that sits underneath it all. DOOM Eternal runs on the latest version of the id Tech engine...
In addition to creating classic games like DOOM and Quake, id Software is also known for creating the cutting-edge tech that sits underneath it all. DOOM Eternal runs on the latest version of the id Tech engine, and it looks simply stunning in motion. Eternal also pushes things forward with new effects like the demons that break apart as if they were auditioning for a Mortal Kombat Fatality, plus larger worlds with more detail. Advanced shadowing and new lighting that leverages HDR for more vibrant visuals. And it does all of this with an eye on performance. DOOM Eternal is a game not only built to be played at a smooth 60 frames-per-second – but runs on an engine optimised to deliver just that.
Not gonna lie... kind of want to grind that rail
© Bethesda
We’re All Living in the DOOM-iverse
The latest trailer, as action packed as it is, gives us a glimpse at just how much bigger the DOOM-iverse is in Eternal...
Story isn’t something you would normally associate with a DOOM game, and it’s not hard to see why. We’ve been playing for decades an outside of knowing of the shady UAC (Union Aerospace Corporation) and that the Doom Slayer can handle just about anything – we’d be hard pressed to remember any sort of cinematic story underpinning all the action. DOOM Eternal doesn’t break up the action with lengthy sequences where the Doom Slayer makes a case for humanity via holo-conference call with a council of Earth elders, but it expands the world and story in ambitious new ways. From revisiting familiar places like Phobos and Earth to introducing new lore and characters it expands the cinematic ambition of the series whilst you’re busy using a Cacodemon as a grapple point. The latest trailer, as action packed as it is, gives us a glimpse at just how much bigger the DOOM-iverse is in Eternal.
For more gaming and gaming culture coverage, follow @RedBullGames on Twitter and Instagram and like us on Facebook.
