Games
This is not the original DOOM as you know it, nor is it the DOOM re-release as you know it. This is... simply, something else...
With it’s release weeks away, id Software’s follow-up to the DOOM reimagining from 2016 is shaping up to be one of the most talked about first-person shooters in years. After going hands-on with the final build it’s safe to say that it looks and feels very different to what we’ve seen the FPS genre slowly become in recent years. That is, multiplayer, team-focused competition or the sort of gritty realism that blends spectacle with scripted events in an interactive-cinema sort of way. Even in the rare cases where a first-person shooter has bucked this trend, the results have seen elements from other genres like action-RPGs come to the fore. Examples there include Borderlands, Destiny, and to a lesser extent BioShock.
By focusing on what made the 2016 reimagining work so well and using that foundation to create a towering monument showcasing what a first-person shooter could be...
In a way playing DOOM Eternal feels like stepping into an alternate timeline; the realisation of a different path taken after games introduced polygons and complex 3D worlds to explore. Developer id Software has managed to do this by focusing on what made the 2016 reimagining work so well and using that foundation to create a towering monument showcasing what a first-person shooter could be.
Strategic Action that Blends Powerful Shotguns with Puzzles
With fast-paced action one could assume that the arena-style combat found in DOOM Eternal presents the sort of experience where skill drives success. Of course, skill plays a big role when you’re put into the space-shoes of the Doom Slayer as he walks into a den of demons, but DOOM Eternal takes the strategic element found in the 2016 original and dials it up to 11. No longer simply having to pick the right weapon for the job, every action now plays a role in determining your success. Chainsaw an enemy to get ammunition or set them on fire to get armour, Glory Kill them for health – key mechanics that sit alongside firing off grenades into the opening maws of Cacodemons to stun them mid-air. Using lesser demons as walking ammo packs or off-putting bits of meat housing shiny blue health adds a strategic element that amplifies the sheer intensity of its breakneck pace.
Level Design by way of Classic Nintendo
Triple jump across a chasm, use a floating bar to propel you even further, swing around to find a wall you can climb, head up several metres to find a small room with a hidden secret. A 1-Up offering a free instant respawn should you fall in battle. DOOM Eternal on a pure level-design front feels every bit like classic Nintendo. Metroid Prime, Super Mario 64 – where secrets and pathways double back, open-up, constrict, and never feel dull or there as mere placeholder. The FPS genre is known for straight-up corridor shooting, something DOOM from 2016 had in spades. Linear pathways broken up by action with not all that much in the way of layout variety. DOOM Eternal not only features lengthy sections that could be described as "3D platformer", but the many secrets you can find and the ways you move forward feel wonderful and logical in the way the best videogames do. DOOM Eternal rewards exploration and experimentation.
Pure Videogame Logic Drives the Design and Not Realism
Setting an enemy on fire to have them drop armour, finding a glowing 1-Up to give you a magical respawn or two when you die, are both complete departures from the grim and realistic trend we’ve seen emerge in the shooter space, as mentioned above. There’s no way to explain these mechanics other than to say, “well, it’s a videogame”. There’s just something pure about a statement like that, and how id Software has found the confidence to laser focus on what makes DOOM so much fun to play. Innovating in ways the genre almost always avoids, especially in the Triple-A shooter space. Videogame logic, as per this entry's header drives level design too, with some sections even going so far as to make specific call outs to Bowser’s Castle from Super Mario Bros. with rotating fire you need to avoid. Why is it there? Who put it there? The only thing you need to worry about is not getting burnt.
This is id Software’s Take on a Cinematic Action-Packed Story
Understanding what planet you’re on through hidden lore and real-time story beats adds to the experience without ever becoming the focus...
When it was revealed that DOOM Eternal would feature the most involved story in a DOOM game to date, with real-time cinematics, lore aplenty, and a cast of characters to converse with – many felt that this could be a step in the wrong direction. At its core DOOM has never really been about story, and in ramping up this side of the experience id Software has put all the focus in the right areas. Context and setting. Understanding what planet you’re on through hidden lore and real-time story beats adds to the experience without ever becoming the focus. Also, it remains firmly in the realm of the comic – like an over-the-top Heavy Metal entry or album cover come to life. With the spectacle and action all being larger than life in this way, having the story follow suit makes sense. With more locations and lore than ever before, DOOM Eternal has all the story of a movie without ever feeling like one.
From Animation to Special Effects to Environment Detail – It Looks Spectacular
id Software has always been at the forefront of graphics technology and with id Tech 7 driving the on-screen carnage in DOOM Eternal it’s easily the studio’s most ambitious and technically impressive work to date. Going so far as to make the 2016 release look like last-gen. Outside of pure tech stuff like improved lighting, special effects, and fancy texture work – a lot of the improvements are as immediate and as impactful as a Super Shotgun blast at close range. The environments are now much larger with background detail that sells being part of a single and expansive universe. Also, character detail and animation is vastly improved – with demons now actually falling apart as you shoot them. Which, in a stroke of pure design genius, changes up their AI, too. Because hey, where there was once an arm with an inbuilt rocket launcher there’s now a stub. So, get in close and stub smash.
If id Software simply followed the 2016 template to create a bigger and better DOOM, odds are it would be warmly received by fans and critics alike. Instead, DOOM Eternal feels like a symphony of ideas coming together in harmony...
It’s More Than Just a Sequel
Finally, we get right to it – DOOM Eternal is more than just a sequel. If id Software simply followed the 2016 template to create a bigger and better DOOM, odds are it would be warmly received by fans and critics alike. Instead, DOOM Eternal feels like a symphony of ideas coming together in harmony compared to the single instrument strumming away in the corner that is the original. From combat to level-design to puzzles to how its world looks both violent and vibrant at the same time it’s a first-person shooter that when viewed in its entirety feels unlike anything we’ve seen before. Even in a straight-up sequel.
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