Intro
With DOOM 2016, id Software managed to surprise many players with their reimagination of the DOOM series, especially with the singleplayer part. With DOOM Eternal, they promised to bring even more brutal, fast-paced action. And they managed to do that with the singleplayer part.
Singleplayer
I finished the campaign in 25 hours on the Nightmare difficulty, with all the collectibles and challenges. Apart from the campaign, the game offers master arenas where you can test your skills, as well as both original DOOM games playable at your base.
Story
The story continues a few months after the events of D2016. It does not, however, explain what has happened during these months. The plot becomes clearer as the game continues. Also, various humorous situations brilliantly lighten the game’s tone. Overall, Eternal expands the DOOM universe greatly, and I enthusiastically read every new codex.
Gameplay
The gameplay has several changes from its predecessor, and I must say that I am very satisfied with most of them. The game has more brutal action, it is faster and more challenging. I enjoyed almost every part of the game very much, and after a few mission replays, I consider it as one of the best action FPS from the past years.
As in every DOOM game, you explore the levels for health, armour, and ammunition. Those pickups are now rarer because you get them from killing your enemies. There are a lot of collectibles in the form of toys, albums, lore codices, and cheats with which you can replay levels. There are also upgrades for your suit, weapons, and abilities. Level design is great, and every arena is unique.
Double jump is accessible from the start, and soon after you get access to dash. With this comes platforming, where you swing on a pipe, climb up walls, and jump between platforms. Your movement is now freer, and the game is much faster. It is very satisfying to kill enemies with these new possibilities.
Combat
Eternal expands D2016’s already perfect combat. It requires a decent amount of skill and fast-thinking from its players due to new changes. There are new enemy types, and the game combines them a lot. Also, most of them have weak points that you should destroy. For example, Revenant has two cannons on his shoulders, and with their destruction, you force them into melee. However, it is not necessary to destroy those weak points, as enemies are easily killable without doing so. As for boss fights, they are so far the very best this series has offered. Each boss fight has different mechanics, and I had a lot of fun fighting them.
It is required to use all weapons and abilities you have as the resources are limited. Enemies are your main source of health, armour, and ammunition (acquired via glory kills, flamethrower, and chainsaw). Every resource is still easily obtainable. You just need to be fast and precise. It adds another layer of depth to the combat, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Some combat arenas are now larger due to the mentioned platforming mechanics, such as pipe swinging. However, enemies are not stupid, and they aggressively follow you or shoot at you from every edge of the map. It is an absolute massacre in the last levels as the demons throw everything they have at you.
Conclusion
DOOM Eternal is worth the full price for the singleplayer alone. It delivers exactly everything the developers claimed it would, meaning better action, more agile and complex gameplay, as well as the masterful soundtrack. If you are looking for multiplayer, you will probably not be satisfied with the little it offers.