Having played some fantastic, “thinky” games like Dreams in 2020, I was expecting Doom Eternal, id Software’s sequel to 2016’s Doom, to be on the opposite end of the spectrum and that this review was going to be nothing more than “GUNS! SHOOTING DEMONS! METAL! BOOM BOOM!”
What I didn’t expect underneath Doom Eternal‘s juvenile exterior was a Game Of The Year (GOTY) candidate that features some of the most intelligent gameplay mechanics ever seen in a shooter, while also simultaneously being ridiculously dumb for, well, everything else.
Speaking of other amazing 2020 games, the GOAT team talk about ‘Animal Crossing: New Horizons’ on ‘It’s Been A Big Day For…’ below:
Id Software basically took the gameplay elements that made 2016’s Doom so good and cranked it up to 12 for Doom Eternal by adding a bunch of new systems, such as new weapons, equipment, and skills. However, it isn’t as simple as having extra tools to go blasting baddies with as id Software have made enemies smarter, more varied, and tougher to kill, while also drastically reducing the amount of ammo available.
The end result is something far more difficult and well thought out than Doom‘s “running around blasting demons in the face with a shotgun” gameplay loop. Or any shooter we’ve experienced for that matter. It’s like being given a massive chest of hammers but only a very limited and very specific number of nails to use said hammers with.
Doom Eternal forces you to continuously stay on the move while proactively managing your resources on the go in every fight. If you go straight for the big robotic spider, he’ll weaken you so much that you become a sitting duck for others to pick you off. At the same time, focusing too much on weaker demons will leave you open for surprise attacks from bigger monsters like a Cacodemon.
Even when you think got the correct sequence of monsters you should kill first down, you also need to figure out the best weapons to use against them. Going for a close-quarters “Glory Kill” may get you some much needed health, but it’ll land you in the middle of a pack of Hell Knights who will king-hit you in two seconds flat. But if you go for a mid-ranged shotgun kill, you just wasted your last shell which you really needed in order to take down some unrelenting Marauder that’s been chasing you for the last 10 minutes.
It’s like a delicate yet complex dance where one mistake will lead to your head getting chopped off. Doom Eternal isn’t just about killing demons, it’s about knowing when to kill, what weapons to use at the right time, how to use and recover resources wisely, and never ever standing still.
The sheer amount of thinking and laser-focus required is far more than what one would expect from a “big dumb shooter.” Id Software seems to know this and included an option to turn down Doom Eternal‘s difficulty whenever you want, which you’ll almost certainly end up doing. There’s absolutely no shame about using it either as you’ll be begging for mercy in no time.
My entire Doom Eternal review experience was maddeningly tough, mentally exhausting, and physically draining due to the sheer amount of finger movements you’ll have to perform on your controller/keyboard. It’s also one of the most exhilarating feelings you’ll get from a video game in 2020, and that alone firmly puts Doom Eternal in the GOTY mix.
But while I can’t speak highly enough about Doom Eternal‘s incredibly sophisticated gameplay loop, the game also features some of the dumbest world-building elements in recent memory.
Scattered throughout Doom Eternal‘s 15-hour playtime are seemingly never-ending “codex entries” that shed light into the protagonist’s origins, why he holds such a grudge against Hell, the universe’s lore, the settings, and all the major characters. It’s all very goofy, unrefined B-grade stuff that tries to be as grandiose as Lord Of The Rings but ends up being as ridiculous (in a weirdly good way) as something from Evil Dead. That’s not to say this ridiculousness isn’t interesting – some of it actually is, especially how Doom Eternal ties into the older games – it’s just a bit out of place.
Doom Eternal puts your brain through some serious workouts, but it is something where mindless fun is the aim and forward momentum is the game. Shooting imps in face accomplishes that. Reading endless pages about the “Khan Maykr,” “Sentinals,” and “Argent D’Nur” doesn’t. It just kills the momentum.
There’s a time and place to read Doom Eternal‘s slapstick-y world-building lore, but in between battles (or in the middle of battles) isn’t it. At least reading all this stuff is optional as I don’t need to know the dark origin story of why the main character is the way he is. I just want to shoot Arachnotrons in the face.
We’ve seen some fantastically smart games in 2020 already, like Animal Crossing: New Horizons and Ori And The Will Of The Wisps, as well as some ridiculously dumb games (in a good way) like Two Point Hospital. But I don’t think I’ll review a 2020 game, let alone a very strong GOTY candidate, that’s as simultaneously dumb and smart as id Software’s Doom Eternal.
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