We analyze the DOOM Eternal campaign for PC, PS4, Xbox One. Devastating and stark, worthy heir to the name it bears.
If there were to be a single first-person shooter for this ending generation, that title would probably be Doom Eternal. And it would only be overshadowed by the 2016 Doom and perhaps Wolfenstein 2. That's how good the new title is from iD Software, a company that already surprised us against all odds 4 years ago and that now, with all the lights pointing in its direction, does not disappoint at all. Eternal does not have the freshness of its predecessor but is so brilliant in its execution that it ridicules the competition and establishes a new yardstick, a new benchmark in a genre as hackneyed as FPS. It is unique, it wastes a lot of personality, it is demanding and it offers us as much as requested. It is not perfect, it has some ups and downs, but the jewel that Bethesda Softworks distributes to us more than meets the expectations generated, which were not exactly few.
An old but original formula
It is difficult to find the angle where to start to break down the reasons why the Doom Eternal works. And it is not fun because it has a unique feature that stands out among other more mediocre sections; the whole, the whole, is sensational. It is controlled especially well, technically it is almost always spectacular, it is designed to the millimeter. Just as when you get into a good car you instantly have the feeling of being in a good vehicle, just a few minutes of departure are enough to understand that you are in front of a high-end title. of cache. A game that invites the player little by little towards his world, towards his unique and wonderful way of understanding FPS, to travel learning from the beginning to the end. Because he never stops teaching you things, because he is always adding a new twist and despite having one of the longest campaigns in the genre, he manages to stay fresh until the end. It is not short and it becomes short. Like when you enjoy good company that time seems to pass faster. This is Doom Eternal.
The main thing that attracts attention and that already stood out in the last installment is how well it is programmed. We are so used to adapting to titles that have minor peculiarities or problems that when a game comes along that handles so well we realize how much we have lowered our level of demand for the rest. The bet of Doom Eternal, which is none other than a 3-dimensional combat, with a large number of jumps, dashes, slow motion … in which it is unthinkable to be able to stay still, demands a great deal of precision in control. And we have been especially satisfied in this section, pushing the mobility of our protagonist from one side of the screen to the other and always having the feeling that any mistake, any death, was exclusively our fault.
The maps where most of the fighting takes place are specifically designed for that purpose and the game warns in advance before they are going to take place. It will always be a closed area and will generally have transport portals and several jump tunnels that allow us to quickly change positions and that demons cannot use. The design seemed fantastic to us because they are not simple arenas in which to fight wave after wave but they demand to understand how to get an advantage against the enemies that are fought and add new perspectives and angles from which to attack them.
A corner is almost always synonymous with having to reset the save point because even at medium or low difficulty levels the lethality is quite high. Given that the level of exigency in combat is very high, the game mixes encounters with areas in which exploration takes precedence and even some platforming. Most of the times we want to explore on our own off the main path, we will be rewarded for it: collectibles, soundtracks, tricks, dolls … Surprises galore with constant winks to the most veteran fans of the saga.
Death is something the player will have to become familiar with if they want to enjoy Doom; unlike many other titles in the genre, which are played at medium and long distances, Eternal is played mostly in the medium and short. Ammunition is achieved by splitting melee enemies in half, life is achieved by executing melee enemies, armor regenerates by attacking enemies we have also incinerated in melee. This implies a very particular way of playing in which enemies are lethal when they are close … but at the same time we must be close to survive.
We will always have the sensation of being in a kind of demonic dance, in a constant swing in which we shoot, execute, move away, shoot a little more, assure death with an electric saw … A dance, yes, but with shotguns and accompanied of a very metal soundtrack that perfectly nails the tone of the combat and prevents us from letting our guard down for even a second.
Gunplay: house brand shootings
If control is one of the fundamental pillars of the game's success, the so-called "gunplay" is another one of them. All the weapons, some of them new and others of a new type, are masterfully designed; In addition, most have modifiers that we can change on the fly and that change their behavior in combat completely. Given that the enemies are very diverse and that the ammunition is limited – and the only way to regenerate it is by taking a risk and getting fully into the thick of it – it is very common to change weapons several times during an encounter, although it is logical that each player develop their favorites. And here there is to choose for all tastes: shotguns, rifles, machine guns of all kinds and many more surprises that we will not reveal so as not to gut the experience of discovering them for yourself.
The progression system in Doom Eternal is very dynamic; As the story unfolds – which has it and is more elaborate than usual – we will not only gain new tools of destruction and acquire greater individual expertise to use them in their maximum splendor, but we will also be able to improve our skills in endless ways diverse. These weapons can be improved, yes, but also our statistics, our suit, our abilities … But despite everything, Doom never places us ahead of the challenge that we will find in the next mission; We are never totally above the competition to the point that even revisiting any of the first missions can easily lead to death if we are not careful. Doom Eternal is one of those games that cannot be played lying on the sofa or on the back of the chair, it is one of those titles that unconsciously turns its back on you because it needs your attention from the first mission to the last.
Just when we think we are doing well, the game introduces a new variant that will make us suffer. Normally he does it in the form of a new enemy that at first seems to us an impossible exaggeration and that later incorporates it into future waves as if nothing. This is a formula that the game abuses a little but there is enough diversity that we always find freshness. Some opponent designs are downright fine and require good player reflex ability and others are just there to annoy. Except in some very specific situations, it seemed to us that the title is right in the mixes and achieves an acceptable level of challenge.
Special mention deserve the secret encounters, which have a time limit, and the special arenas – a total of 6 spread throughout the campaign – whose demand is higher. On one occasion, after several attempts stuck in the last one, it was enough to go back to bed and "sleep the lesson" to learn it: the next day and after thinking beforehand about how to solve the match beyond our mechanical ability, the sand fell on the first attempt . And that is a good sign: the game requires some learning but it is much more enjoyable if you grant what you ask for.
Although Doom Eternal does not place any impediment in this regard, it is recommended to start it in an affordable difficulty mode to understand the fundamentals; Fortunately we are facing a highly replayable title because the experience is sensational and also allows us to add certain modifiers to make it a greater challenge, in the style of what Devil May Cry usually do. In this sense, we are convinced that the title will age phenomenally well, in the same way that Doom 2016 has not noticed the passage of these 4 years.
If we are also connected to the internet and have our Bethesda account linked, we can also enjoy a battle pass style progression that will offer us cosmetic rewards, new more complicated maps, challenges and the so-called "invasion mode" that, at the time of write this review, we were unable to test. There are a thousand ways to personalize our character and we are sure that collectors will enjoy the best by squeezing all the juice that it has inside.
Areas between battles
Some of the few setbacks that can be found in the game, however, occur during transitions between matches; Go ahead that here we are spinning quite fine but it is clear that when there is no combat in the game, it is not at the same level. This has a reason for being: it would be impossible to maintain the same level of tension all the time and these moments are taken advantage of so that the player rests dynamically without the need to pause. Even much lighter games like the Uncharted saga mix the shooting phases, which have an already quite low level of demand, with more lightweight moments to return to tension later on after the plot advance.
Throughout a mission in Doom Eternal there will be a maximum of 5-7 "big" encounters plus some optional ones; the rest will be something of platforms or even sometimes simply looking for the not so obvious exit of a room, or the resolution of a puzzle with very light time. They fulfill their function of varying the rhythm, yes, but with few exceptions they do not touch the same level of excellence. The place where collectibles hide, and we've found them all, is done very creatively and they also help diversify our time within the game.
At a graphic level, the title also looks spectacular; the design of the maps, in general, is fabulous and the color palette used also seems to us a success. The amount of detail is overwhelming and although beauty is something very personal, it has managed to reflect again that demonic atmosphere so personal to the saga and at the same time it is very pleasing to the eye. Obviously the scenario is completely static and impassive to our weapons and in the moments of greatest stress the game lowers some frames from the 60s to which it remains for almost all the time, on all platforms. In our One X the title makes 4K upsample and if we have a TV with HDR the truth is that it shows. And, of course, a soundtrack that does not have legendary themes but that gives it that personality that is so classic from the DOOM label.
Note to the reader: This Reviews is limited exclusively to the experience of the Doom Eternal campaign. At the time of writing this review, the servers of the competitive multiplayer mode "Battlemode" were not active and will be, in principle, when the game is officially released. That is why there is no reference to this mode in our text).
CONCLUSION
Bethesda Softworks has managed to bring together under its label 3 of the most important shooters of recent years: Doom 2016, Wolfenstein 2 and Doom Eternal. There are others and good ones on the market, no doubt, but none get the adrenaline rush that is Eternal's death dance. None equals ID Software's latest gem color and light show and its tons of on-screen enemies in 6 different sizes. Neither overcomes the sense of satisfaction of jumping into an enemy and hitting him in the face with a super shotgun. When Doom Eternal does what it knows how to do, nobody coughs on it. When Doom Eternal is at its peak … it is a master class, a mirror in which all aspiring shooter should reflect and a reference for the genre and for the industry. And, why not say it, a kick in the door for the nomination for best action game in the classic end-of-year awards. A title to consider for any fan of first person shooters.
THE BEST
- The handling is sensational
- The spectacular gunplay
- Great campaign and very replayable
- Possibility of creating our own style
- Graphically and artistically superb almost always
WORST
- Some technical ups and downs
- Phases out of combat are of lower quality
Excellent
A benchmark title in its genre, which stands out above its competitors and that you will enjoy from start to finish, surely several times. A game destined to become a classic over the years.
