Doom Eternal (Steam) Review

A CACOPHONY OF ACTION BLISS

My interest in games is pretty multifaceted. I love experiencing epic stories and getting close to characters through unique narratives but I also love games that are mechanically pleasing. Things like Tetris and even Resident Evil 2 just hit a part of my brain that enjoys tinkering with systems and reacting to the situations and challenges being presented. In a lot of ways, Doom Eternal hits more into the mechanically pleasing category for me, even though I also appreciate the efforts that were put into the game’s story beats. 

Doom Eternal is the bombastic follow-up to Doom 2016, an already great reimagining of what made the original Doom (1993) so revolutionary. Doom Eternal starts as the demon hordes strike Earth following their release from the depths of hell thanks to the UAC’s scientific atrocities and experiments on Mars. The Slayer’s unfaltering, quiet rage may be the only salvation left for the planet. Black storms swirl across oceans. Giant, demonic circles burn deep into the crust, spanning continents. Despite the carnage, the Slayer has goals and has vowed to disrupt any organization Hell takes by taking down their leaders and conquering their mightiest creatures through visceral violence fueled by an anger beyond anger. 

The Slayer’s violence is the most complex and intriguing part of the Doom Eternal experience. 

Combat options steadily become available through each level and new enemy types are frequently introduced, slowly building until it hits a roaring crescendo of violence, blood, steel, and pure adrenaline. Each weapon has been carefully crafted to be balanced and it quickly becomes apparent that there are certain weapons that are more effective on certain enemies, though it’s never a single solution. The developers have been famously calling Doom Eternal’s action combat chess and that analogy makes a ton of sense. At full blast, players will be constantly evaluating what’s on the field, choosing their method of attack, and replenishing resources when needed. 

Building on the ebb and flow found in Doom 2016, Doom Eternal adds a few more facets for managing health, armor, and ammo. The Slayer can still perform gruesome, context-sensitive Glory Kills to gain more health but now he can torch foes with a shoulder-mounted flamethrower to gain armor shards. For ammo, one only needs to fire up the chainsaw and rip into flesh for a shower of goodies. That’s the most basic application of these mechanics. Eventually, the Slayer gets an ice grenade that when upgraded can help gather more health. Then there’s my personal favorite upgrade for the Super Shotgun and the new Meat Hook grapple attached to it, which catches demons on fire, resulting in some truly amazing maneuvering and opens the ability to box out larger demons. 

My preferred way to play is with the weapon in the center of the screen, which can be easily switched in the options.

Hell is bringing a larger battalion this time around. Earth is littered with new monsters to tear into like the rattlesnake-like Whiplash or the eerily sinister Maykr Drone. Knowing how each of these beings behaves, the weapons that are particularly useful against them, and how everything falls into place in a full battle is essential to survival. Unlike the previous game, Doom Eternal is tough, demanding near-constant attention and awareness. Death can happen frequently and without proper enemy management, one can quickly be overwhelmed. Thankfully, exploration can lead to Extra Lives which respawns the Slayer immediately. 

Oddly enough, I found the exploration of Doom Eternal to be one of the most satisfying aspects. The environments are way more varied in color and some of the locations are just awe-inspiring. Players who master the Slayer’s double-jumps and mid-air dashes will likely find themselves cruising through the map with ease, almost instinctively. It helps that there are tons of things to find like extra combat challenges, keys that unlock a new superweapon, cheat codes that eventually unlock throwback content, records with incredible album art, toy figures of the monsters, and more. Some upgrades like the Praetor Coins do increase the Slayer’s capabilities but some of those skills seem way more useful than others. This is glaringly the case for the game’s Runes of which three can be equipped for a loadout. Since the player can pick what Runes they want as they gather them, it’s easy to set up a playstyle at the outset and not stray far from it. I wish some of these skills and abilities were more of a dramatic change but it feels great to get stronger. 

While gathering all of the items, I ran into a few instances that will undoubtedly infuriate speedrunners. Occasionally, there will be areas that are reachable through clever applications of the Slayer’s abilities. In one instance there was an outlook that I knew I could get to but when perfectly timing a swing and a couple of dashes, I bumped into an invisible wall that was just guarding that side of the platform. The intended path has the Slayer hitting the left side of this area but the right side is totally reachable. Seeing this kind of thing is really disappointing as it’s just a forced railroad. Trying to map out a speedrun in Doom Eternal will likely be an exercise in frustration and I really hope these invisible barriers are patched out. It also made finding some of the items that much more annoying to figure out, even with the game’s detailed map that marks items. 

Many of the book spines are references to other Bethesda games and there’s even a book with the name of Markiplier’s dad as the author.

Once acquired, collectibles like the toys and records can be enjoyed in the Slayer’s floating castle, the Fortress of Doom, that orbits just outside of Earth. From here, players can unlock more upgrades by using Sentinel Batteries that are both found and rewarded for completing stage challenges, access the next story mission, choose a previous mission with their current loadout and/or cheats, jump into a Master Level, or just bask in gaming’s coolest bachelor pad. The Slayer even has his own bedroom with a retro computer, a guitar collection, books and games, and so many little nods to Doom’s legacy and community. 

It is amazing how dense the Slayer’s room is. Almost every other day, I find someone online telling the story of a particular item on a shelf and how it came to be. There are some incredible little stories anchored to this room and it makes Doom Eternal feel like both a step forward for the series and a celebration of its past. There’s even a reference to the classic novelizations of Doom by Dafydd ab Hugh and Brad Linaweaver. Even though those stories are separate from the canon of the games, it's cool to see Doom Eternal make those nods to those trying to turn the surface violence and goofy nature of the motivations into something more. Eternal actually does a good job of making connections throughout the games, a treat for longtime fans.   

While I think it’s most enjoyable to experience the story beats for oneself, there are a couple of truly epic moments that tie in the Slayer’s story in a way that feels grounded enough to this wacky rollercoaster of plot details that my jaw dropped when it happened.

In Doom Eternal, we get to see bits and pieces of the Slayer’s bloody past.

For me, Doom Eternal became an instant classic as I came to grips with the frenetic combat. I’ve been playing a ton of retro-inspired shooters like Dusk, the stellar remastered version of Turok, and the genre-blending Splitgate Arena. These games honed my reflexes and helped steel my nerves, resulting in me always rushing headlong into combat in Doom Eternal, rather than strafing around and raining bullets. After finishing the campaign, I quickly gathered up some stray collectibles and dove into the Master Levels. These, plus the key challenges really got my blood pumping in a way that left me hungry for more. I am already revisiting levels, just for the fun of the combat. 

I do think that there can be some tweaks here and there but it seems like the development team is already hard at work at addressing issues through patches. I’ve run into instances where gates would stay locked while a stray demon growls from inside a wall. I’ve locked myself out of using the chainsaw. I’ve broken story segments by skipping scenes too fast. I’ve activated slo-mo in a segment where the Slayer takes control of a Revenant which made for the slowest but easiest encounter of my life. I also think that the infamous Marauder needs to be turned down just a bit or at least used more sparingly; while people are praising the Super Shotgun/Ballista approach, I find it easier to just lob sticky grenades at his feet. None of this sullied my experience though. I was excited to see what was around every corner and soak in every minute detail. Amazingly, I mostly played Doom Eternal in 720p at 60fps and was blown away. I can only imagine what this game would be like in 4K, ultrawide, at double the framerate. 

Mechanically and thematically Doom Eternal is a masterclass title that will surely continue to sharpen over time. 

Environmental design in Doom Eternal is incredible and a joy to explore.

That said, I do feel that the game’s ending could’ve been better. It just kind of ends, just as the highs crest. Hopefully, there will be a more rewarding conclusion in a DLC level pack but for now, the end feels lackluster. 

Part of me also worries about how the multiplayer economy could easily be exploited but we’ll cross that bridge to Hell when we get there. For the moment, I’ve only played a few matches of Battlemode. It’s a cool setup where one player dons the Slayer’s helmet and faces off against two player-controlled heavy Demons that can spawn creatures and some of the skins (like the pre-order DOOT skin for the Revenant) are really fun. For now, I’ve been sticking to the campaign and the master levels and that’s been worth my money and then some. 

Whatever comes next for the Slayer, I’ll be there.

As it stands, Doom Eternal is a hallmark in the first-person shooter genre that effectively adds complexity and polish to the stellar groundwork set by the previous entry. It will be hard to top the achievements of Doom Eternal. 

For more information about Doom Eternal, check out the official website. A Steam copy was purchased by the reviewer. Screenshots were taken through Steam, some were created using the Photo Mode option that is currently in its beta phase. 

SCORES

GAMEPLAY - 9/10

VISUALS - 10/10

SOUND - 10/10

CONTROLS - 10/10

REPLAY VALUE - 8/10

OVERALL - 9.4/10