A Rip, Tearin' Good Time--Doom: Eternal

I'm fresh off finishing my playthrough of Doom: Eternal and it's time to write up my thoughts.  A tinge of adrenaline is still pumping through my veins because the final fights are a real doozy and finishing them up felt very good.  And, even though I've finished up the campaign, there's still more to be done!

To summarize my playthrough--I chose the default difficulty (Hurt Me Plenty) and played through the entire campaign but didn't touch the multiplayer (which looks interesting).  I ended up re-playing almost all of the levels before finishing the campaign because I misunderstood some of the re-play mechanics (I will get to that) so my total played time is probably not a good reflection of how long it would take to play through the campaign--I would estimate a single playthrough will take you between 20-24 hours (of course that depends on if you spend time trying to find collectibles of just speed through the missions).

Pros:

+ Core gameplay is familiar, but improved.  Your ultimate task is to shoot a bunch of demons, stagger them, and then loose a stunning variety of glory kills onto them.  The improved part comes in the fact that the movement in Eternal just felt...smoother, somehow.  It actually really threw me off at first and I was constantly running past demons and having a hard time adjusting.

+ Each level features multiple set combat encounters and they are all an orgy of demon-slaying.  Completing a gore nest is Doom (2016) could be a bit crazy, but Eternal took that concept and then multiplied it...by a lot.  Each wave of demons that spawn makes every encounter feel just a little bit desperate--your ammo is low--chainsaw!  Your health is low--glory kill!  Cooldowns!  It's a constant flow of violence and figuring out the best way to scramble around the area.  Each combat encounter has an arena-like feel and is packed with tons of nooks and crannies to find--there are jump pads, monkey bars (a new addition), and portals to help you dash away from the demon hordes.  They're a lot of fun.

+ Addition of dash ability.  Now, Doomguy has the very useful option of quickly dashing away from danger.  This ability also lends itself to platforming because it can be used while airborne to clear large gaps and navigate to climbing walls (another new feature).  The more mobile nature of movement means that levels can be more spread out and feature vertical traversal.

+ Lore with surprising depth.  I was very surprised by the story in the game--I guess I went into it with pretty low expectations, but for a game that is primarily about creatively slaughtering demons, Id has managed to create a story that involves the forces of Hell, the backstory of Doomguy, and a brand new, God-like race.

+ Environments are really great.  The levels take place in a variety of settings--the demon infested ruins of Earth, a secret, high-tech cultist lab, the ruins of a formerly great civilization, a city hidden in the core of Mars...and many more.  There's still quite a bit of gore and satanic-like influence (if that's your jam) throughout the game, but there's more than just a gooey, pile of demon refuse.

+ Challenges.  Specific levels contain special "slayer gates" which are additional combat encounters that are built to be more challenging.  To access these gates players need to find a special key hidden within the level.  Players have to use the resources they have and will lose anything they spend inside a slayer gate.  These encounters are designed to push you to use your full arsenal of slayer abilities.  Completing them all unlocks a special weapon.

+ Old, familiar weapons with a few changes.  There's really only one new weapon type--the arbalest, a crossbow-like energy weapon--and they decided to ditch the pistol (a good choice).  Like the previous games as you progress there are opportunities to earn weapon points which can be used to unlock special attacks and improvements for each weapon.  Some of the weapon options are familiar, but some have changed.  One of the most challenging parts of the weapon set up is that your weapons share an ammo pool and keeping an eye on your ammo is much more necessary than it was in Doom (2016).  You're gonna be busting out the chainsaw...a lot.

Doomguy & Bunny (2019)

+ Collectibles.  Each map is scattered with various collectibles--there are demon themed toys, records, cheat codes (funnily, they are on 3.5" floppy disks), and codex entries.  Finding them means being extra vigilant on each map and looking for breakable walls or tucked away areas.  The records unlock posters in your home base that allow you to select music from past Id games (Doom, Quake, and even the classic Commander Keen) that will play while you tool around.  The disks unlock actual cheat codes that can be enabled while you play (and there's quite a variety of options).  The fun part of the cheat codes is that they don't actually hinder your progression.  It's a fun addition to explore Doomguy's base and check out the posters (with very heavy-metal inspired artwork) and the shelves of toys.  There's also an old computer which is locked and requires a hidden code--I am fairly certain you can play classic Doom on it (I didn't look up the code).

+ Additional, cooldown based weapons.  Doomguy's suit now features a special spring-loaded blade and a shoulder-mounted flamethrower.  The blade is handy for creating a stunning variety of glory kills that involve slicing...things and the flamethrower douses demons with flame which makes them drop armor.  They also added in an ice bomb on top of the stock grenade.  Honestly, it's a lot of cooldowns to keep track of, but it gives you a lot of versatility when it comes to dealing with different demons.  Oh, and there's the blood punch--a powerful, wave-like punching ability that is powered by glory kills and can easily lay waste to a group of lesser demons or seriously damage the larger variety.

+ A mix of old demon types and new, really annoying ones.  Imps still scamper around and fling fireballs at you from afar, but they fall into the cannon fodder category--they are plentiful and convenient sources of a quick glory kill. New demons include the stupidly obnoxious Marauder--an agile, armored foe that is very difficult to hit and kill (until you figure it out...then it's still annoying, but not as anger inducing).  One new addition to the gameplay is that larger demons feature weakpoints that when disabled (through some careful aiming or nice grenade throws) greatly weaken them.

+  Upgrade system that is slightly different.  You can upgrade your suit with special tokens which are hidden throughout the game.  Each upgrade costs a certain number of tokens and is built around specific abilities--one set reduces damage from environmental hazards; another improves your grenade; there are upgrades for the ice bomb; and there are some handy navigation upgrades.  There are also special runes which will grant improved abilities much like the runes in Doom (2016)--you can have three active at a time.  A new upgrade category involves finding special crystals and is tied to your flamethrower and blood punch abilities--they also will beef up your armor, health, and ammo.

+ Warnings.  Stick with me on this one, but I am a fan of games giving you notice when something could potentially be closed off to you or might be too difficult.  I encountered a slayer gate early in the game and, after failing miserably, I was told that it was probably better to do slayer gates later on in the game (after acquiring upgrades and more weapons).  I also received adequate warning that I wouldn't be able to return to base once I started the final sequence of missions--this meant wrapping up any unlockable items in the base (including doing the slayer gates).  I appreciate this very basic feature and the fact that it saves you from the headache of realizing you should've done something earlier (it's also necessary since there aren't any manual saves).

+ Some fairly standard boss fights and then two semi-bonkers boss fights.  There were fewer boss fights than I remember in the previous game (but I think I'm probably misremembering that) but the boss fights, particularly at the end of the game, are insane.  Big boss + tons and tons of demons flying at you--I died a lot.  One nice feature of dying a lot is that the game offers to give you "sentinel armor" which buffs you and lets you take reduced damage.  This is great for times when you get stuck and absolutely cannot progress.  I'm stubborn though and opted to forgo this feature and instead just die a lot--but, I did eventually do it!

+ Replayability and additional game modes.  The option to select missions is unlockable very early in the game and offers a convenient way to find any collectibles that you missed.  There are also "master levels" which are supposed to be the same levels, but with 1000x more demons (more challenging).  I am not big on multiplayer, so I didn't check it out, but it seems to feature the ability to play as some type of demon or as Doomguy--that is...different.

Cons:

- Buggy demons.  This didn't happen extremely frequently, but it happened at least three times throughout the campaign.  Once, I had a demon get stuck on top of a platform; another time I had one get stuck on a weird, ledge-like area; and the last time an Arachnotron wedged itself into a weird nook where I couldn't shoot it (and it was clearly stuck).  In some regards, this can be nice--you can kill them while they're stuck.  In others, like my Arachnotron situation, you have to reload a checkpoint.

- Crashes.  Oddly, I had no crashes while I was playing through the main campaign.  However, when I went back to re-play the levels, I started having frequent crashes.  One of the suggested fixes was turning off the Steam overlay, so I tried it and it solved the crashing issue.

- Soundtrack isn't as epically heavy metal as Doom (2016).  If I remember correctly, there was some kind of dispute with the composer and the heavy metal-esque stuff ended up not being fully complete (there is definitely a metal feeling to some sequences).  The music is still good, but it's not 2016 good.

Recommendation:

If you enjoyed Doom style demon slaying (circa 2016), the formula has been tweaked, and improved.  There are chaotically charged combat encounters that feel frantic but are very fun to complete.  The glory kills are sadistically violent (break a demons arm, tear off that arm, and then cram it into said demons, big, ugly mouth) but oh, so enjoyable (if you're not a fan of violent video games you probably want to give anything Doom a fairly wide margin).  It's blood-pumping madness, but dammit, it's fun.

Rip, Tear....and, Collect?

I've spent a bunch of time the last couple of weeks enjoying the cathartic experience of Doom: Eternal.  I'm not quite done with the main campaign and am attempting to replay levels to find collectibles I missed and complete challenges.  In general, I'm not a big FPS enthusiast, but Doom (2016) was just so much fun that I couldn't pass up the chance to violently destroy more demons.  And wooo, boy, are there more demons to murder in Doom: Eternal!

My first impressions of the game were a bit mixed.  One of the things that I immediately noticed is that the learning curve and difficulty at the beginning of the game is a tad brutal.  Let's just say that I was dying a lot and had reached a point of frustration.  Luckily, I stuck with it and now that I've beefed up Doomguy's suit, runes, and arsenal...I feel more like the demon slaying badass from 2016.  (I'm not playing on some uber-difficulty either--I opted for "hurt me plenty" which is the default difficulty)  If you find yourself dying a ton in the beginning of the game, don't panic, it does get easier, but it does take awhile.

So, what has changed in this newest iteration of the classic FPS Doom?  For one thing, Doomguy has beefed up his demon-slaying arsenal by adding in some suit-based goodies--his Praetor Suit now includes an arm mounted, spring-loaded blade and a shoulder-mounted flamethrower.  The blade is used to add a stunning amount of gory variety to glory kills--now, instead of merely enjoying punching some exploding heads (which you do still get to enjoy) you can also bask in the magic of slicing demons into fun size chunks or skillfully jabbing their vulnerable eyeballs, hearts, or explodey-bits.  Some of the best glory kills involve chopping parts off of demons and then smacking them with their own arms or wings--it's violent, but oh so fun.  The flamethrower attachment adds in the ability (on a cooldown timer) to periodically douse a group of demons in a curtain of fire.  Burning demons drop armor and will drop even more armor if you glory kill them.  It's a handy way to quickly refill your depleted armor.

The other big change is the fact that Doomguy is much more agile with the addition of a quick recharging dodge that also serves as a gap clearing mechanism.  The dodge is useful for quickly getting out of hairy combat situations and putting some distance between Doomguy and the absolute hordes of demons that he faces.  But, with increased power, comes increased responsibility and there are some sequences of light platforming (I'm going to call it light, because most of the sequences aren't too difficult).  I've read some mixed impressions about the addition of platforming--some people have been very turned off by it because it hasn't been a traditional part of Doom.  Personally, I find that the platforming sequences add some variety to levels that help make them seem less linear (although they are linear).

The core of the gameplay is largely the same--you deck out Doomguy with an arsenal of weapons, you blast demons until they are staggered, and then you get to enjoy slicing them into chunks or punching their ugly faces off.  The maps in Eternal have quite a bit of variety this time around--you're not always journeying through a bloody, satanic, cesspool but might find yourself in the ruins of an ancient city or a futuristic base.  They decided to get rid of the physical gore nests and instead there are specific parts of the map with fixed combat encounters that function much like the gore nests--you face massive waves of varying demons and have to do your best to survive.  One of the other major challenges I struggled with early in the game was ammo--you'll probably find yourself pretty thirsty for ammo and have to be ready to bust out the chainsaw for ammo refills (I rarely used the chainsaw in Doom 2016).  In general, I've felt like the levels are longer than in the previous game and that the set encounters are much more chaotic--you will face huge numbers of demons and have to be ready to scramble around the area and to manage your various cooldowns (the downside of having more in your arsenal means more cooldowns to manage).

Another notable change to combat is the fact that larger demons have weak points--vulnerable areas that can greatly reduce the amount of damage they do.  For example, the new, part-spider, part-robot enemy, the Arachnotron, features a large cannon mounted on top of its bulging cranium--shooting that cannon will destroy it and render the Arachnoton much less dangerous (it can't shoot you from range, but that doesn't mean it can't still kill you).  These weakpoints are difficult to hit as most of the demons that feature a weakpoint are fairly agile and like to jump around.  Demons that feature weakpoints hit like a truck though, so it's generally in your best interest to take the time to carefully aim.

Doomguy has a nice place to kick back.

A fun feature is the fact that Doomguy now has a home base where he can hang up his shotgun and kick back and relax.  In between missions you have a chance to return to this floating fortress and use resources you collect during the missions to unlock upgrades located throughout the base.  There are several different items hidden throughout each level--you can find demon-themed toys (akin to the Doomguy toys from 2016), records that unlock music from classic Doom, Quake, and other Id games (weirdly including Commander Keen--a very fun game I remember from my childhood), and codex entries that reveal the much more complicated lore (yes, there's actual lore!) present in the new game.

I am hoping to finish up Doom: Eternal soon and write up a full review.  So far, I'm having a demon-punching good time.