Doom Eternal Review: Gameplay Impressions, Videos and Speedrunning Tips

The reinvention of Doom in 2016 had the benefit of catching gamers unawares.  

Doom Eternal doesn't have the same luxury—and seems to embrace it.

Eternal, the follow-up to the well-received Doom (85 score on Metacritic), instead sets out to reinvent the first-person shooter as we know it in bold ways. The same gory, heavy-metal action from developer id Software returns and manages to up the ante with major additions as the narrative takes an Earth-facing slant.

The question was never really if Eternal would stomp on the bar while jumping past but rather how far it would leap.

Graphics and Gameplay

Eternal goes away from its predecessor immediately by diversifying the palette. It's not a Fortnite-glazed treat for the eyes that resembles a pinata by any means, but the hellscapes feel diverse and, oddly, a little charming.

As expected, this sequel is one of the best-looking games out there while in motion, which is a testament to the technical work put in behind the scenes given how fast everything moves. Not only is everything visually at the top of the gaming market, but it also isn't overwhelming or tough to track the action in most cases.

Actually slowing down—when permitted—and taking in the scenery is well worth it. Detail is baked into every locale. Whether it's monster demons, the telltale signs of past conflict in the area or battles unfolding before the player arrives, there is a story built into the backbone of the sites.

This attention to detail, from the monstrous eight-story demons to minutiae unfolding off in the distance of the skyboxes, extends to character models. Each enemy type is colorfully distinct atop brilliant modern designs for classics.

Visually, up-close kills are downright brutal in ways it's impossible to describe. It's Doom—the squishy monsters, well, squish. It's enthralling if that's a player's thing. Just know if this had been released 10 or 20 years ago, parents would be up in arms. It's a fetishization of shooting and violence and feels much better than it should given the circumstances.

Eternal is just as littered with gory goodness in the audio department. Flesh explodes, monsters hiss and the environments bubble, among other things. There are notable audio cues players will learn that help them to understand ability cooldowns without taking their eyes off the shooting. Don't forget the fitting heavy-metal soundtrack in the background, which now feels like an in-joke part of the lore.

The presentation-gameplay marriage is of the gruesome variety—in a great way. It's a sweaty-palmed symphony of gore and precision. This is a speedy arena shooter done better than most, requiring not only accurate aim and decision-making but also a surprising bit of mental juggling when it comes to abilities, enemy weak points, the environment, etc.

Glory Kills are still in and rewarding in the way they top off health after staggering an enemy and looping in for the finish. Different gun types and a revised suit with its own arsenal of abilities work in a murderous symphony. It asks the player to use the right weapon for the situation, the right tandem of weapons and abilities to take down the big-bad demons and the right chain of abilities to keep health, ammo and armor topped off just to stay alive.

At times, it's difficult to keep track of every single ability while in the fray. Layers upon layers of abilities, mods, weapons and more can overwhelm in certain fights. It never detracts from the experience too much, but this isn't exactly the sort of game wherein players can stop and think about what they are doing, let alone glance down to see what abilities are available or have recharged.

Movement is key to survival. Platforming has a nice mix of chaining dashes, jumps and attachable surfaces together in interesting ways, often amid obstacles. But obstacles is the operative word here, as simple geometry and random stuff can occasionally inhibit movement in unexpected ways. If the player stops moving in a fight it will likely lead to an instant death, and it's jarringly frustrating when this does happen due to an obstacle.

Difficulty can feel a little erratic too. It's easy to tell when the challenges in front of a player amplify, only to taper off again. There's a good flow here, but every now and then certain rooms or challenges can feel unfair. This is at least balanced in an interesting way later in the game. 

But flow is a good word for the gameplay side overall. Once players get comfortable, there's a fun understanding of balancing abilities and cooldowns to shred through enemies. There's weight in how to finish off enemies too, as one ability might drop more armor upon a kill, while another might drop more ammo. It's an intricate balance that doesn't entirely mesh well with the blinding pace of the action. But when it's hitting on all cylinders at once, it qualifies as euphoric.

Note while plenty of talk around the game centers on skill and precision, there are measures of accessibility baked in as well. The lower levels of difficulty are quite forgiving and the platforming and environmental traversal isn't some end-all barrier to progression.

Story, Multiplayer and More

Eternal goes an interesting route, slashing some of the old-school humor and going into lore territory.

The main character is the accomplished hero from the first game (2016) who must turn his attention to an invaded Earth. He does so while looping in plenty or mythology, locales and characters while playing the role of a redeemer.

Some of the big baddies look like ones players would see in a franchise like Destiny. Along the way, the player even links up with some allies. It's old-school in the mold of the silent hero who sort of walks around while someone else chats it up, but the cutscenes are still interesting enough.

It all operates out of the Fortress of Doom (read: hub), where players can hit on different upgrades and check out fun nostalgic nods in certain parts of the area before launching through a portal into the next stage.

To round off the story point, most of it is optional. Players who just want to slay and dash endlessly can. Cutscenes are skippable, and at no point is it a requirement to pop open the codex and get some background context to the carnage. It's there—and some of it is interesting—but it's not mandatory.

Environments offer up plenty of storylines in their own right.

Slayer Gates are brutally difficult endgame content locked behind actually uncovering a key. That's not so bad—the fight within is a no-concentration-break-fest of skill requirements, with big rewards up for grabs. Think the usual battle arenas found throughout the game amplified exponentially.

While the platforming ranges from clunky to fun thanks to some of the obstacles it throws at players, another caveat has to go out: It's rewarding to just explore levels when the action dies down. There are plenty of goodies and boosts tucked into the nooks and crannies of levels, collectible or outright critical to keeping a good run going.

For those more interested in getting into some wicked arena-based multiplayer action, Eternal offers up BATTLEMODE.

Some of the earlier comments about "too much" also apply elsewhere. Namely, the systems behind the scenes. We're talking weapon upgrades, mods, mod upgrades, runes, barriers, challenges and beyond. It isn't explained poorly, but it's a case of information overload.

One skill, after upgrading a tandem like health and armor to unlock a bonus, makes Glory Kills available from farther away or enables them to happen faster. It makes a player stop to think about upgrade paths. That means it's done well, but players can't exactly pause to strategize about how to juggle it all during an actual fight.

As a capper, one of the nice details about Eternal is, unlike its predecessor and others in the genre, it doesn't get boring by the end of the game. Without going into spoilers, the gameplay loop continues to evolve. It's nice to have new things introduced just as a player starts to get a mastery of what's going on right up to the conclusion.

Speedrunning Tips

Doom has long been a staple of speedrunning.

The 2016 release was a monstrosity in this regard, and world-record runs still go live to this day—in the 20-minute range.

While the predecessor won't lose too much in the way of a community because it's still rather young from a speedrunning standpoint, Eternal feels like it is built for runs.

With varied ways to get through levels, secrets to find and a highly customizable experience that makes it feel like no two players could end up tackling things the same, Eternal is going to be a hit in the speedrunning arena for a long time.

Out of the gates upon release, running and gunning as opposed to unearthing every secret is an ideal goal, as is skipping things like cutscenes. It's going to take some time to learn movement, enemy weak points and the new additions, but skill will end up being a major factor.

Certain assists sure won't hurt in the fight for top times upon release, though. A Rune that launches into a Glory Kill from farther away, for example, can be a life-saver as well as a boon for mid-combat decisions. Another that slows time while aiming mid-air can be a big assist to knock out enemy weak points.

Prioritizing suit upgrades that give more health and unlock perks such as faster grappling and area traversal also speed things up as well. Other options like gaining pickups from a farther distance aren't items to discount, either.

Post-release runs compared to a year from release are going to be wildly different, but the above provides some framework to get running while refining a rather unexpectedly complex first-person shooter bound to be a smash hit in the speedrunning community.

Conclusion

Eternal isn't perfect, but it might be the perfect sequel. It one-ups its predecessor with strategic combat and a never-know-what's-coming-next feel to environmental traversal. Maybe it doesn't reinvent the first-person shooter as we know it, but dancing around enemy weak points and prioritizing enemies based on sustainability drops at this speed is a blast and arguably without equal.

In all, it's a little eerie how well Eternal grooms players into perfect killing machines. There's too much going on at times, but it is a refined experience to make a player feel like the ultimate heavy-metal killing machine in the universe.

And that's what Eternal set out to do. It's sheer fun with few equals in gunplay. Hindsight might understandably cite it as the apex of FPS gaming for a long stretch. Given the progressions here, the genre is clearly in good hands with id Software and, fittingly, the most iconic FPS series out there.