Review for Doom Eternal. Game for PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, the video game was released on 20/03/2020 The version for Nintendo Switch came out on 08/12/2020
The current videogame year has opened a bit quietly and has shown up mostly to focus on slips and postponements of the most anticipated releases by gamers. To revive the fortunes of the videogame industry, and the morale tested by the delicate historical moment we are all witnessing, we think Bethesda and Id Software with the release of Doom Eternal whose global launch is set for March 20th. It must be premised that the analysis of Doom Eternal, in the review phase, will necessarily be divided between Campaign and Battle Mode since, at the time of writing, the game servers are not yet active.
From the first minutes of Doom Eternal's gameplay it is evident that the king of shooters is back and he did it in style with a product that proves to be cared for in various aspects, starting from the initial menu and the game interface. But there is an element that stands out right away, even before the frenetic and gruesome gameplay, and it is the plot that follows the events of the Doom Slayer (or Doom Guy for the nostalgic). Id Software has done an impressive artistic work in this direct sequel to that Doom that relaunched the brand in 2016, creating unique and varied settings and making itself strong with a first-rate script and direction. The demonic hordes have launched a massive invasion force on earth sowing death, destruction and horror. The Doom Slayer cannot remain a passive spectator of this new plague therefore, wearing the historic helmet of his Praetor Armor and taking up the faithful rifle, he is preparing to stand as the last bastion of humanity in an epic clash made of dismemberments and explosions.
We will not go to reveal further details of the Bethesda work but we can say with certainty that what apparently looks like a cover already seen and a story already written several times, soon reveals itself by its true nature: a fascinating narrative universe, enriched by texts and documents that manage to thrill and reveal many details of a character who has become famous for preferring a massive dose of lead and fire to words.
Here comes that frenetic and explosive gameplay, characterized by the imposing gore component, which has always been the trademark of the series. In this, Doom Eternal does not disappoint expectations and, on the contrary, raises the bar of a tested gameplay by inserting new features that enrich the elements already introduced in 2016. We will find all those weapons that have now entered the history of the video game and of the first person shooter genre such as the classic shotgun or the chainsaw, to get to the brand new Ballista which presumably replaces the Rail Gun, both for damage power and for the type of single-shot firing. Another novelty is represented by the components of the Praetor Armor that will support the Slayer in melee. It starts with the well-known and deadly Doomblade blade - whose relentless effectiveness can be appreciated during epic kills - to arrive at the new Shoulder Flame Jet and the Fragmentation Grenade and Cryogen Bomb duo: all of these elements will not require ammo but they will automatically recharge, becoming in fact fundamental components to extricate themselves from the most excited and “crowded” situations.
It is immediately evident that the difficulty of the Id Software title is important, even at intermediate challenge levels, making the gameplay deeper and more strategic even in the most chaotic situations, while remaining faithful to its original nature made of frenzy and rain of fire. It will therefore be necessary to dose your ammunition well, to properly exploit the charges of the chainsaw - able to free ammunition, health and so on from the gutted enemies - and to ponder the various upgrades available to better face the frequent battles.
As in its predecessor, also in Doom Eternal it will be possible to upgrade your arsenal thanks to the two weapon modules that will make available an alternative fire of your choice for your weapon, and interchangeable quickly and if necessary. To do this, it will be sufficient to find the Mod Bot scattered in the various levels of the game while the Weapon Points, obtainable as a result of fighting and completing timed secret challenges and events, will allow us to improve the modules up to obtain the Weapon Mastery able to increase them in important way potential and damage. In the same way, it will also be possible to evolve the mighty Praetor Armor through the use of tokens recoverable in secret areas of the game maps, but not only. It will therefore be possible to increase health, armor and cartridges thanks to the Sentinel Crystals which will also allow us to obtain a further general enhancement for the armor of our Doom Slayer.
We talked about the arsenal, but the enemies? The demonic hordes prove to be tough from the well-known zombies and imps up to the devastating heavier demons able to attack our Slayer with various types of offense and causing massive and often irreparable damage. Here comes the player's mastery in exploiting the weak points of the monstrosities that will appear in front of him, in order to weaken them and be able to facilitate the awaited epilogue made of blood and explosions. Also in this case we are faced with a successful attempt to combine the satisfying familiarity of certain enemies with new fearsome and challenging opponents, whose killing through Glory Kills or Fist of Blood, powerful melee attack that can be loaded thanks to epic kills, will return an interesting satisfaction to our executions.
All Bethesda's work is orchestrated by a metal soundtrack, with almost techno rhythms, which then flows into epic and wide-ranging songs in the most advanced stages of the game and that perfectly match the frenzy and solemnity of our battles. In all this we can see the care placed on Doom Eternal also in the dubbing and in all those sound and visual effects that accompany the exploits of the Slayer. Speaking of the technical sector of the title, as expected, the main element of Id Software production is to be found in the use of the idTech 7 graphic engine performing and perfectly optimized. While exploring Doom Eternal - appreciated on an Xbox One X - in the review phase we found very few situations in which it was possible to notice a drop in the 60 fps guaranteed for all versions available on the market: the effects of light, particles, textures and anything else of Doom Eternal, they prove ready for the new generation of consoles, whose porting is not at all unlikely.
Well before going into Doom Eternal's Battle Mode, the longevity of the title is already guaranteed by the duration of the campaign which, depending on the difficulty you choose to face, it will easily reach 20-30 hours of gameplay proving satisfying and widely replayable thanks to the presence of collectibles, scattered around the map, and unlockable bonuses upon reaching certain objectives.
Repeating a level will also be facilitated well before the end of your run, thanks to the possibility of choosing a particular chapter from the main menu, without overwriting the last checkpoint reached in the current game. In this way the progress will be automatically integrated into the general picture of your game and it will not be frustrating to have to rethink the entire campaign to find all the hidden secrets. Another interesting feature, which is linked to the 100% completion of each section of the game, is represented by the possibility of moving on the game map just before concluding the chapter, in order to recover any collectibles or face hidden events and challenges, before moving on. All these elements help to achieve all the objectives of Doom Eternal without making the achievement of the coveted goal frustrating and repetitive.
Id Software and Bethesda have turned on the 2020 videogame thanks to Doom Eternal, which is what we should always expect when it comes to sequels: a narrative arc that is enriched, a gameplay run by the frenzy and rain of fire that evolves and an interesting expansion in the way of organizing the customization of Praetor armor and the Doom Slayer arsenal. A first level graphics engine, accompanied by an important sound and a natural and pleasant replayability, complete the picture of the new Doom. These are all elements that ensure that this first person shooter will be remembered, waiting to deepen its multiplayer, for some time both on the generation of consoles currently in its final life cycle, and on the emerging new platforms soon available.
► Doom Eternal is a Shooter type game developed by Id Software Panic Button and published by Bethesda for PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, the video game was released on 20/03/2020 The version for Nintendo Switch came out on 08/12/2020
