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 forces of evil are fiercer than ever and are ready to invade even the small Nintendo laptop. The Slayer is therefore ready to defend the forces of good in a gruesome confrontation that operates on a much discussed and in some ways problematic battleground, that of Nintendo Switch. Already, after months after the release on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC, Doom Eternal lands on Nintendo Switch thanks to the effort of Bethesda, Id Software and Panic Button.
Will the Slayer be able to assert itself on a reduced hardware like that of the Japanese laptop? Let's find out right away.
The plot, a trivial pretext to lead the hands, is simply reduced to the bone: the demonic forces have targeted the Earth and the forces of good have decided to send us, and only us, to fix things and kick some Devil. We at Epic Videogames Guide could talk for hours about all the features introduced in this chapter and already examined in our previous review, but here, more than analyzing the content of Doom Eternal itself, we will focus on the porting work done with all the its strengths and weaknesses.
Let's start by saying that Doom Eternal is one of the purest and most appreciated FPS ever released on any platform. The classic "shoot, tear, run, jump and start over" is certainly the mood that reigns in the title Panic Button and id Software and is the most satisfying to aspire to, if you are a lover of the genre. In particular, Doom Eternal managed to convince thanks to breathtaking graphics and a granite framerate that - in addition to being raised to 1000 FPS peaks in a PC mod - expresses its full potential thanks to spectacular effects in a frenetic action and with a strong splatter component.
With these premises it is normal that the idea of playing Doom Eternal on Nintendo Switch can make many turn up their noses. In fact, it seems impossible that a title with such a frantic action and with so many effects could be at least satisfactory on the limited hardware of the small Switch. Yet he succeeds, indeed, he succeeds damn well. Of course, compromises have been made but the work done by id Software and Panic Button is truly incredible. The development teams must have accumulated considerable experience thanks to the excellent ports of Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus and Wolfenstein: Youngblood because with Doom Eternal they really did a great job.
But what are the specific compromises to which he had to yield? First of all, a drop in frame rate, which from a fixed 60 FPS is reduced to a stable 30; to this you must also add a graphic downgrade that brings Doom Eternal from 4K to 1280/720 (almost never real); finally, the effects of light and shadow have been considerably reduced and the pedal has been pushed to accelerate the movements to the detriment of general sharpness. While these compromises on paper can really weigh a lot, on balance they are very little noticeable in the global experience, and particularly when playing Doom Eternal in portability.
By keeping a stable framerate in a title where action is the focus, everything else fades into the background almost naturally. Of course, in the cutscenes the graphic downgrade can be seen, especially if you have the opportunity to compare everything with the PlayStation 4 Pro, but in the action it does not matter how many enemies you have to deal with as you jump left and right and run like crazy: Doom Eternal doesn't will never show a hesitation.
The respawn loading times are also amazed: if you expect that at each death it will take at least a minute to reload the automatic checkpoint - after all we are talking about a title that weighs about 19 Gb on the Switch - you are wrong: in about 10 seconds you will be catapulted back into the action. In a title like Doom Eternal, in which the difficulty level is set upwards, this is a feature that makes the difference between defeat and success and the development teams have certainly resorted to some pact with the devil to obtain times loading times so short.
In any case, Doom Eternal is an incredible product in its making. Those who have already enjoyed the title know perfectly well how in Doom Eternal the whole setting is constantly exploited and how it is necessary to run around the screen and in all directions trying to always have one of the countless enemies on the screen in the viewfinder. Succeeding on the Nintendo Switch is truly priceless. Then take into account the splatter effects, the instant kills with attached scene, the countless weapons available to be changed on the fly and the additional features such as time slowdowns, jumps, sprints and company: keep all this up with limited hardware Nintendo Switch is a company that is incredible and as much as you can try to explain all this, the right feeling will only be returned to you by a practical test.
Doom Eternal, moreover, leaves nothing to chance: with a lower resolution, limited graphics and FPS you might think you have difficulties, especially in aiming on the fly. Panic Button and id Software have therefore exploited the motion sensors of the Joy-Con allowing the player to decide whether to aim only with the movement, only with the levers or favoring one over the other while keeping them both active, in order to file the difficulties that will show up. Needless to say, once you get the hang of it, thanks also to fully customizable controls, the result is really excellent.
Even the multiplayer component on Nintendo Switch does not show the side of criticism at all: with a normal connection - let's talk about a 20 mega ADSL just to give an example - matchmacking and loading times are perfectly normal. So rest assured: even the deathmatch featuring two demons against one Slayer will take you away hours of fun with friends.
Summing up, can we define Doom Eternal a valid title on Nintendo Switch? Absolutely yes. Of course if you compare this version with that for Sony consoles you will immediately notice some technical differences, but the title analyzed in itself without comparison is absolutely a masterpiece. The writer will never give a full vote to a port, because for personal opinion a title transported from another platform, be it remastered or remake, always loses something, but we can assure you that here we are really close to perfection.
Thanks to Bethesda, the software houses Panic Button and id Software keep the promise made a few months ago to bring Doom Eternal from PC, Playstation 4 and Xbox One on Nintendo Switch by doing an exceptional job. All the splatter, action and adrenaline of the last chapter of the Doom saga land with a roar on the Nintendo laptop, thanks to a port that in some ways is incredible. Dear Nintendo fans, get ready: the Slayer is back.
► 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
