The word Doom always brings to mind only one thing: violence. On the other hand, this is the main theme that distinguishes the iD Software title from all the other shooters, a riot of blood and meat to be slaughtered without respite. It is interesting to think, however, that behind that not a little thin layer of splatter there is a plot: Doom Eternal, which we have thoroughly tested and reviewed for you, is in fact the direct sequel to the Doom released in 2016.
Revised, improved and thought out differently, the game now arrives in 2020 and brings many new weapons, killing modes and demons to riddle until there is only a few shreds of flesh left. But Doom Eternal is much more: iD Software's work was in fact not conservative, at least not in the strict term, but slightly “revisiting”, finally bringing the brand into the new (now old) generation. If in fact Doom of 2016 had been an experiment, a test to see how this game could have worked with this audience, Eternal instead is the confirmation that there is good - qualitatively - in this Doom Slayer adventure.
Lots of (demon) meat on fire
There is no Doom without gunplay: the new Doom Eternal replicates the frenetic soul of the previous game, prompting the player to come up with the best tactical moves in fractions of a second. In fact, if at the beginning the proceeding will seem very linear, going forward you will be forced to exploit every single detail of the map to maximize the damage done, reduce those suffered and chain the right moves. In fact, the two fundamental dynamics of Doom return: a dying enemy can be killed with a kill shot (scenically different for each type of demon and, even, different according to the position from which it is carried out). The second dynamic instead concerns the chainsaw: melee weapon that, consuming a "notch" petrol, will make you kill an enemy (of the weakest) and will release an avalanche of ammunition.
The skill of the player will lie in fitting the attacks with the weapons, the finishing moves and the chainsaw to always have the right amount of ammunition. But this Doom Eternal is even more, the game in fact presents us with some really interesting ideas also in everything else. The first thing that catches the eye are in fact the phases platform: in these moments, lasting a couple of minutes (in which you can catch your breath from the hordes of demons to kill) you will have to take advantage of jumps, sprints, and certain surfaces to cling to or holds to exploit to get an upward momentum and arrive from point A to point B. Half of the time, with a little shrewdness, you can even find hidden areas with collectable, upgrades and anything else.
Also fun are the additional missions, scattered in secret places, which will challenge you to kill enemies in a short time or wipe out any demon from the room to receive bonuses of various kinds. Note of merit must also be given to the plot of the game: although Doom Eternal does not play to discover the story of the protagonist or the world in which he lives, this time it seems that the plot built is better in many respects, more defined and with many surprises for both newbies and old fans of the series.
The Doom Slayer is you
In Romero's mind at the time, there was the idea that the Doomguy was actually the player himself, or rather, his avatar. To practical reflect this concept, everything we have seen goes to join a magazine and enhanced "RPG" section: in the game, in fact, by unlocking the various weapons, as always, we will be able to acquire upgrade modules and improve them in turn with upgrades, using an unlockable currency by killing demons. The other three currencies in the game will instead be dedicated respectively to enhancing some precise dynamics (grenades, cryobombs, exploration and everything else), unlocking the last rank of the weapon in question (in case you do not want to complete the objectives to receive the power -up) and to receive upgrades and collectibles (by placing these objects in some areas of the Fortress of Destiny, the base from which all our missions will start) as costumes and much more.
Finally, the upgrades will make the game an intriguing way to make the Doom Slayer the your character. A system of rune in fact it will give you the possibility to set a set of three upgrades useful in the game: from slowed down time when aiming with L2 (depending on the weapon) up to gods skill improvements already possessed, the choice will be made based on your style but, above all, based on the enemies on the field, very different, well characterized and all having different attacks.
This Fortress, among many things, will also have the right places to place the various collectibles that you will find around in the game: from posters of some vinyls that you can activate to hear that music, up to action figures to put on the shelf, every single space it will become more and more colored with objects as you advance. Finally, all the ingredients are mixed with healthy and good difficulty: with the various settings you can in fact decide whether to live the game for the simple taste of mangling demons or to make your life a hell, thus raising - based on the choice - not only the damage needed to take down the enemies, but even that will be dealt to us. To conclude it all, two features dedicated with the heart to fans: the first concerns the graphics settings, while the second refers to the Master Levels. Finally, there will be Cheat Code to unlock, which together with the costumes, variants, difficulties and Master Levels, will make Doom Eternal replayable over 14 hours of main story.
The graphic settings will allow you to position the weapon centrally (as in the old Doom), remove the undulatory movement of the same as you walk, and even eliminate the glare that indicates a stunned enemy (those who can be killed with a final attack). THE Master levels instead, they are revisited missions and think for players who want additional, more difficult challenges.
The details of Doom Eternal
In technical terms, the genius is right behind the level design: Doom Eternal in fact features corridors that connect large maps. If the former are simple paths - often with some collectibles - to go through in order to advance, the latter will be real battlefields to be discovered. Areas to launch into the air, various floors to visit to have a tactical advantage and many jumps will be the daily bread that will accompany you in an avalanche of kills. Moreover, these will become more and more mnemonic: becoming familiar with the weapon and the character, every single killing of a demon will be born from a perfect coordination of movement and action, on pain of death (too many demons would attack you).
Technically the game is solid: tested on Ps4 Pro, the title is fluid (60 fixed frames), shows well-finished graphics and presents only some technical problems related to the really strange Level of Detail: in fact, if in the game every object, from any distance , the right will be defined, as regards the weapons menu (the classic wheel) as soon as you enter the mission it will appear blurred for about a second. Nothing too problematic, however, as it doesn't affect the gaming experience. The sound, consisting of screams, gunshots and lots of it metal, it will be well finished and suitable for every moment, becoming a travel companion and a necessary ingredient.
We have not had the opportunity to try the Battle Mode, a multiplayer component that replaces the mistreated online mode of the previous chapter, as it will only be available at dayone. We will come back to the subject separately, and if it affects the vote (positive or negative), we take the opportunity to change our final judgment.
