What We Want From DOOM Eternal

DOOM. What a deliciously gory game that is. When DOOM launched in 2016, it was the first major installment fans had received since Doom 3 in 2004, yup, a painful twelve year gap. Mercifully, we’re not going to be waiting that long again for another installation. Doom Eternal is set to release at some point in 2019. Bethesda has begun to release information and footage from Doom Eternal, but by and large, there’s still so much that we don’t know about what we can expect to see come launch. So, what do we want to see from DOOM’s sequel?

Well, for me at least, DOOM stands as one of the best first person shooters on Xbox One. The pacing, the visuals, the combat and everything in between is nothing short of outstanding. So much so that I’ve recently returned to the game and have been plugging in even more time in anticipation for the follow up. If you’ve yet to play it, I highly recommend remedying that at your earliest convenience – psst, it’s part of Xbox Game Pass now – grab it whilst it’s hot. Trust me, you wont regret a single minute that you plug into this hellish game.

DOOM was met with critical acclaim upon release, with praise aimed at its level design, its brutality and its story. There was some criticism aimed at its multiplayer and its tacked-on SnapMap mode, but for the most part, it went down extremely well among fans and outlets alike. Taking into account that id Software has built Doom Eternal the DOOM’s criticisms in mind, there’s every chance that the sequel will not only meet expectations, but surpass them. The snippets that we’ve learned and witnessed so far certainly appear to back that up.

In Doom Eternal, players will once again take on the role of the Doom Slayer. It’s not completely clear as to how far from DOOM the story will take place, but what we do know is that the forces of hell have invaded Earth, and with the Union Aerospace Corporation struggling to maintain a strong defense, it falls to the Doom Slayer to step on up and fight back against the hordes of hell. What follows on is more of the same “push forward” combat, and when I say more of the same, I mean that as a massive compliment to the series’ format.

The core gameplay loop will remain inline with DOOM. Players will move from location to location, grabbing health, armor, ammo, weaponry and more, as they fight heaps of varying foes. Going from the footage seen so far, we’ve witnessed some cool new gadgets at the Doom Slayers fingertips; the Crucible Blade (seen near the end of DOOM) and an Assassin’s Creed-esque wrist blade that comes in handy for those all important glory kills. We’ve also seen the new meat hook, which is a mod equipped to the Super Shotgun and is capable of sling-shooting towards foes before reducing them to a bloody puddle.

In the movement department, we now know that the Doom Slayer can climb walls and quick-dash. This should come in especially handy seeing as though there are now twice the amount of enemies in Doom Eternal in comparison to DOOM, which is no small feat. Rounding that off is the new “destructible demons” mechanic, a feature that sees enemy’s bodies becoming progressively destroyed as damage is received – think environmental destruction but swap that environment for the f-ugly demons within. What’s more is the newly introduced Invasion mode.

In Invasion – which can be turned on or off in the options – other players can join in your session as a demon and try to hinder your progression. It’s a neat feature if you ask me and will make for some truly dynamic scenarios. Now, onto the multiplayer, id Software are building this themselves as opposed to out-house development (Certain Affinity crafted DOOM’s multiplayer). SnapMap is also being kicked, and post launch content will extend the campaign, rather than that of merely the multiplayer. These are all steps that should elevate Doom Eternal above DOOM to a great degree.

So, it’s clear that id Software have listened to the feedback from 2016’s hit title. The level design is more open than ever before, there’s more foes, more weaponry, more upgrades and more refinements across the board. But, what else could improve the format? In all honesty, outside of the changes we already know about, there’s not a great deal that I would change about it. However, having played DOOM so recently, I would like to see some minor adjustments that would, in my opinion, further improve the already solid much loved package.

I would love to see more emphasis on multiplayer. I know id Software has stated that they’re taking control of it for this launch, but it needs to arrive as less of an addition and more of a working part. Multiplayer in DOOM felt tacked on and it did little to bring the excitement found in its campaign. Fun, indeed, but hardly groundbreaking despite how much customization could be achieved. That level of customization made it feel more like a traditional action-FPS akin to Call of Duty, in a series that literally needed the opposite effect.

Developer id Software would do well to make it feel more like Quake or Unreal. I’ve no doubt that this is what’s being addressed as we speak, but as the old saying goes, the proof is in the pudding. New modes, more modes that tie into the campaign and the old-school bullet-fest hell is all that Doom Eternal’s multiplayer needs to be. It would also be nice to see more boss variation, rather than history-service boss fights from the 90’s Doom games – Spider Mastermind for the final boss? Really? Once again, I’ve every hope that this is exactly what we’ll get.

I suppose the addition of co-op play wouldn’t hurt, but I know this one in particular tends to split the crowd, so I’ll leave that open for debate. One thing I love about DOOM (and Doom 3) is the logs that can be picked up for added story and lore. This is a must have for Doom Eternal, so I thoroughly hope that these return in larger bulk. Finally, I wouldn’t mind seeing heaps more glory kills and several more variations to them depending on what weapon you’re holding when you execute a glory kill. DOOM had a lot, but it also had a lot of enemies to tackle.

This meant that we were watching the same cycle of glory kills level-in and level-out. Small gripe I know, but one nevertheless. When all is said and done, DOOM remains as one of my favorite games this gen. It’s an action packed experience that rarely gets old. Doom Eternal, with its post launch campaign content and its many improvements, is set to make an excellent formula perfect, and I can hardly wait. What about you? Have you played DOOM? What are you hoping to see from the sequel come next year? Hit the comment section below to get in on the action.

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