During PAX East 2020, Jonathan White, Matt Kowalski, and I went to the Bethesda Game Days event that happened over two days next door to PAX. The one game all three of us were most excited to play was the upcoming DOOM Eternal. While there, I did also play the new content in Fallout 76, but I will talk about that in a later post. We each got hands-on time with Doom Eternal, leaving all three of us wanting more.
Many of us here at Marooners’ Rock grew up with the original games, the custom created levels and even trying to play online on dial-up. I can remember the days of getting home from school, and killing some demons in Doom and Doom 2. Now if you’ve been hiding under a rock, Doom Eternal is an upcoming FPS developed by id Software and is published by Bethesda Softworks.
During my time with Doom Eternal, I found the visual effects to be extremely vibrant especially when considering that the previous game was all on Mars with lots of reds and grays. With the events that took place in Doom (2016), it was only a matter of time time until Hell reached Earth and the team at id Software went balls to the wall with gore, metal, color, and populating those spaces with more types of demons. From the moment I clicked on New Game, I was fully ready to tear into the nearest demon coming my way.
What makes Doom Eternal so much different than Doom (2016) is the overhaul of the in-game mechanics, the updated UI, and how the game flows through direction through smart level design and enemy placement. In comparison to previous Doom titles, the layout of the map was more coherent, which made for a better experience when determining where to go within this hell on earth.
Doom Eternal does not hold your hand by any means. Need to heal yourself? You better be taking down the nearest enemy. Need ammo for your weapons? You better be ready to get up close and personal. I lost count of how many times I’d run low on ammo and be down to my knife, hoping I can clear out the next wave coming my way. The default controls were also changed considerably, such as quicker response on both keyboard/mouse and Xbox Controller with finer control of movement during demon attacks. I could’ve spent the rest of the evening playing the demo over and over due to my enjoyment of just how challenging this game can be.
What is Doom without hordes of disgusting, powerful demons to surmount? Even though it seems like a given, I am happy to report that DOOM Eternal is indeed full of new and interesting monstrosities. One notable addition to the fray is the Spider Mastermind, a twisted creature sporting a plasma turret on its back. This thing sports a face that only a mother could love and it’s tough to work around when all the other demons want a piece of the Slayer. I lost track of how many times I’d run out of ammo or be taken down by this beast.
Even though the level we played was only a taste of the full release, I wanted to make the most of every minute and get as far as I could. The player beside me during our hands-on time was able to get to the end to rip open a portal and that left me wondering where that portal goes. Could we have been in Hell the entire time and some of Earth is being spawned into Hell, or will this portal throw us to Earth to continue on the story left at the end of Doom 2016? We’ll find out soon enough!
The team at id Software has really taken Doom Eternal up a notch from the previous games. Doom Eternal will definitely be a game that long-time fans will want to rip and tear into. You can check out IGN’s first 10 minutes of Doom Eternal below, which is what we got to play during the event.
Jonathan’s thoughts:
Of all the things I couldn’t wait to get my hands on at PAX East, DOOM Eternal sat at the top of that extremely short list. I loved DOOM (2016) and I have been chomping at the bit for more ever since. So naturally, when I found out it would be playable at the Bethesda Game Days event, I squealed with excitement and blasted some Carpenter Brut on the plane to get me ready to rip and tear. When I finally got my chance to delve into the madness, I found myself with a big dumb smile glued to my stupid mug for the entirety of the 30 or so minutes that I spent rampaging through demonkind.
It was everything I loved about the previous DOOM but faster, louder, more gruesome, and just more awesome than before. This shit was so good, it was worth braving the Coronavirus for. We’re only a few short weeks away from the full release and I’m ready to put everything on hold to do it all again.
Matt’s thoughts:
DOOM Eternal takes everything I loved about DOOM and revs it up. Want to chainsaw through demons? You got it and the combat overall is now smoother and more visually appealing than ever before. Want to see a vast hell-ridden landscape? You are in for a mind-blowing experience. If the levels didn’t lock you in during the demo, I would have probably searched the area for hours and tried to wander down every stray path.
When I played Doom (2016), there were multiple times where combat felt weighed down and the game was trying to be more than it was. Often blood or body parts would fly off but it seemed liked reduced resolution versions of the monster’s actual model. In Doom Eternal, that is no longer the case. No matter what way the demon goes, you can see all those bits and chunks in glorious detail. Mantling terrain is more natural now too, allowing you to stay in the action rather than trying to figure out how to navigate the level. Finally, the demons look better than ever. The sheer attention to detail and overhaul of the graphics will have you wanting to slay more or be hurt plenty.
Overall, after the time that Jonathan, Matt, and I had with Doom Eternal we definitely can’t wait to rip into some demons! Doom Eternal is launching on March 20th if you too want to destroy demons on Xbox One, PS4, or PC. The Switch port being handled by Panic Button was pushed back but the delay was reported to not be very long. Watch here for a future in-depth review when the time comes!
Learn more on the official website.
For more PAX East 2020 coverage, check out our impressions of the perfect companion to DOOM Eternal, Animal Crossing: New Horizons. We also spent some time with a new localization from NIS America, Disaster Report 4: Summer Memories.
