The 2016 DOOM reboot was a highlight for so many people like myself. How could you hate on a beautiful, violent, fluid, heavy metal-induced FPS? The game was practically flawless with its stunning visuals, tight gameplay, creative enemies, and weapons, along with one of the best soundtracks I have heard in any video game. On top of its excellent single-player campaign, the multiplayer was a ton of fun with a ton of customization. Now we are getting the sequel that we have been waiting for.
This past E3 was pretty great, but Bethesda stole the show in many ways. We got to see a teaser trailer of the follow up to DOOM with the reveal of DOOM Eternal. It was a surprise to some, but I did write up my predictions, and I was right.
Just a few days ago we had Quakecon which revealed not only multiple gameplay videos, we got to see concept art and some information on what is new to come in DOOM Eternal. Everything we saw was impressive, and for a 25-minute presentation, we got a lot of information. Let’s break it down.
Let’s get to what we know so far about the upcoming sequel. The game will go more in-depth into the lore of DOOM. With new areas such as Hell on Earth (we see plenty of gameplay) and at Phobos, one of Mars’ moons that a station is set on. Some areas in the game will be entirely new to the DOOM franchise and others we have seen before. Along with places to go, we have enemies. Just like the 2016 predecessor, we get to look at classic demons from the series, reimagined classics, and brand new enemies too. Our protagonist, Doomguy aka Doom Slayer, is getting a brand new look also. His armor is more advanced along with his weapons. His double barrel shotgun has a grappling hook, a bayonet attached to his arm, and a cannon on his back which can fire explosives or be used as a flamethrower. While multiplayer was not mentioned, the only online mode we got to know is an invading mode. You can play your campaign then all of a sudden another player invades you, or you can invade others. Of course, players have the option to turn this off if they want a purely single-player experience.
The core to this series is the movement while brutally killing demons left and right. From the footage we got to see, Doomguy got to swing around the map with boosters, the double barrel shotgun grappling hook, his sheer speed, and jump boosters around the map. Everything was fluid as you can possibly be in an FPS. Transitions from combat and movement are perfect. We got to see a variety of old and new weapons. Everything got a variety of new features such as the double barrel shotgun that I mentioned, The Plasma Rifle now can electrocute enemies it hits, and many more coming in the game. Including in all of this action, the executions for injured demons are back and brutal than ever. I can’t count how many different executions I saw for each enemy. From bashing in heads, slicing demons in half, sticking body parts where they shouldn’t be, and my personal favorite is sticking the bayonet down a demon’s throat. If you want things to ramped up with the violence, trust me, you got it.
Along with those gameplay mechanics, something new was added to enhance combat and visuals. Enemies, especially harder ones to kill, will lose armor and body parts as you shoot them. Large, intimidating enemies are shown losing flesh and armor as Doomguy unloads with whatever weapon he has decided to slaughter them with. It looks not only brutally awesome, but it gives the player a hint at how damaged the demon is.
The game looks fantastic. We will be getting a more developed version of the 2016 title. A bigger, more violent DOOM that will involve new mechanics, more fluid movement, and double the types of demons to slaughter. Not much is known, but so far this is all that was said during Quakecon. With a listing on Amazon appearing as a placeholder and the well developed looking gameplay, hopefully, we can play this beast sooner rather than later.
DOOM Eternal will release on Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, PS4, and PC.
Full conference below via Gamespot:
Images via id Software/Bethesda Studios
Tristan Zelden 