[Review] DOOM Eternal - Blood Pumping & Adrenaline Rushing

After the success of its comeback in 2016, the sequel DOOM Eternal looks to have you rip and tear like never before while diving even deeper into the DOOM Lore. Can this one up its predecessor or will it be ripping and tearing into itself?

DOOM Eternal brings the basics back from its return in 2016, but builds upon it to offer an even more frantic experience. The Doom Slayer also returns with an advanced Praetor Suit along with a few new tools to help him execute his vision.

New tools include the Flame Belch, Ice Bombs, and the visceral new Blood Punch - a supercharged melee attack. We also get some classic weapons and upgraded guns such as the shotgun with the hook attachment that not only zips you over to those demons, but can be used to traverse around the environment like never before.

Just like DOOM 2016, these can all be upgraded with a number of mods and attachments that will see you through any situation you encounter. It can also be taken a step further through the use of Runes which enhance, augment, and in some cases, grant entirely new abilities. You can equip three at a time with a total of nine to choose from.

Mix and match these to not only create the perfect style for yourself, but to give birth to the ultimate DOOM Slayer.

It may have been a while since I've played DOOM up to this point, but the pace of the gameplay seems to have increased even more than before. This is most likely thanks to the new Dash ability which allows you to zip around your surroundings which not only making you faster, but more versatile also.

This ability even crosses into the platforming section of the game that at certain points sees you dashing 3 - 4 times just to cross from one area to the other, giving you a new look into the universe. I'll admit, some sections make this a little tedious, however for the most part its few in between and gives you a break from the intense battle-royale with the demons.

Speaking of which, demon favourites do make a return along with a few new additions such as the Arachnotron and my greatest enemy, the Maurauder. Clashing with these supernatural beings is just as fun as before and in some encounters I felt it was more intense than DOOM 2016. At some points it felt like the madness wasn't going to end, but once the final bullet was shot, it wasn't a sigh of relief I felt, but an amazing blood pumping-adrenaline rush.

Ripping and tearing the demons was an absolute joy and thanks to the advancements made with idTech 7, limbs get blown apart depending on where you aim and demon weapons can be destroyed to give you a much better advantage. Additionally this has also improved the look and feel of Glory Kills which are even better than ever.

Another aspect of the game that received quite the boost is the environment. You always expect a game to make improvements on its sequel but its rare to see where a sequel came out in the same console generation and looks even better than its predecessor, as everything has a higher quality look to it. The environments are much more open than before as we take a trip from the battlefield on Earth, all the way to the depths of Mars, giving us a better variety of areas to explore.

Speaking of exploration, there are secrets hidden all over the place giving you an incentive to explore every nook and cranny. Thankfully the game does not make it tedious to find or attain these, but for the veteran fans, you will not be disappointed as there are plenty of call backs to sink your teeth into.

So what happens to all this cool stuff you pick up? Well once a mission is done, you are taken back to the Fortress of Doom, a hub from which you can not only start your missions, but also to view all the figures and play the Vinyl records you collected as well.

In the same area there will be locked doors which you can open through the use of Sentinel Batteries found in the world. Behind these doors you will find additional opportunities to mod your guns, cosmetics to style out the DOOM Slayer, collect tokens to upgrade your suit and much more. There is also the Ripatorium, a training room of sorts where you can test new loadouts and hone your skills.

I absolutely enjoyed my time with DOOM Eternal. The game grips you from the get go and expects a lot from you up until the end. It takes all the good bits from DOOM 2016 and just cranks it up even further. I played on the 'Hurt Me Plenty' difficulty and found myself dying quite a number of times. If it is your first experience with this, I would recommend playing its predecessor first as it will prepare you better.

In my opinion DOOM Eternal is one of the best shooters of the generation because there is really nothing like it. The game looked fantastic and I can only imagine what a next gen DOOM could look like.

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