 DOOM Eternal is the shooter I've had the most fun playing, period. Don't, don't turn the video off yet, it goes beyond that. Though I've enjoyed my time with id Software's latest title to no end, I'm not blind to the issues that can be found here, so please click that subscribe button and join me as I turn my trusty to the most metal title of the year, DOOM Eternal. Remember how angry the Slayer was in DOOM 2016? He's mellowed out a bit in the time since, apparently invested rather in building up the most jacked up, mythos you and your sixth-grade best friend could ever imagine. The ridiculous factor of Eternal makes Diablo's seem like a plausible interpretation of the Bible. That's not to say that the metric ton of lore id Software introduces is bad. It isn't. But it is a lot, and it is off the charts crazy. Earth has been invaded by the demonic, host of hell, and most of humanity has been wiped out. But it isn't just that demons have invaded because eating people is fun, or because they are bored of social distancing. No, it's because a race of techno gods called the Kan and their leader, the Kan maker, with an E and a Y and a K and an R, have made of hell an Argent power plant. They need the maimed, tortured souls of humanity as a raw product for the production of Argent energy. The DOOM Slayer has history with the Kan, being the champion of the Argent De Nure, who worship the Kan as their gods. There's fallen priests corrupted by their manipulation of hellish energies, and there's crazy techno gods in space and planets you've never seen before. And yes, I realised some of this is spoiler's territory, and no, I don't care at all. Who does? It's DOOM. The point is, the DOOM Slayer has history, crazy extensive gladiator with Russell Crowe type of history with the Kan maker, and bloody hell does it put in perspective his anger with Samuel Hayden and everything going on in Mars in DOOM 2016. Frankly, it's ridiculous. A little like a Saturday morning cartoon on a generous helping of drugs, and not just crack but the fancy designer stuff too. Remarkable amounts of camp are at display here, and whether you enjoy this element of DOOM or not depends entirely on personal taste. I had fun with it, but you might find it quite a little bit too much. That said, if none of the Argentineux and Kan maker elements were present in this story, it was just an old fashioned invasion tale I'm not sure anyone would have said, oh DOOM Eternal would have been so much better if only it went b***** crazy and pulled out some b***** crazy lore. It's as if the development team has forgotten. The very lesson they emphasised with 2016. DOOM guy wants to shoot demons. He is very good at it and he doesn't need much of an excuse to do it. I suppose the argument could be made that he wasn't much of a character in the previous one, just an outlet for the player's fury and anger and desire to murder demons. And he was defined by that single trait alone, that singular rage as opposed to being a character here. But it's an iffy argument at best. Just don't stand in the way of what DOOM guy does best its software. Don't do it. The verdict on DOOM Eternal's story is fun, ridiculous to the point of grand delinquents, and unnecessary. But fun, yeah, yeah, very fun. DOOM Eternal's design is one of excess. Where DOOM 2016 was all about a minimalist design that accented the singular delivery of bloody murder and violence upon the enemy, DOOM Eternal revels in everything it has to offer. More weapons, new support items, a wholly different chainsaw usage philosophy, all force the player to take on a different role. Not just demon killer, but tactician, always mindful of every toy in a constantly expanding repertoire. It is this demand that you as player approach every battle in a different way, depending on the enemies you face that has caused irritation in some DOOM 2016 players. You're no longer able to pick your favorite weapon and go on a never-ending murder spree with it, and not just because you'll run out of bullets. That's what the chainsaw is for now. Rather than a big bad murder button that you activate whenever you want to nasty the enemy out of the way, it is now your main ammo reload tool. There's always a zombie or minor demon at the edge of combat, waiting to be chopped up into tiny pieces. The fact that the chainsaw always refills its first bar acknowledges that shift in design. But again, relative lack of ammo aside. The game forces you to constantly switch between the weapons in your arsenal. Each demon has weapons that turn them into literal mush, which makes learning enemy weaknesses and implementing them one of the key moments in your DOOM eternal experience. The game constantly pushes you to switch gears, moving from one gameplay style to another. It does so damn near seamlessly too, based on how much more fun and how swift its combat is. Eternal makes every other shooter seem slow. Even DOOM 2016 is sluggish by comparison. There's rhythm to it. One that never becomes tedious, never grows routine. This is perhaps why I personally prefer DOOM Eternal's gameplay over its predecessors. When I first played through DOOM 2016, though I enjoyed it, it also drained me, and the spectacular tension of those early levels became commonplace by the end of the game. It all never, ever had that moment. To my surprise, the platforming sections I thought would take away from my enjoyment of this title in fact offered enough of a break between arenas that I was thankful. Looking for the more easily accessible secrets than the ones in the previous game offered a break away from the combat when it otherwise might have drained me as well. The platforming paces the game, something I, an enemy of all jumping sections across gaming since as far back as the first Harry Potter game, never thought I'd say about a DOOM game. At its best, DOOM Eternal's outrageous demon-murdering arsenal of toys creates cathartic engagements that suck you in and don't let go. At its worst, the game's excesses result in a few situations which suck the fun right out of playing. But for that, we're going to have to bring the demons into the conversation. One last point. If you're interested in the differences between the design decisions of DOOM Eternal and its predecessor in a more in-depth way, you should see Adam Miller's What Makes DOOM Eternal Different video. The architect of games, as he calls himself, has some exceptional in-depth analyses of the design systems that underline our favourite games. Now, on to the enemy section. Despite my original idea, I've decided not to make the section a breakdown of every type of demon that appears in game, or of their weaknesses and strengths. As you see, all of that is already in the game itself. What this section is, instead, is my view on how the Slayer's foes complement the game design I spoke about. All the old favourites are back, from the cacodemon to the pinky all the way to the fiery baron of hell. Many of the demons complement each other well, and I often found myself forced to prioritise one type of demon over another in order to survive. So, for example, the most inguable and deadly of foes, the tyrants, can often be eluded for the sake of killing a more immediate threat because of how slow they move. Quite a few of the demons introduced in Eternal are nothing short of a joy to dismember, just like the returning ones. Each one of them furthers the design on whose foundations all of Doom Eternal rests. Each one, that is, except for the Marauder. This highly leveled demon makes for an intriguing opponent on his own, with several behaviours that switch depending on the range at which the Doom Slayer engages him. The Marauder has a very small opening window, during which he can be damaged, and few weapons that do enough damage to be worth using. The double barrel shotgun, being the prime weapon of choice, closely followed by the Ballista. Taking the Marauder apart requires time, commitment, and some uncanny invasion. It's a dance for two and it demands incredible concentration. The problem is, it also necessitates a style of play entirely different from the one you use to a player, and you're used to this incredible smooth combat flow that dominates the vast majority of the game. The Marauder works as a one-off boss. Though difficult, overcoming him is not impossible and it is very rewarding. He does not work as a part of several mob waves, on account of the sheer amount of work required to take on him alone. With a dozen or more other demons running amok, firing, every kind of nastiness there is, any fun you get from matching your skills against those of the Marauder is entirely absent. After the third or fifth time, say, an errant fireball from an imp kills you. It's downright infuriating. The Marauder ruins the flow. He takes away from the player's enjoyment. Even the moments of absolute triumph when I killed two Marauders in a roll without dying to either of them. Even the sense of accomplishment I felt when I did that does not make up for the singular piece of ill-fitting enemy design. The rest of it is phenomenal, which makes the Marauders stick out that much worse. There is no end to the pleasure I drew from using each and every one of the eight weapons available to the player in the campaign. Or should I say 16 as every weapon comes with an alternate mode of firing. These switch up the way the weapons work, enough to make them feel different and distinct, as was the case with the previous installment in the Doom franchise. And yes, I count the un-maker as the alternate firing mode of the BFG, even if it has to be unlocked and is technically its own model and all that. Both use the very limited BFG ammo so the point is moot, really. The incentive to alternate in your use of weapons is, as we have spoken, the foundational principle on which Doom eternally switching guns rests. How dreadful it would have been if the weapons themselves weren't fun to use. But they are more than fun. The KSU cores with each and every one of them is downright addicting. Nay, cathartic. Firing the weapons is satisfying to no end. Old to the amazing sound design, which blows the bloody fish out of the even bloodier water by the time you're done with it. Well, it would anyway, if there were actual water in the game. Or fish. Hmm, aquatic Doom spin-off, anyone? No? Ah, fair enough. Eternal has some of the beefiest, most delightful gun sound design you will ever hear, is my point. Your ears will love you for pulling that trigger, even as they bleed from how metal everything in this bloody game is. And especially everything you do. But even if the guns sounded like a pair of quacking ducks, no one can deny that the gunplay is as exceptional as it was the last time. And even more so. It is the logical extension of Doom 2016's gun handling and likely the best gunplay I have experienced in an FPS game. What more is there to say? One of the complaints Doom 2 million and 16 received had to do with its comparative lack of variety. You spent time on Mars, then jumped to Hell, then came back to a burning Mars, then went for a final stroll in Hell. Eternal remedy is this, with an extensive amount of locales. No three of them are like, I say three because the missions often come in twos, which explore one of the locales. And even then, there is extensive difference between these as well. Levels range from the arctic circle of Earth and the ruined cities of the very same planet, two demonic facilities in Hell, Hell proper, all the way to the techno fantasy battles card expanses of Argin de Nure. Even a short return trip to Mars is in the cards. Is this too much? Does it feel disjointed, lacking a central team, a singular unifying thread that holds all these zones together? Some have made that argument. And while I do not think it unreasonable, I find that the story served the role of that thematic unifier. Connecting the locales well enough. The addition of plenty of unforgettable visuals helped. And I'm not overselling this. Some of the fisters the camera puns to will stay with me for years yet to come. Excellent level design overall, consisting of arenas of all shapes and sizes. They allow for unparalleled levels of motion and weapon use to the fullest. Instead of corridors, we've got the very gamey platformer sections, which work just fine, and they succeeded in offering me a break in between the arenas, as I already explained. These are filled with secrets, much easier to find this time around, which is something I'm a big fan of. Some people are quite unhappy with that, but for me, the fact that you can just go through a level without spending many hours or having to result using a guide is a big win. Graphical Fidelity. Doom Pillars of Eternity is a beast of optimisation, which ran flawlessly on my machine and holds a near-spotless track record among the community from the research I made. id Software once again offers an unparalleled amount of graphical options to tweak as the player so chooses. Impeccable attention to detail and performance in that option menu, and I appreciate the customisation, this allows each and every one of us players. As for the music, Mick Gordon has outdone himself once more. Regrettable that he's had a spot, very public one with Bethesda, which will be ending by all accounts, his contribution, and his dealings with the developer. This takes nothing away from what is one of the most exceptional metal symphonies in gaming history, edited to perfection in the game itself. Is there any junk? Sure. The climbing animations in the platforming sections come to mind. Other pet peeves include the naming convention of the Doommaid's hub, which is called Big Cringes, the kids say. Not particularly a fan of the tutorials that show how to kill each demon, I'd rather have found that out for myself. Only the marauder's tutorial is excusable, unlike the marauder himself. A section of some purple goo, which basically takes all your movement away, is infuriating. But the fact that I can't really come up with anything other than these five very specific elements when I think of what annoyed me should tell you something about Doom Eternal. I played this on ultra-violent, which I found to be harder and more challenging than Nightmare was in Doom 2016. Nightmare I have not touched. I thought I might, but now I'm not sure. Maybe one day, as to why I'm not sure. Let me tell you, Doom Eternal is a solid game, with fascinating design decisions, a shooter that does far more right than it does wrong. I am happy to recommend it to any who love the FPS genre, or would be, if Doom Eternal hadn't introduced some de novo anti-cheat software in the latest update to the game. A move the publisher is no doubt behind, in what I can only explain as Bethesda's attempt to… assassinate any good world Doom Eternal might have created in the playerbase. The game itself is a magnificent 9 out of 10. As for Bethesda, you really can't put a number on how icky they are, can you? Thanks for watching. This review took me over a month longer than it should have. I've been feeling extremely unmotivated over these last two months. Wow, do I sound cheer when I say that? Oh yeah, I've been so unmotivated, it's been great. Ah, editing has been difficult. As is writing, these videos, the scripts, it's been a bother. Next up, I hope to bring you a short discussion video on Frostpunk, before some Gears Tactics content, and I'm even thinking about gushing about Bretonnia and Total Warhammer 2, and maybe other races as well. I hear that the Orcs recently went a massive revamp. I'm excited to see what that's like. If you enjoyed this video, do subscribe, press that like button, share the video with your friends, let me know what you thought about this review down below. I'm Philip Magnus, and I'll see you next time. Bye!