When you think about the FPS genre, the first two names that come to your mind are none other than Doom and Wolfenstein. It was these two forerunners of the early FPS genre that most millennial gamers grew up playing. While Wolfenstein witnessed a sinusoidal curve in the game’s direction as time went on, it’s been a different story for Doom. Throughout the years, there is one thing that has been constant about Doom. No-nonsense gory goodness.
The modern FPS genre is having an identity crisis. A majority of the games that come labeled as FPS or even TPS, often turn out to be a poor amalgamation of elements from RPGs, open-world adventures, and whatnot. In short, we play these games expecting a hardcore first-person shooter, but get everything in return, except a proper shooter experience. Jack of all trades, master of none, as you may call it. That, however, has neither been the case with Doom 2016 nor with Doom Eternal.
THE MODERN FPS GENRE IS HAVING AN IDENTITY CRISIS.
Doom Eternal is a genre-defining game title for the Doom franchise. There are a couple of things that have undergone significant changes here. The most enticing of them all is the movement and traversal. And these upgrades in the traversal mechanics from the last game have taken the Doom Eternal to the next level. Killing demons hadn’t been this fun ever before. Apart from the usual jump and double jump which was present in Doom 2016, you get the dash ability in Doom Eternal. That, bundled with the ledges and launchpads in each level take the pace of the gameplay up by a significant number of notches by introducing platforming.
Moreover, this change in traversal mechanics is very well accompanied by the suppression in the availability of ammunition. While you had nearly unlimited ammo in Doom 2016, in Doom Eternal, you barely have enough. This thrusts the difficulty level way higher than the previous games. At the same time, it paves the way for more thoughtful and strategic combat.
KILLING DEMONS HADN’T BEEN THIS FUN EVER BEFORE.
At times you will find yourself struggling to have bullets in the chamber, and that’s the point since you are forced to switch from mindless shooting to strategical gameplay. Chainsaw an enemy and he’ll drop a considerable amount of ammunition for you to get back to your grooves. The shooting itself is strategic at times because just firing at enemies aimlessly would land you in tight water. To overcome that, the strategical aspects of the game has to be brought into action. Enemies have weak points that can be taken advantage of to get them down faster. Likewise, enemies with shields can’t be shot that easily as you need to utilize the plasma rifle to take out the shield first. Once that’s done, taking the enemy down is a cakewalk.
Eternal’s gameplay is about as close to perfection an FPS game can get. You get swarmed with enemies at frequent intervals, and in between, you are finding your way through the excellently designed levels with the help of the all-new traversal mechanics. The game can be called a 3d-platformer as well as far as the level design is concerned, and that has made the game more varied and interesting.
As far as the weapons are concerned, you are given the shotgun from the very beginning so the game is pretty straightforward with its intentions. You are into full throttle action from minute zero.
YOU ARE INTO FULL THROTTLE ACTION FROM MINUTE ZERO.
You have a wide variety of weapons in your arsenal Ranging from the rocket launcher to the BFG. In the intense segments, you will hardly find yourself using a weapon for more than a few seconds because the game has some excellent enemy variety. The guns have certain upgrades that can be unlocked by exploring the game’s gloomy world. These upgrades give you significant advantages over specific enemy types. For instance, the sticky grenade which can be shot from the shotgun can be used to easily take down the Cacodemon. Pop one inside his mouth and he instantly staggers. Use your glory kill and he is a part of history. On the other hand, if you just try to take it down by shooting, it will deplete a significant chunk of your ammunition.
One of the most significant changes in the game a fan of the franchise would notice is the emphasis on the story. The game is no longer just your stress-buster shooter but also has several narrative elements to make things a bit more immersive. Don’t expect a full-fledged verbose narrative, but at the same time, the story is good enough to just connect it with the gameplay. The transition from collectible lore elements to cutscenes has been a pretty smooth one as well. However, when you are playing something like Doom, the story hardly matters. What matters is adrenaline rushing action, and the game doesn’t have any scarcity of it.
WHAT MATTERS IS ADRENALINE RUSHING ACTION, AND THE GAME DOESN’T HAVE ANY SCARCITY OF IT.
Exploration in the game is pretty rewarding. You get several hidden goodies such as Sentinel Batteries, Sentinal crystals, Runes, etc. which can be used for various upgrades. There are bonus levels in each level, known as Slayer Gates which throws you into an arena swarming with enemies. Killing all of the rewards you with an Empyrean Key. Obtain all Empyrean Keys and you get the Unmakyr, the classic weapon from Doom 64. However, the Slayer Gates is not as easy as it sounds.
All in all, Doom Eternal is a worthy addition to the Doom franchise and it does take it forward with a number of well-implemented elements. You can try hard to find reasons to complain to in the game, but the game will keep you hooked up throughout the roughly-15 hours of ruthless gameplay at a minimum. Whether you are a fan of the franchise or not, there is no reason why you shouldn’t try out this game.