DOOM ETERNAL
Slay of the game
Format PS4 ETA 20 Mar Pub Bethesda Softworks Dev Id Software
Last time we played this hellish shooter it was still slated for a 2019 release and felt perfectly polished. 2016’s Doom returned the series to its roots, fully embracing the push-forward run-and-gun style of fighting that people loved about the original game, eschewing the slower pace of the cover shooters that were plentiful at the time.
Eternal is just as rapid, with the frenzied demon slaying turned up hot enough to melt Hell. Bigger demons lie in wait (and angels, we’ve been teased); new death-dealing delights change how we play (a meathook on the shotgun grapples us to enemies); and the Doom Slayer’s journey is more dramatic than ever (at one point we fire ourselves out of a cannon to progress).
So the delay isn’t entirely unwelcome. As the campaign already
“THE DEMON PLAYERS CAN RESPAWN IN WEAKER DEMONS.”
felt pretty tight, it’s most likely that the extra time is being spent on ensuring the multiplayer’s right on target – as the way this works in Doom Eternal has a twist.
DEVIL INSIDE
You get to play as demons. And that’s why it’s important the studio takes time to get this right, as it could be the best new addition to the Doom franchise in years. Battle mode is an asymmetrical 2v1 experience that pits one Doom Slayer player against two demon ones. It’s more than merely going to gun-to-gun; the demon players can respawn in weaker demons to cause the Doom Slayer extra grief, and drop in hazards too.
Battle mode matches take place in the sort of arenas you’ll encounter in the single-player campaign. With five different demons to play as and six maps so far confirmed, there’s a multitude of configurations that will keep the game endlessly exciting. But that’s not the only time other players pose a threat: even the main campaign will turn them against you. In Invasion mode they can come at you within the campaign itself. Demon players will always know where the Doom Slayer is so they can prepare an ambush, and they’re able to travel about quickly using hidden, demon-only launch pads and walk through locked doors. This is presented as more of an endgame challenge, building on what you learn in Battle mode – it’s designed to make replays of the campaign tougher rather than to put first-time players off. Exactly how Invasion mode will be implemented has yet to be revealed, but one thing’s for sure: the demon claws are going to be out – and so is our chainsaw.