DOOM ETERNAL
Hell is other people (after they’ve had their souls removed)
The Slayer is back, and he’s brought his invisible heavy metal band with him to play pumping rawk music whenever he gets into a fight. While Doom Eternal is everything that you’ve come to expect from the series – blood, guts, bullets, guts, demons, blood, shiny pickups, guts and blood – it’s a little bit more, too. Lessons have been learned. Well, some, anyway.
Doom Eternal strives to find a sweet spot between the atmospheric and story-rich (but slightly plodding) Doom 3, and the adrenalinefuelled (but ultimately repetitive) 2016 reboot. In this, the game hits the mark perfectly. While the campaign length sits somewhere around 20 hours, it never drags or begins to feel tiresome. Whereas fatigue set in long before the end of the much shorter previous game, you’re always keen to see what lies right around Eternal’s next gore-soaked corner.
This is thanks to the superbly judged length and placement of quiet sections, which feature just a few enemies – or, usually, none at all. If you’re heavily invested in Doom lore (some people must be… right?), then there’s plenty of fan service and a few revelations for you here. There’s also a slightly heavier emphasis than usual on exploration. While usually optional, it’s well worth trying to find the less obvious paths and hidden nooks, as the goodies you’ll find include upgrades and cheat codes (the latter only available on a second playthrough of a mission).
DOOM RAIDER
The huge, gross, eviscerated heart of Doom is, and always will be, combat. We’re pleased to report that in Eternal it’s the best it’s ever been. People who are unfamiliar with the series, or relying on vague memories of the first few games, might dismiss it as nothing more than a