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DOOM Eternal - Too much of a good thing

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AuthorSei-chan
Field Medic
Members
34 posts 31 Mar 2020 joined
4 Sep 2026 at 09:21 #1

Despite really liking DOOM 2016 (enough to finish it on Nightmare) I kinda missed the boat on Eternal and only just got around to playing it these last few weeks. Normally I write out slightly longer reviews but I'm gonna keep it fairly brief for this one since there's already 1000 posts on it and just go over some of my thoughts in bullet-point form.

* The HUD is obnoxious - I could scarcely see what was going on past all the UI cluttering up the screen. Luckily, it's not only very customizable but actually barely necessary at all - by about half-way through the game I'd turned it off the UI entirely, and being able to set the weapon to its classic center-screen position meant I didn't even miss having a crosshair most of the time. It's not like this is a game where pinpoint accuracy is that important anyways.
* I'm glad I did so because it makes it a lot easier to appreciate the gorgeous environments. There's a lot more variety to the locations this time around and while they're all pretty video-gamey with lots of big empty hallways and obvious combat arenas, they're still very appealing and crisp.
* In terms of the tone this felt less like DOOM to me and more like Quake or maybe even Unreal - it's outright fantasy more than satanic horror. I didn't mind in the end, it's different but still very cool.
* I love the dash ability, but otherwise found that most of the gameplay additions just felt like unnecessary fluff. The blood punch in particular was just annoying, I almost never used it on purpose but rather wound up doing it by accident while trying to perform a glory kill and wound up screwing myself over.
* Some of the things that I felt were minor issues with the previous game really started to wear on me with this one as it just went on and on and on. Where old-school DOOM had these big sprawling levels with enemies scattered all over, new DOOM seems to be more just a series of combat arenas and they all kind of play out the same way. The thing I noticed is that they throw lots of enemies at you but not all at once the way that, say, Serious Sam does - rather it's more of a drip feed where you kill one guy and another one then spawns in. The weaker enemies are mostly just there to provide you with health and ammo and it's really only the larger ones that matter, and frankly some of the encounters get pretty tedious as it just feels like you're running in place. This gets especially annoying once the Makyr Drones start showing up.
* The emphasis on both the chainsaw and glory-kills make health and ammo pick ups feel a bit meaningless, particularly since as mentioned earlier there's pretty much always a few weaker enemies scattered around and respawning endlessly in each arena - it starts to feel like it's just regenerating health mechanic with an extra step. At least it means you get to use the minigun a lot.
* The boss fights still kinda suck. In particular the

SpoilerIcon of Sin
was just sorta boring - visually spectacular, sure, but the fight itself was just drawn-out and repetitive without much in the way of challenge - I can't speak for NIghtmare difficulty but on Ultra Violence there are respawning sword and gas pickups all over the place so it's pretty hard to actually die, it just takes a while.
* Like 2016, I got way more upgrades and points than I ever actually wound up using and frankly the light RPG mechanics do nothing for me.
* Marauders are lame. They're one of those enemies in games that are really irritating, less because they're hard and more because they force you to prioritize them and play in a very awkward, restrictive way until they're dealt with. After the first couple encounters I realized you could pretty much trivialize them with the ballista + super shotgun so they're not even really a challenge, just annoying.

The long and short of it is that this is basically just more DOOM 2016 for better and worse. It's a lot of fun but the extended run-time causes it to wear a bit thin and some of the weaknesses of the formula become more apparent as a result.

AuthorSei-chan - Trial / new blood
Still learning the smokes.

Monc_rer
Field Medic
Members
29 posts 8 Nov 2019 joined
4 Sep 2026 at 09:28 #2

What's up with this sub always shitting on eternal?

Monc_rer - EU evenings
CET after work.

Nya234lol
Covert Ops
Members
59 posts 14 Jul 2024 joined
4 Sep 2026 at 09:30 #3

I have one very good reason to... Despite all the hype it got, I can't play it on my Xbox because I don't have a BethesdaNet account

Nya234lol - Comp flex
Put me where you need a body.

Lounas
Field Medic
Members
32 posts 21 Jan 2022 joined
4 Sep 2026 at 09:31 #4

The game is mid without the DLC. By the end of the DLCs, it really pushed the game to a great point, arguably better than 2016 and dark ages

Lounas - NA nights
I take the dead hours.

ebolotos
Engineer
Members
37 posts 14 Jun 2020 joined
4 Sep 2026 at 09:36 #5

This is interesting because it's ironically the opposite opinion of most people. I personally thought the DLC was pretty lame, especially the second one, and the main campaign is the best part.

ebolotos - Allies rifle
Spawn on me.

papa_artema_ebaniy
Field Medic
Members
33 posts 6 Jul 2025 joined
4 Sep 2026 at 09:37 #6

It's a controversial game in a popular genre that implemented a lot of contentious mechanics, and part of the spirit of the sun is being able to discuss games outside of the hype cycle where you can be about more critical without being descended on by fanboys.

Unless it's outer wilds.

papa_artema_ebaniy - D&D nights
Nat 1s are character development.

BroU_StyleHD
Engineer
Members
45 posts 5 Jan 2024 joined
4 Sep 2026 at 09:45 #7

DOOM has always been Satanic Techno Horror

BroU_StyleHD - EU evenings
CET after work.

Archra
Engineer
Members
39 posts 8 Feb 2023 joined
4 Sep 2026 at 09:46 #8

I didn't like it slapping my willy when I didn't play it exactly how it wanted me to.

Archra - D&D nights
Nat 1s are character development.

Izzy_Salare
Field Medic
Members
34 posts 21 Sep 2019 joined
4 Sep 2026 at 09:48 #9

Doom 2016 was less is more. No reloading, no fall damage no iron sights etc

Doom eternal was a victim of its own success. They didn't say no to any idea and crammed everything into the game.

Izzy_Salare - Comp flex
Put me where you need a body.

DrumssORIGINAL
Engineer
Members
44 posts 2 Aug 2018 joined
4 Sep 2026 at 09:54 #10

I'd agree with your issues with it. I love the original dooms and loved 2016 after a bit of getting used to it, but I dropped Eternal about half way through.

The loop of platformimg bit to combat arena started to become far too repetitive and predictable, and then I found myself getting a bit bored by the combat. It felt like there was an optimal loop to keep your ammo and health up, and not much room for creativity outside of that.

I also felt all the live service stuff felt a bit cheap and tacky.

DrumssORIGINAL - Old guard
Jaymod days. Still here.

AuthorSei-chan
Field Medic
Members
34 posts 31 Mar 2020 joined
4 Sep 2026 at 09:56 #11

I strongly feel I need more satanic techno horror in my life

AuthorSei-chan - Trial / new blood
Still learning the smokes.

slyr1x
Engineer
Members
48 posts 5 Mar 2020 joined
4 Sep 2026 at 09:56 #12

Doom Eternal is the ultimate "more is less" game

Just a bunch of shit thrown into the game that just doesn't really add much, and only takes away from the experience

slyr1x - BF64s
PTFO or mute.

cecestay
Engineer
Members
38 posts 22 May 2026 joined
4 Sep 2026 at 09:58 #13

2016 was my first Doom game. Beat it but it even that overstayed its welcome by becoming just too repetitive by the end. No desire to play Eternal or The Dark Ages after but I’m glad I tried that one at least.

cecestay - D&D nights
Nat 1s are character development.

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