DOOM Eternal - the sequel to the 2016 reboot - now with The Ancient Gods DLC

[JDR13]

I'm on my second playthrough now. Didn't finish it the first time, and now I'm at the Icon of Sin.

This fight is ridiculous. Waaaaay harder than the final boss of Doom 2016.

All bosses in Eternal are harder than Doom 2016 bosses. Though that doesn't mean I liked them better. I like 1 on 1 boss fights, not bosses with minions around them, so this is one thing I actually liked better in Doom 2016. Regular arena fights though are way more fun in Eternal.

Icon Of Sin fight is more tedious than hard, surviving in it became easy once I realized that crucible ammo in the arena respawns and you can kill all the demons in with just crucible and blood punches.

Yeah, it's the annoying mobs that really make it hard not the Icon itself.

It's fucking pissing me off. I beat the Khan Maykr on my first try, but I've died about 15 times now to the Icon.

 

[JDR13]

Of course I beat it shortly after posting that as is usually the case.

I'm a little burned-out on Doom right now, but I did start The Ancient Gods 1 just to check out the first level. Holy hell...they don't fuck around in these DLC do they?

 

[Multidirectional]

Of course I beat it shortly after posting that as is usually the case.

I'm a little burned-out on Doom right now, but I did start The Ancient Gods 1 just to check out the first level. Holy hell...they don't fuck around in these DLC do they?

Yes complaining about boss on the internet is usually the fastest way to beat it for me as well.

It's just the first DLC that is so brutal, second one is much easier.

 

[Multidirectional]

Alright, just replayed first DLC on Nightmare. First playthrough I gave up on second level and lowered it to UV. Obviously had much easier time now. Though that laser stage during last boss still was annoying. Must've died at least 20 times there. I know I'll have mostly easy time with second DLC as I already finished that on Nightmare first time.

 

[Lyric Suite]

I like 1 on 1 boss fights

The only way they could make 1 on 1 fights worth the trouble in a game where 90% of the time you are fighting trillion of hordes of fast moving enemies is to actually make them Dark Souls style but that's not likely to happen, even though it feels they tried in places. Bosses in 2016 were so easy they were basically pointless. In Doom Eternal they seemed to fit more with the rest of the game.

As for the Icon of Sin, the whole point of the boss is that it spawns demons so its not like they could have gotten away from that. In fact, the retarded part about it is that the demon now moves around but doesn't actually do anything special. While the Icon of Sin in Doom 2 was just a gimmick fight there was at least a sense of mystery and you always wondered what the actual demon could do if it was freed. Apparently, all it does is lumber around and occationally swipe at you with his big useless arms. How scary.

 

[JDR13]

You quoted the wrong person there.

Anyways, I didn't feel like the bosses in Doom 2016 were that easy, although I wouldn't call them hard either. The spider bitch was a little challenging for awhile. The problem imo is that there wasn't more boss encounters. Having only 3 in the entire game was lame.

 

[Jaedar]

So about 2 months ago I got 3 months of gamepass for 1 dollar, and about 1 week ago I realized I hadn't even played anything with it. So I started looking for anything to get my moneys worth and found this. First impressions were: oh god this is everything wrong with modern gaming.

Terribadly coded launcher demanding my email address, with barely functioning inputs.
Then, the launcher threw ~10 different popup adds at me for various SUMMER HORDE MODE SPECIAL, DLC NOW RELEASED, each of which had to be open for a few seconds before the button to close it was enabled. But whatever, go into options, turn off all the stupid depth of field and film grain and other bullshit graphics (at least FOV is default to 90). Mouse sensitivty in menu is hardcoded to be superlow, and the settings only impact in game look speed, not menu cursor speed. But fine whatever, I ain't no quitter. New game sucker, at least the opening cinematic can be skipped.

Ok, first weapon found is chainsaw, lets pick it up! "Press tab to view codex entry for chainsaw" followed by teleport to mandatory tutorial area so I can learn how to chainsaw enemies (walk up to them and press c, much hard, definately can't be done in regular map). Fine whatever, first secret item: Forced to stand still for 5 seconds after picking it up because otherwise I might not pay 100% of my attention on the long ass pickup animation.

Continue playing. Realize I move at super slow speeds, while the enemies are zooming around like crazy. Maximum shotgun shell capacity: 16, when most enemies take 2 shots to kill. A few secrets hidden in weird corners of the map requiring blind platforming around corners and on lava floors. 90% of the time there are invisible walls on seemingly traversable platforms, throwing you into the abyss.

Admittedly, the game shaped up a bit after the horrible first impressions, but it still has a looooot of bullshit, but at least you can make glory kill animations almost instant. I am dying quite a lot though, feels like enemy projectiles and attacks come out lightning fast, and since they keep spawning in all over the place it's really easy to get flanked and gibbed by strong enemies that didn't exist 5 seconds ago. Weapons also feel super unreliable, especially the micro missiles which sometimes feel like they're doing incredibly amounts of damage, and sometimes feel like they're utterly useless.

I also question the fact that there's a hub level to get upgrades in, but only like 10 maps, and then you don't even visit the hub between every map.

 

[Multidirectional]

but at least you can make glory kill animations almost instant

It's really a waste of rune slot though. Initially I was annoyed that I couldn't make these animations faster without a rune but eventually grew to appreciate the fact I get a little time to think about my next move during those.

 

[Ivan]

So about 2 months ago I got 3 months of gamepass for 1 dollar, and about 1 week ago I realized I hadn't even played anything with it. So I started looking for anything to get my moneys worth and found this. First impressions were: oh god this is everything wrong with modern gaming.

Terribadly coded launcher demanding my email address, with barely functioning inputs.
Then, the launcher threw ~10 different popup adds at me for various SUMMER HORDE MODE SPECIAL, DLC NOW RELEASED, each of which had to be open for a few seconds before the button to close it was enabled. But whatever, go into options, turn off all the stupid depth of field and film grain and other bullshit graphics (at least FOV is default to 90). Mouse sensitivty in menu is hardcoded to be superlow, and the settings only impact in game look speed, not menu cursor speed. But fine whatever, I ain't no quitter. New game sucker, at least the opening cinematic can be skipped.

Ok, first weapon found is chainsaw, lets pick it up! "Press tab to view codex entry for chainsaw" followed by teleport to mandatory tutorial area so I can learn how to chainsaw enemies (walk up to them and press c, much hard, definately can't be done in regular map). Fine whatever, first secret item: Forced to stand still for 5 seconds after picking it up because otherwise I might not pay 100% of my attention on the long ass pickup animation.

Continue playing. Realize I move at super slow speeds, while the enemies are zooming around like crazy. Maximum shotgun shell capacity: 16, when most enemies take 2 shots to kill. A few secrets hidden in weird corners of the map requiring blind platforming around corners and on lava floors. 90% of the time there are invisible walls on seemingly traversable platforms, throwing you into the abyss.

Admittedly, the game shaped up a bit after the horrible first impressions, but it still has a looooot of bullshit, but at least you can make glory kill animations almost instant. I am dying quite a lot though, feels like enemy projectiles and attacks come out lightning fast, and since they keep spawning in all over the place it's really easy to get flanked and gibbed by strong enemies that didn't exist 5 seconds ago. Weapons also feel super unreliable, especially the micro missiles which sometimes feel like they're doing incredibly amounts of damage, and sometimes feel like they're utterly useless.

I also question the fact that there's a hub level to get upgrades in, but only like 10 maps, and then you don't even visit the hub between every map.

training wheels come off when you can dash. the only "bad" part about Eternal, is that it starts you off with training wheels. once those come off, probably the best FPS I've had the pleasure of playing

 

[TC Jr]

I am dying quite a lot though, feels like enemy projectiles and attacks come out lightning fast, and since they keep spawning in all over the place it's really easy to get flanked and gibbed by strong enemies that didn't exist 5 seconds ago.

I was in the same boat, you basically need to play it exactly the way the designers intended which you'll either like or not. I personally love the gameplay loop, it's fun but I hate the fact it's called Doom, it really should've been it's own IP but I'm preaching at this point.

 

[JDR13]

Ok, first weapon found is chainsaw, lets pick it up! "Press tab to view codex entry for chainsaw" followed by teleport to mandatory tutorial area so I can learn how to chainsaw enemies (walk up to them and press c, much hard, definately can't be done in regular map). Fine whatever, first secret item: Forced to stand still for 5 seconds after picking it up because otherwise I might not pay 100% of my attention on the long ass pickup animation.

The tutorials aren't mandatory. Just turn them off.

Continue playing. Realize I move at super slow speeds, while the enemies are zooming around like crazy.

What game did you play because that doesn't sound like the same one I played.

 

[Mary Sue Leigh]

Should maybe really have been its own IP, iunno..
I would already have settled for them calling the previous one something else than just Doom, because it's the same annoying headache with distinguishing it from the "first" Doom..

My suggestions are, either Doom Slayer because they went with the "mystical magical Chosen One(TM)" protagonist instead of "just some random but super badass marine".
Or, Serious Doom because I remember walking a bit and getting trapped in a room that wouldn't let me move on until every wave was cleared, which reminds me more of Serious Sam than Doom 1 and 2 where you're usually more free to speed around the levels until you're ready and found the best angle of engagement.

 

[Jaedar]

but at least you can make glory kill animations almost instant

It's really a waste of rune slot though. Initially I was annoyed that I couldn't make these animations faster without a rune but eventually grew to appreciate the fact I get a little time to think about my next move during those.

Nah, it's clearly the best rune.

Should maybe really have been its own IP, iunno..

Yes. The fact that it's trying to be compared to doom is only its own detriment.

What game did you play because that doesn't sound like the same one I played.

It seems every single enemy except for the cannon fodder (hp pinatas?) zombies is capable of platforming to at least the same extent as the pc. But it's possible my impression of enemy movement speeds is colored by the fact that they often spawn in right behind my back, making it very hard to keep track of which one is where.

If the purpose of your statement is to dispute the slow movement of the pc, then I don't even. The dash lets you get some quick bursts of speed, but other than that it's tardy.

 

[Blutwurstritter]

but at least you can make glory kill animations almost instant

It's really a waste of rune slot though. Initially I was annoyed that I couldn't make these animations faster without a rune but eventually grew to appreciate the fact I get a little time to think about my next move during those.

Nah, it's clearly the best rune.

Should maybe really have been its own IP, iunno..

Yes. The fact that it's trying to be compared to doom is only its own detriment.

What game did you play because that doesn't sound like the same one I played.

It seems every single enemy except for the cannon fodder (hp pinatas?) zombies is capable of platforming to at least the same extent as the pc. But it's possible my impression of enemy movement speeds is colored by the fact that they often spawn in right behind my back, making it very hard to keep track of which one is where.

If the purpose of your statement is to dispute the slow movement of the pc, then I don't even. The dash lets you get some quick bursts of speed, but other than that it's tardy.

I also thought initially that the movement is way to slow, but it serves a purpose. It prevents you from circle-strafing everything to death, as in Serious Sam for example. The game is amazingly fine-tuned and they managed to keep the player on his toes by preventing a single strategy that works all the time. This becomes obvious when you try Shadow Warrior 3 which feels like a knock-off, although still enjoyable if you like arena shooter gameplay and can stand jump-and-run sections.

 

[Multidirectional]

Nah, it's clearly the best rune.

Sure, gimp yourself in a game you are clearly not even close to being good at yet. Might provide us with some salt in thread, that's always welcome.

Movement in Doom Eternal is supposed to be a combination of dashes, double jumps, Blood Fueled rune, SSG graple and utilizing jump pads and monkey bars. No enemy in game can do all that. I would also add the rune that increases glory kill distance as another mobility enhancer. Once you get used to utilizing these things speed is just fine. If you want to just circle strafe like in old shooters you're not gonna have a good time.

 

[Jaedar]

Sure, gimp yourself in a game you are clearly not even close to being good at yet

Better to gimp myself than suffer interminable repeat animations of neodoomguy sticking a sword in a zombie.

 

[Mary Sue Leigh]

I guess the glory hole kills are a "neat" addition, but I haven't quite understood why they needed to be forced into the gameplay since they turn enemies into ammo and health pickup piñatas, which is needed as weapon ammo caps are so damn low. Couldn't they just be their own reward like how brutal doom did it?
I have figured out that you can do them from different angles etc to switch up the animations but I still have to see them so often that they become mundane at first, and a chore in the end.

 

[JDR13]

I also thought initially that the movement is way to slow, but it serves a purpose. It prevents you from circle-strafing everything to death, as in Serious Sam for example. The game is amazingly fine-tuned and they managed to keep the player on his toes by preventing a single strategy that works all the time.

This ^

 

[Jaedar]

So I finished the game. All in all, pretty good. I think I'd feel bad if I paid more than 30 euro for it, but since I effectively got it for free via gamepass I'm happy with it. Might pick up the GOTY edition at steep discount at some point in the future to play the DLC but for now it's too pricey.

I'm not convinced it's a good FPS formula to make many games out of, but the novelty was nice. Making a bunch of enemies spawn infinitely just so you can use them as health/armor/ammo pinatas still feels weird, and it also leaves little room for proper secret rewards. But most of the enemies are fun to kill, and the weapons are satisfying to use.

I think the levels were frequently too long and some of the enemies were a bit too annoying (the marauder is pretty poorly designed, which becomes immediately obvious when you have to kill one in a timed segment. I also dislike the armored mancubus and the sneks).

Had to restart from checkpoint like 7 times for the final boss. Felt like a pretty good final challenge, even if you're mostly swording the enemies.

I also thought initially that the movement is way to slow, but it serves a purpose. It prevents you from circle-strafing everything to death, as in Serious Sam for example. The game is amazingly fine-tuned and they managed to keep the player on his toes by preventing a single strategy that works all the time.

This ^

I mean sort of, but at the same time, just spamming dash into the nearest monkey bar or jumppad will let you dodge almost anything by default in eternal, and it requires less spatial awareness than circlestrafing. This strategy saved me from dying many times, as you just need to circle the arena for a bit to guarantee you run into some fodder to flamer+chainsaw for replenishment.

 

[Belegarsson]

Might pick up the GOTY edition at steep discount at some point in the future to play the DLC but for now it's too pricey.

You can purchase the Year One Pass straight from Steam and play the DLCs without the base game, no need to buy the Deluxe/GOTY edition.

 

[Multidirectional]

some of the enemies were a bit too annoying (the marauder is pretty poorly designed, which becomes immediately obvious when you have to kill one in a timed segment. I also dislike the armored mancubus and the sneks).

If you think snakes are annoying in base game wait until you meet cloaked ones in DLC. Can't skip those with rocket launcher lock on.

 

[Jaedar]

some of the enemies were a bit too annoying (the marauder is pretty poorly designed, which becomes immediately obvious when you have to kill one in a timed segment. I also dislike the armored mancubus and the sneks).

If you think snakes are annoying in base game wait until you meet cloaked ones in DLC. Can't skip those with rocket launcher lock on.

I found that using rokkits against sneks was a good way to blow myself up

Might pick up the GOTY edition at steep discount at some point in the future to play the DLC but for now it's too pricey.

You can purchase the Year One Pass straight from Steam and play the DLCs without the base game, no need to buy the Deluxe/GOTY edition.

Very nice, but even at the current sale, I think 15 euro for both DLCs seems a bit overpriced for more of the same? After finishing the base game I'm not super hungry for more content.

 

[Multidirectional]

If you think snakes are annoying in base game wait until you meet cloaked ones in DLC. Can't skip those with rocket launcher lock on.

Lock on is by far the easiest way to get rid of them for me. Obviously you shouldn't do it when they are close to you.

Also, here's a Year One Pass for 7.83 EU at the moment.

 

[Pound Meat]

Pack it up, bigots. The future is female (trans women are real women)!

 

[vortex]

Don't worry, next Doom will have playable female marine.