I’m surrounded by demons. Using my quick-dash and double-jump abilities in quick succession, I maneuver myself out of harm’s way and tear two enemies apart with the same shotgun blast. Low on health, I stop for a split-second to scout the area for leftover health drops. I’m slammed in the back and, spinning around uncontrollably, catch one-last glimpse of a Hell Knight as its fist slams into my face to deliver the telling blow. Great, I thought, that’s one of my two extra lives lost.
Don’t stand still. That’s the key underlying message that, if it could speak, Doom Eternal would be demonically screaming at you every 30 seconds. Even with the game’s pulsating heavy metal score pounding through my ears, it felt as if Doom Eternal was shouting this at me anyway during my hands-on session at QuakeCon Europe last weekend.
Make no mistake, Doom Eternal will punish you if you aren’t constantly on the move. Sure, this was just as key to your survival in the 2016 reboot, but it feels like it’s an absolute necessity in the sequel. Enemies aren’t here to make up the numbers as you rip and tear your way through them. Never-ending waves of enemies seek you out – in greater numbers this time around too – and bit to halt your progress across Doom Eternal’s many locations. I only got to sample one such area during my playthrough – the Mars space station level – but, if this is anything to go by, Doom Eternal is shaping up to be just as much Hellish fun as its predecessor.
Before I could dive head-first into slaying demons, a quick tutorial needed to be completed. It might seem strange for a game demo to have a tutorial section, but it’s required for you to get to grips – literally – with Doom Eternal’s new traversal system. Wall climbing is now a thing, and you’ll need to master this in order to clear some extremely treacherous terrain in certain levels. Thankfully, id Software has made this pretty easy to use. Clicking in on the right thumbstick makes Doomguy cling into these particular walls, and simply pushing up or down on the left thumbstick makes you ascend or descend. Doomguy can also swing across cavernous areas using strategically placed yellow pipes. By double-jumping to these, you’re able to stay airborne for longer and dodge demon attacks.
Once you get an idea of how traversing Doom Eternal’s areas works, it’s an extremely fun mechanic to utilize. You’ll find yourself constantly jumping, swinging, and running rings around demons, and get the drop on unsuspecting ones. It introduces a verticality that wasn’t as prevalent in Doom 2016, and enables puzzle-platforming sections to blend seamlessly into the all-action, horror genre that the series is renowned for. You’ll need to become very adept at using the traversal system if you want to find every secret in the game. Judging by the in-game map, id Software won’t make it easy for you to get them all, but God loves a trier.
As for the demons you’ll face, there’s plenty who return from Doom 2016. Hell Knights, Cacodemons, Mancubuses, and others are ready to tear you apart, and they’re joined by a number of new enemies to boot. Arachnatrons, Gargoyles, and Pain Elementals featured in the demo I played, and these new additions provide new challenges and different ways to approach combat. Deciding whether to take out the big guns first and mop up the little guys later, or kill the smaller demons before tackling those goliath-esque beasts, builds upon the strategic layer to battles that Doom 2016 introduced. You might find that bouncing between enemies – dealing snippets of damage as you go – becomes your go-to tactic. It’s one that I used often during my hands-on session, and it worked for the most part.
Of course, you’re nothing if not powerful as The Doom Slayer, and the legendary protagonist has some new cards up his sleeve in terms of weaponry. You’ll bludgeon, torch, zap, and obliterate enemies with your guns and suit upgrades, and it’s these latter weapons that are vital to your resource management. Doomguy comes equipped with a flamethrower and left-arm blade attachment that, along with his chainsaw, are key in determining what items enemies drop. The chainsaw now only drops ammo, even if it is by the bucketload, while the flamethrower causes demons to drop armor. Getting glory kills, by using the blade attachment, meanwhile, ensure you get health drops.
You’ll need to strategically decide when the best time to use each of these is too. Like Doom 2016, the chainsaw requires fuel to work, and the flamethrower needs a cooldown period before it can be used again. These weapons can get you out of jail if you’re in a sticky situation, and each one feels fantastic to use. Only being able to use them at specific points certainly adds a new layer to combat, and you’ll need to learn how and when to activate them to get the best out of them. Due to the frenetic nature of fights, it took me a few battles to remember that I had these items available. Once they became ingrained in my mind, however, it became second nature to rely on them when necessary.
You usual arsenal continue to pack a punch as well. The super shotgun, chaingun, and plasma rifle feel fantastic to use as you blast, mulch, and shock demons into submission. The super shotgun’s grappling hook, in particular, is extremely gratifying. There wasn’t a greater thrill I felt during my playthrough than jumping into the air, latching onto an enemy, drawing myself towards them and blasting them to pieces with a meaty shotgun slug.
Other things that make Doom Eternal feel more modern and streamlined. The HUD has been overhauled and looks more stylish as a result. Id’s decision to bring back Doom’s historic blue health potions, which you can find scattered around the map, is a nice touch too as the franchise celebrates its 25th birthday. The dry humor on show in Doom 2016 is back for another round, and it’ll never get old seeing all of those startled scientists and soldiers as Doomguy enters the Mars facility.
There were a couple of niggles during my playthrough that I’d like to see tweaked ahead of the game’s release. Double-jumping to clamber up ledges felt clunky at times – if my button prompts even made Doomguy jump in the first place – and some battles felt a little too lengthy for my liking. The final fight, before the demo ended, was one such instance of this. There were two occasions where I thought I had nearly cleared every demon out, only for another 10 to 15 to spawn. Sure, beating demonic hordes up is a ton of fun, but there comes a point where it can start to get tiresome if you’ve been battling for your life for over 20 minutes already.
There’s plenty to love about Doom Eternal, though, and there’s time for my grievances to be ironed out before its official launch. It’s a punchier, improved, and more satisfying version of Doom 2016 and, given how superb the reboot was, Doom Eternal looks and feels like it’ll surpass its predecessor. I can’t wait for November 22 to roll around and give those demons some more Hell to deal with.
Doom Eternal preview was on PC.
Doom Eternal is out November 22 on PS4, Xbox One, PC, and Nintendo Switch.