If Doom 2016 was this generation's version of the original 1993 game, then Doom Eternal is equivalent to Doom 2. It takes 2016's formula and leans even harder into the fast-paced constant chaos 2016 was known for. Demons are even more aggressive, your movement abilities are even more powerful, and your weapons are refined into the best possible versions they could be. Eternal really is a groundbreakingly fun game that will only make you want to keep playing more and more.

I'll get to the combat later, but there are a few things to mention that really sells this game. The whole design of the game feels like it's a homage to the era Doom was born in. Levels layouts are very old school and item/weapon pickups are very arcadey, most of them can be found hovering in place in very high-contrast colors. Enemy designs such as animations, glory kills, and other interactions are all satisfyingly gory and yet also slightly goofy. It all comes together to form an overall consistent aesthetic.

The story itself even fits this tone as well. On the surface it's just a reason why we need to kill demons, but under the hood there is actually an expansive amount of lore that ironically takes itself very seriously. To the point of again, being slightly goofy. I can't take the story of the franchise seriously when the concept of these games is over the top demon slaying. But even still, if you put aside the disconnect, the overall universe of Doom is actually very interesting, and the two DLC campaigns expand upon that even further.

Now you can't talk about Doom without mentioning the music, and once again just like 2016, the music perfectly compliments the game. It's pulse-pounding and never feels like window dressing. Although I didn't notice as much dynamic changing of the music as I did in 2016 during the combat. Then again it could be there in full force and I don't even notice it transitioning, which in that case is all the more impressive.

And here it is, the golden goose of Eternal. The combat is somehow even faster than 2016's, to the point where I might not even be able to go back and play that game because of how slow it would feel in comparison. Eternal enhances combat and enemy design by streamlining existing concepts but also incorporates many new design features such as enemy weakpoints, more aggressive health and ammo management, and brand new movement abilities that allows combat arenas to be more open and just a joy to navigate. The so-called "push forward combat" philosophy of 2016 comes out in full force here. Combat is a constant game of pulling you into fights to resupply your health, armor, and ammo. The second you stop moving, there is a 99% chance you will either take damage, or straight up die depending on what demons you're fighting. Every aspect of combat incentivizes you to be on the offensive and has you tracking, monitoring, and manipulating multiple demons at any given moment. I remember when I finished the campaign for the first time I thought "wow, that was great....I think I'll play it again". Then proceeded to finish the campaign twice back to back right then and there. And even after that all I wanted to do was play it again. If that isn't a testament to how addictively refined the gameplay is, I don't know what is.

As for the multiplayer, I wasn't that big into it but it is a very interesting concept. Unlike 2016's traditional slayer vs slayer arena matches, Eternal has a 2v1 battlemode where two demon players fight against a single slayer player. Watching high level gameplay is certainly very entertaining, but personally I just played it for the multiplayer-related achievements.

And speaking of the achievements, the grind was a long and difficult one. There are steam achievements but also an in-game milestone list which is more expansive than the achievement list. This is where the majority of your grind will come from. Beating everything on ultra-nightmare took so long to do that it pretty much didn't feel worth it in retrospect. But almost everything else wasn't very hard, you just have to be willing to put in quite a bit of time.

Doom Eternal is the definitive modern Doom experience. It masterfully sets the standard for what fast-paced, push forward type shooters should feel like going forward. And although I won't be coming back to Doom for a good long while now that I've finally completed every game in the series, it was a journey that I will never forget. 10/10