I'm crushed. Doom Eternal is probably the most disappointed I've ever been in a game

[Deleted member 3017]

(Played Doom Eternal for around four hours on PlayStation 4)

Granted, I'm seething right now after losing over two hours of progress in the Cultist Base level (finished a Slayer Gate, the game crashed, I lost all of my progress in the level....yay!). But it's ok, I guess. Because I hate this game. And I say this as someone who considers Doom 2016 to be one of the best games of the generation and quite possibly the greatest, most satisfying FPS I've ever played.

I don't even know where to begin. I'll just bullet-point it:

- Atmosphere. Doom 2016 was campy as hell, but it simultaneously took itself seriously, if that makes any sense. I absolutely adored the tone of the game. Eternal fully embraces the camp and it goes to far imo. I guess this was the logical next step, but it just doesn't work for me.
- Story. 2016's story was very basic, but it worked. If you wanted more out of the universe, there was a ton of lore for the player to discover. Kind of like Dark Souls in a way. I loved it. Eternal puts the story front and center and quite frankly, it's not interesting in the slightest. Eternal goes full sci-fi / fantasy and I just don't like it. This is a direction I never thought the series would go towards.
- Gameplay . Here's the big one. I hate almost every single change made in Doom Eternal! 2016 was a challenging game, but it also made you feel incredibly powerful. It was a wonderful power fantasy that also offered up a solid challenge if you wanted it. In Eternal, Doomguy feels weak. Doomguy barely has any ammo (the regenerating chainsaw ammo doesn't do enough to offset this imo). Doomguy is swarmed by enemies that do incredible amounts of damage, killing you within seconds. Yes, I should "get good", I get it. I adore challenging games! But this is just frustrating.
- Bethesda.net. Eff this stupid service. Let me log out, damnit. This isn't really about Eternal as a game, but man, I hate this garbage.

I'm just heartbroken over this game. Again, I just lost two hours of progress, so I'll fully admit I'm probably a bit angrier over this game than I'd be otherwise, but I was honestly just delaying the inevitable regarding my thoughts and feelings over the game. Doom Eternal, for me, is one of the most (if not THE most) disappointing games I've played in my life and I won't be playing it any longer.

I'd be really interested in reading everyone's thoughts on the game, particularly from those who loved Doom 2016 like I did. And I fully accept and respect all viewpoints here. If you love that game, that's great! Your opinion is just as valid as mine and I"d love to read what you and everyone else has to say about it!

 

[CharlesAznable]

Totally agree. 2016 is one of my GOTG and I platinumed it, but I didn't even finish eternal.

 

[RochHoch]

Eternal is fantastic tho

It's a game that forces you to use every single tool available to you, and you feel powerful as hell when you can pull it off

 

[ClickyCal']

Idk, personally I loved it, especially the gameplay improvements. It was nonstop crazieness, especially the last two areas. I thought the reveal was also cool. Would be my goty if not for...you know...

 

[Sign My Guestbook!]

Eternal was pretty good, but 2016 had more of a lasting effect, I think.

 

[Deleted member 3017]

Eternal is fantastic tho

It's a game that forces you to use every single tool available to you, and you feel powerful as hell when you can pull it off

Click to shrink...

It kind of reminds me of a character action FPS, which is interesting. I love character action games, but I guess I didn't want that type of experience here.

 

[Glassboy]

Eternal is fantastic tho

It's a game that forces you to use every single tool available to you, and you feel powerful as hell when you can pull it off

Click to shrink...

Yeah, I enjoyed the change of pace. I like both games for different reasons. OP, bump the difficulty down and maybe you will enjoy it more (not saying this in a condescending way at all)

 

[Rickenslacker]

Oh yeah, the game really tries to make you engage with its systems by having any errant hit basically take you down to nothing so that you're given incentive to awesome button a glory kill, and likewise do the same with chainsaws because of its low ammo caps. Really makes me wish the game would allow the shooting to have more emphasis than canned kill animations.

 

[Zukkoyaki]

Eternal is awesome and I had a great time with it. But there are a few things I thought it did notably worse than 2016. Namely boss fights, secret and collectible placement, and story. Especially the story. It felt like going from the first part of a trilogy directly to the third part.

Gameplay is still absurdly good though.

 

[dlauv]

I had a lot of issues with 2016 despite liking it and Eternal fixed nearly all of them (altho it introduced new issues). It's a shame the game is so divisive and the story beats were kind of off.

 

[Heidern]

I also agree. The story is unnecessary and the ship exploration is another momentum killer. The combat flow feels different. I just fell off and stopped playing. The game is beautiful but lost the qualities that I enjoyed from the previous one.

 

[Deleted member 1839]

Any time the Marauders show up I felt like the entire flow I had was interrupted.

 

[CloseTalker]

- Gameplay . Here's the big one. I hate almost every single change made in Doom Eternal! 2016 was a challenging game, but it also made you feel incredibly powerful. It was a wonderful power fantasy that also offered up a solid challenge if you wanted it. In Eternal, Doomguy feels weak. Doomguy barely has any ammo (the regenerating chainsaw ammo doesn't do enough to offset this imo). Doomguy is swarmed by enemies that do incredible amounts of damage, killing you within seconds. Yes, I should "get good", I get it. I adore challenging games! But this is just frustrating.

Click to shrink...

Agreed on this. Gameplay just wasn't fun, especially on a controller. It's technically possible to play and beat it on a controller obviously, but those stupid fucking weak points were clearly designed with mouse accuracy in mind. It makes playing on console just an exercise in frustration

 

[Deleted member 3017]

I also agree. The story is unnecessary and the ship exploration is another momentum killer. The combat flow feels different. I just fell off and stopped playing. The game is beautiful but lost the qualities that I enjoyed from the previous one.

Click to shrink...

oh god the hub area. It's horrible! I didn't even think to mention it in my OP, but I completely agree. It's completely unnecessary.

 

[TheBaroness187]

I agree with all your points except for gameplay, which I do think is a little better in Eternal as I am generally a fan of the 'combat chess' aspects of the game. Not a fan at all of the story and the campy, over the top world though, particularly compared to Doom 2016 which was cool and creepy and sinister with an engaging story. I couldn't evenn tell you what the story was in Eternal, I stopped paying attention around the 3rd level. I've made it to the final level on Eternal but just can't bring myself to be bothered finishing it.

 

[Star-Lord]

I dug both games

 

[Deleted member 1190]

Eternal is better than Doom 2016 in every way though.

Different strokes, I guess

 

[Dr. Sanchez]

that sucks. Played Doom 2016 last year, thought it was great. Doom Eternal was better in my opinion. I had to get used to the game since it felt so different from the previous game, but once I did the fights became so much more fun and intense than its predecessor. Doom 2016 also doesn't have the dash which is a fantastic addition and hope they keep it for future games.

 

[skeezx]

it's a weird game, really

i think it was made for people who played doom 16 to hell (no pun intended) and back and want to get balls deep into some deeper mechanics, which can be a bad thing as it isn't as pick up n play friendly

 

[Deleted member 59126]

Eternal was a solid 7, which is a disappointment imo.

The biggest flaw in the game is the campaign, which is completely forgettable.

 

[PS9]

2016 is one of the best shooters of all time.

I was bored of Eternal after a few hours.

 

[ClickyCal']

that sucks. Played Doom 2016 last year, thought it was great. Doom Eternal was better in my opinion. I had to get used to the game since it felt so different from the previous game, but once I did the fights became so much more fun and intense than its predecessor. Doom 2016 also doesn't have the dash which is a fantastic addition and hope they keep it for future games.

Click to shrink...

Yea once you upgrade the dash and have the ruin on for better midair turning, it feels amazing going around.

 

[Nakazato]

Completely agree 16 Doom was my GOTY that year and made uncharted seem average. But it felt like Doom E didn't have the heart of the 1st game.

 

[Crushed]

2016 and Eternal are on the opposite extremes of the expectation:reality ratio for me.

Everything about 2016 until it came out seemed terrible on paper or in promo stuff, and I adored that game and was blown away at how much it exceeded my expectations. Eternal was a game I was incredibly excited for, with nearly every single thing they were saying and showing sounding like genius no-brainer improvements, and then when it came out I found myself constantly scratching my head and wondering what the hell they were thinking at certain parts; playing it I was bouncing between boredom and frustration and had no desire to go back to it after finishing.

 

[jviggy43]

The gameplay was a huge step up and I loved the interplay of swapping weapons and exploiting weaknesses. 2016 was great but wasn't challenging nor very interesting as SS just dealt with everything. Eternal is a game designed for you to play with all your weapons and movements in addition to exploiting enemy weaknesses. I never felt weak in eternal personally. The ammo complaint from day 1 has been so weird to me. Youre literally not running out of ammo before your chainsaw cool down comes off, unless youre explicitly just using one weapon and then in which case its your fault. Idk, its just so weird to me that swapping weapons and using the chainsaw a bit more frequently drastically ruined the game for some people.

 

[Slammin_Hammon]

I'll agree with the story and tone gripes, but I think the gameplay is superior in Eternal. The problem with Eternal is that upgrades needed to come sooner or have the initial values a bit tweaked. As you get closer to being fully kitted it's a lot of fun tearing through demons while balancing all of your resources. It's also worth noting that Eternal is more difficult across the board so just because you played 2016 on one difficulty level it may not be the same experience in Eternal.

 

[DeliciousSunnyD!]

For me, Eternal blew 2016 away. I thought it was superior in just about every single metric, especially the most important one: gameplay.

About the only complaint I see people levy towards Eternal coming from 2016 that I can somewhat understand is the change in "tone"/presentation. But I also preferred the embrace of schlock in Eternal, versus the somewhat self-seriousness of the first game.

Every other complaint/critique contrasting the two games I don't understand and vehemently disagree with though.

 

[Sargerus]

The only things i think 2016 did better was the HUD and the soundtrack.

 

[NinjaGarden]

I did so much reading trying to understand what was going on. Odd choice.

 

[Searsy82]

To me it, and to a degree 2016 as well (as good as they are), went to cartoony for me. They don't really match the way my young mind viewed the originals. I think its really a tone issue for me, it doesn't quite have the "evil" edge to it that I expected. That said, they are both great.

 

[ryseing]

I'm with you OP. Hated the CONSTANT resource management that you're forced to engage with. I thought Doom 2016 had the right balance on that front, at least on normal difficulty. Giving the player more options isn't always a good thing IMO.

 

[Siggy-P]

I was mostly dissapointed by the story really. Probably the second worst video game story I've played all year. Just all around poor writing and characterisation from start to finish.

 

[Spinky]

Damn, must be crazy having taste this bad.

/s

Spoiler

kinda

 

[BashNasty]

Loved Doom 2016, but eternal is better in every way (ok, ok, except for the story).

The gameplay is more complex than 2016, yes, but that's a good thing. Once you get the hang of the flow of combat, you absolutely feel like an unstoppable killing machine and the added complexity really helps it shine. Add onto that a plethora of new movement options which make getting around the battlefield a joy, and you have the absolute best first person shooter I've played in years.

Oh, and the destructible demon system is amazing.

 

[jambo]

I had a really bad time with the first 2-3 hours of Eternal, but once I unlocked a few things (double dash) and got a few more weapons, everything clicked and now I can't play Doom 2016 without trying to use the flame thrower and chainsaw.

I also replayed the first few hours again and knowing "how to play" it made those levels really, really fun.

 

[Ocarina_117]

My game of the year so far.

I love every change they made.

 

[spam musubi]

Eternal is a much, much better designed game IMO. The gameplay is fantastic, incredibly engaging and satisfying. It constantly forces you to be active and evaluating the situation, moving, adapting etc. 2016 was kind of a meat grinder that got really old, and I say this as a lifelong Doom fan. Eternal really gave me the same rush I got playing the original games on ultra violence.

 

[Pancracio17]

Im kinda waiting to play Eternal until I can play it on a PC. Feels like a game that was designed with it in mind.

 

[Deleted member 3017]

Damn, must be crazy having taste this bad.

/s

Spoiler

kinda

Click to shrink...

I'm certainly not a man of culture :(

 

[Doom Of Shadow]

Completely agree. When I started both games, I wasn't sure whether I liked them or not. By the end of 2016, I wanted so much more when I finished it.
By about 2/3 of the way through eternal, I just wanted it to end, I was so bored and so tired of it.

Such a shame. 🥺

 

[pj-]

I tried to play 2016 again after completing Eternal. Boring gunplay, slow, bad sound, dull looking levels. Atmosphere and story I can understand someone preferring the first but really I'm just here to jump around and rip apart demons.

Eternal's pace starts at a 9/10 and oscillates between that and 11/10 for its entire length. It forces you to use every resource at your disposal and is much better for it. Can't wait for the DLC

 

[Deleted member 47654]

(Played Doom Eternal for around four hours on PlayStation 4)

Granted, I'm seething right now after losing over two hours of progress in the Cultist Base level (finished a Slayer Gate, the game crashed, I lost all of my progress in the level....yay!). But it's ok, I guess. Because I hate this game. And I say this as someone who considers Doom 2016 to be one of the best games of the generation and quite possibly the greatest, most satisfying FPS I've ever played.

I don't even know where to begin. I'll just bullet-point it:

- Atmosphere. Doom 2016 was campy as hell, but it simultaneously took itself seriously, if that makes any sense. I absolutely adored the tone of the game. Eternal fully embraces the camp and it goes to far imo. I guess this was the logical next step, but it just doesn't work for me.
- Story. 2016's story was very basic, but it worked. If you wanted more out of the universe, there was a ton of lore for the player to discover. Kind of like Dark Souls in a way. I loved it. Eternal puts the story front and center and quite frankly, it's not interesting in the slightest. Eternal goes full sci-fi / fantasy and I just don't like it. This is a direction I never thought the series would go towards.
- Gameplay . Here's the big one. I hate almost every single change made in Doom Eternal! 2016 was a challenging game, but it also made you feel incredibly powerful. It was a wonderful power fantasy that also offered up a solid challenge if you wanted it. In Eternal, Doomguy feels weak. Doomguy barely has any ammo (the regenerating chainsaw ammo doesn't do enough to offset this imo). Doomguy is swarmed by enemies that do incredible amounts of damage, killing you within seconds. Yes, I should "get good", I get it. I adore challenging games! But this is just frustrating.
- Bethesda.net. Eff this stupid service. Let me log out, damnit. This isn't really about Eternal as a game, but man, I hate this garbage.

I'm just heartbroken over this game. Again, I just lost two hours of progress, so I'll fully admit I'm probably a bit angrier over this game than I'd be otherwise, but I was honestly just delaying the inevitable regarding my thoughts and feelings over the game. Doom Eternal, for me, is one of the most (if not THE most) disappointing games I've played in my life and I won't be playing it any longer.

I'd be really interesting in everyone's thoughts on the game, particularly from those who loved Doom 2016 like I did. And I fully accept and respect all viewpoints here. If you love that game, that's great! Your opinion is just as valid as mine and I"d love to read what you and everyone else has to say about it!

Click to shrink...

I fully agree

I left Doom Eternal midway through, couldnt care less about parkour shit, also the game was lacking atmosphere as you said.

 

[Dmax3901]

Both fantastic games but Eternal wins out I think as it just feels like more but better.

 

[ThereAreFourNaan]

I love both but I would say that liking 2016 doesn't mean you'll like Eternal and vice versa. Despite looking similar at a glance they are very different feeling games in motion. I do agree that the story and tone is way less good in Eternal compared to 2016. The fact that 2016 packaged so much schlock under such a serious veneer was really a masterstroke, and taking off the veneer feels a lot less special.

 

[Deleted member 1839]

Im kinda waiting to play Eternal until I can play it on a PC. Feels like a game that was designed with it in mind.

Click to shrink...

Didn't play this with controller, but I feel like eternal would be so much better on consoles if your controller had back paddles.

 

[HouseDragon]

Under it's similar visual style and feel, Doom Eternal plays differently and I think that change from its predecessor rubbed some people the wrong way. For me, I think it's better than Doom 2016 in every way, especially in the gameplay department. I believe their combat system is golden in 'Eternal' and I just can't go back to Doom 2016 after having played it. Probably the most improved sequel this gen, for me.

But yeah, I get where you're coming from OP. Maybe you can take a look at some other arena shooters that are more of the 'power fantasy' combat you're looking for, like the new Shadow Warrior games or Serious Sam.

 

[freshyk]

I need to finish the game. I'm at the end boss and I just don't have the energy to do so.

 

[Z-Beat]

I had fun with both of them. Doom Eternal fit my playstyle even more than Doom 2016 did. I never stopped moving, and because the chainsaw regenerated I was less afraid to use it constantly whereas in 2016 I fell into the Phoenix Down problem of "What if I need it later?" Plus the limitations on ammo meant that I was more likely to switch guns and get creative with my kills. I do feel like the final boss could've been done better but overall I had a ton of fun with it in the same way you have fun on a rollercoaster. It's exhilarating but after each go you feel like you need to take a breather

 

[gogojira]

I beat Eternal. It was a rush at times, but I never felt like it came close to the greatness that was 2016. They leaned very hard into the super mega hardcore action shit and it felt exhausting to me.

Pretty big disappointment for me.

 

[Undeniablybiased]

That's a shame because eternal is fantastic. Immediately became one of my favorite shooters ever.