Bloody Hell

I’m In Space, Above Mars, So Close That The Hulking Red Planet Fills The Entire Screen.

A Massive Chunk Has Been Torn Out Of It And I’m Hopping Between Shards Of Rocky Debris That Have Broken Loose, Slaughtering Demons With A Super Shotgun.

Doom Eternal, A Sequel To 2016’s Stellar Reboot, Is A Game Of Impossible Scale And Drama. So Much So That The Previous Game Seems Almost Boring In Comparison.

- Andy Kelly

From the beginning our goal was making you fight in unbelievable locations, surprising you every step of the way,” says id Software’s Marty Stratton, producer of Doom Eternal. “From the very start to the final boss, players will be seeing things they’d never expect from a Doom game.” “It’s all about engagement,” says creative director Hugo Martin, a word the two developers use several times in our interview. “Not only do these moments achieve that from a visual perspective,” He adds, “But the mechanics contribute to it too.”

The doom slayer can now climb, grabbing hold of surfaces with a certain texture, which opens up the level design massively. He can dash in mid-air as well, crossing wide gaps and leaping up to climbable surfaces. “these new abilities are interwoven with our visual set-pieces, so it’s not just for show,” says martin. “you have to think your way through the level design in Doom Eternal.”

I get a taste of this when, to make my way across this mess of floating space-rocks, I have to air-dash between them, grabbing hold of them at the last minute, otherwise I’ll fall into the void below.

Like the series’ gunplay, these new movement controls feel slick and responsive. But occasionally I have to remind myself that I’m playing a Doom game. I ask the developers how, with all this wild new stuff going on, they’re staying true to the distinctive feel of the series.