DOOM Eternal: 5 Things We’d Like To See

Unless you’re extremely adverse to the idea of murdering demons, exploding everything in sight and just generally having fun, you probably really enjoyed 2016’s DOOM. The reboot/sequel of the long-running franchise took the gameplay back to its most pixelated basics while adding more modern shooting mechanics for an experience that truly felt like the best of both worlds.

Realising they’ve captured lightning in a bottle, Bethesda announced a follow-up game during their E3 conference, in between The Elder Scrolls and a crowd of gaming journalists not giving a shit about Andrew WK. The cretins. The new game, DOOM Eternal, will take our big green instrument of destruction Doomguy back to Earth, as he continues to wage war on the forces of hell.

Whilst we’ve got every faith in Bethesda and id Software regarding the future of the DOOM series, we do have some ideas about how they can build upon the most recent game with Eternal.

 

1. More SnapMap

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1g6nVfXAiA

One of the most under-utilised and underappreciated modes in DOOM was SnapMap, a creation system that allowed players to create single-player, multiplayer and co-op based levels where imagination was the only limit. And whether or not your machine could handle it. That was a limit too.

The mode became a hive of lovingly crafted recreations of famous levels in other shooting games, unique survival horror experiences and shite tier levels cobbled together purely for the achievements/trophies. If you ignore that last one, there was a lot of positive content in there; content which should be pushed forward in DOOM Eternal.

 

2. New Co-Op Modes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KnF_29G9cQ

Speaking of which, we’re willing to bet that a lot of DOOM players didn’t even realise there was the capacity for co-op play. It was buried deep within the SnapMap feature, but it was there, and it looked weird. Seriously. Go look up videos of co-op gameplay, and look how weirdly fast Doomguy runs. It’s kind of hilarious.

It seems strange to us that a function such as co-op play would be included without being fully developed or explored, so that should be something available in DOOM Eternal. Even if it’s just a throwaway Horde style mode, or just a selection of exclusive levels available in co-op, it’d be a feature worth having. That being said, we wouldn’t say no to full campaign co-op, just so we can get someone to carry us through the Nightmare difficulty.

 

3. Improved Multiplayer

In fairness, the multiplayer portion of DOOM was the least well received aspect of the game. No matter how many perks or customisation items were available, it was hard to escape the feeling that the mode felt tacked on; an afterthought designed only to attract more players to the game. That being said, there was plenty of fun to be had, along with potential for growth.

The fast paced natured of DOOM’s gameplay lent itself well to an intense multiplayer experience, and the ability to play as the demons added a new dimension to online matches, though the inclusion of perks and loadouts made it feel like a weird Call of Duty clone. Perhaps DOOM would do well to borrow ideas from the past again, and make DOOM’s multiplayer feel more like an arena shooter again to Unreal Tournament or Quake.

As for new modes, DOOM: Eternal could feature a juggernaut style mode, where players work together to take down a powerful enemy, and whoever gets the kill becomes the enemy. The powerful enemy would probably be a big demon, but it’d be interesting if the enemy was Doomguy and all the other players were demons. That’d be a new twist on an old game.

 

4. Do Robots Dream of Electric Demons?

Alright, we’re on our fourth point and we’re finally talking about the campaign. As mentioned, Eternal seems to be taking things to Earth, where demons have overrun the planet. Those who finished DOOM will remember that UAC Chairman Samuel Hayden betrays Doomguy, opting to continue using Hell’s Argent Energy for humanity’s “benefit”. Seems like that’s gone well.

On top of the never-ending onslaught of demonic hellspawn, it’s likely that Doomguy will be looking for revenge in DOOM Eternal’s campaign. Perhaps we’ll see Hayden on Earth, using robots and that big bloody sword to try and defend against the hordes of hell, creating an interesting dynamic in combat. Robots could work with you to defeat demons, only to focus on you when the threat is eliminated. It’d add a new layer to encounters while acknowledging the overall plot without compromising the core tenet of the game’s design: smashing skulls repeatedly.

 

5. Just More Of What Worked In DOOM

DOOM was such a shock to the FPS gaming system, and we’re all better for it. Even two years later, it’s such a distinctive tour de force that we haven’t seen anything that really comes close ever since. DOOM is so individual in that respect that Bethesda and id Software could create a “more-of-the-same” style sequel for DOOM Eternal and everyone would be okay with that.

There’s a real danger that if the formula that worked two years ago starts getting tampered with in a significant way, the game could suffer as a result. Again, we have every faith in the development team that they’ll knock it out of the park a second time, but they need to focus on what worked instead of trying to reinvent the wheel.

If we even see dialogue options, heads will fucking roll.

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