DOOM Eternal: The Ancient Gods – Part Two is the conclusion of the Doom Slayer saga (at least for now) that sees one of the biggest battles in the franchise’s history, along with new enemy variations, levels, and equipment. It’s also the most controversial DOOM entry since DOOM 3.
If you go over to Steam right now, you’ll see that The Ancient Gods – Part Two is sitting on Mixed reviews. Over on the game’s official subreddit, the verdict is just as split on the changes introduced in the second and final Eternal DLC. Meanwhile, YouTube has as many opinions as you’d expect, with a couple of reviewers having to reupload their reviews after some fans saw them as the catalyst to review-bomb both pieces of DLC.
But why is the game so controversial? What should have been a triumphant swansong for the Slayer has been a bit more polarising than id or any DOOM fan could have really predicted, but what’s behind it?
Well, it’s more than just one thing.
The first and arguably most major annoyance that the DOOM community has with TAG 2 is the knock-on effect it has had on TAG 1, the notoriously ultra hard first expansion that basically told you to swallow your pride and crank the difficulty down. In amidst all of the changes introduced for the patch, TAG 1’s first two levels were rebalanced to feature fewer demons and make the experience more forgiving overall, which has angered high-tier players in the community.
Likewise, the generally easier nature of TAG 2 has not been too popular with Eternal’s top players, those maniacs who eat Nightmare runs for breakfast. TAG 2 is objectively an easier time than TAG 1 was at launch due to fewer Spirit encounters and it not having a level that’s generally as challenging as The Blood Swamps from TAG 1. Speaking personally, as someone who plays on Ultra Violence, I didn’t die once outside of the final boss, whereas I nearly put my head through a wall constantly in TAG 1.
There’s also a new piece of equipment that’s not gone down too well: the Sentinel Hammer. The imbalanced tool allows players to slam a hammer down and stagger enemies, including heavies, and to gain just a huge amount of pick-ups in the process. The Marauder, the base game’s most controversial enemy, has been nerfed pretty hard as they’re especially vulnerable and pose little threat when it’s in your hands. While the Sentinel Hammer is a wonderful bit of pure power fantasy, it hasn’t really endeared itself to hardcore players for making everything a bit of a walkover.
On top of that, the Sentinel Hammer makes enemies have a cartoonish dizzy effect above their head when staggered, which has been compared pretty broadly to something out of Looney Tunes. I don’t know if this needs clarifying, but DOOM and Looney Tunes is a weird mix.
The final reason why The Ancient Gods – Part Two has had such a mixed reception comes down to its conclusion. As well as the final boss basically just being a souped-up Marauder with maddening healing abilities to stretch the fight out and inconsistent attack patterns, the ending has also come under some scrutiny for throwing out a random twist and leaving a lot of loose ends.
A popular belief is that id Software had to get the content from the Year One Pass out before March 20th, 2021 for legal reasons, so they may have rushed it somewhat. While that’s ultimately just speculation, id now have the time to look at a few things and take fan comments on-board. Despite Part Two being a controversial DOOM entry, it’s worth bearing in mind that id rebalanced and fixed a lot of things post-launch in the base game, and they may do the same for The Ancient Gods based on fan feedback.
I really do not envy them — they simply won’t be able to please everyone. DOOM Eternal has a crazy high skill ceiling and tonnes of fans who are suitably crazy about the challenge it provides, but not many franchises are able to flourish without casuals, who were likely turned away from TAG 1’s difficulty. It’s an almost impossible balancing act, but if there’s any studio who can figure it out, it’s id Software.
READ NEXT: The Best Moment In DOOM Eternal: The Ancient Gods
Some of the coverage you find on Cultured Vultures contains affiliate links, which provide us with small commissions based on purchases made from visiting our site. We cover gaming news, movie reviews, wrestling and much more.
