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DOOM Eternal is Hell On Earth in Gory Gameplay Reveal

Eric Frederiksen

Bethesda had a ton of stuff going on at E3 this year, and they couldn’t have fit everything into the show. They revealed that 2016’s incredible Doom is getting a sequel, but didn’t have anything to show just yet. Now, with Quakecon underway, Bethesda and id Software are ready to show off the game’s gory goings-on.

In this sequel, things have gotten worse, and Hell itself has spilled out onto Earth. The Doomslayer, as the demons call him, is more than ready. Since Doom 2016, the unspeaking destroyer has picked up a few particularly stabby upgrades. In addition to the chainsaw, glory kills will involve an arm-mounted extending blade, and I’m betting  they’ll be finding other ways to bring that brutal piece of hardware into the game.

The Slayer has also picked up a grappling hook mod for the Super Shotgun. In a perfect bit of DOOM-ness, it seems from what I can tell like the grappling hook doesn’t hook into walls – only enemies – even though the Slayer definitely uses it to get around.  Of course even the basic movement of the game involves you impaling demonic forces. That’s not the only new way to get around, either. The Slayer can climb certain walls – which looks kind of clunky in this short sequence, but I’ll give it a chance – and seems to have some kind of air dash.

The monsters themselves look fresh in the way only Doom stuff can. There are some familiar returning monsters, but also lots of new ones that look like they’ll each be fun to take on in their own way. One new feature the team is bringing in this time is battle damage for the monsters, so even those familiar faces (or familiar-whats-left-of-faces) should feel new.

One interesting bit is a Dark Souls-like “Invasion” mechanic. I don’t normally like comparing everything to Dark Souls (you could say that not invoking Dark Souls references is the Dark Souls of making game comparisons), but this seems directly inspired. Players can “invade” other players’ single-player campaigns, giving them an all-new sort of enemy to fight against.

Because death in Doom is such a low-stake affair for the Doomslayer, I’m actually digging this idea. It could be a neat way to mix up the usual demon fight and with something entirely different. It was mostly just stressful in Dark Souls, but here it looks like a blast.

Doom Eternal doesn’t have a release date, but we’re going to bet sometime next year. When it hits, Doom Eternal is coming to PC, PlayStation 4, Switch, and Xbox One.