DOOM Eternal Gameplay Reveal Impressions

[Linguica]

One thing that's a little odd is that Doom Eternal is the first Doom game since Doom 3 with normal living "civilians" that you come in contact with, and the first one since game characters have been able to look very realistic. Doom 2016 had Olivia Pierce, who was the only other living breathing "human" around, but she was always kind of unusual with her cyborg bodysuit or whatever. Olivia looked more or less like an attempt at a "real person" though, but some of the mooks in the Phobos demo look very stylized. The guy with the red keycard, for instance, looks like he was pulled from Dishonored or Prey - clearly the game is not going for "realistic" humans. I don't know how to feel about that since Doom games have never really had a style about the way that human beings look except "like a person" - the Doom 3 humans were clearly meant to look realistic, to the extent that was possible in 2004.

[A Nobody]

23 hours ago, Shaviro said:

Yeah I think it may be a little too cartoony/arcade for my taste, but it's probably still going to be fun.

The classic Doom games were arcade-like. Also, just because something is colorful doesn't mean it's a cartoon.

[DooM_RO]

@Linguica

 

True, it felt a bit out of place, but also quite refreshing. I rather enjoyed the fact that Doom 2016 continued the trend of complete isolation but I have to admit that scene was very well made.

[RightField]

well you can all continue to talk down this stuff but mates I'm not really interested in your opinions. what I see before me is a great game which trailer almost drove me to tears so yeah you all go on with your lives but I'm just trying to say here that if you enjoy this and everything about it you might just have a happier life? idk never mind me.

[Shaviro]

1 minute ago, The-Heretic-Assassin said:

The classic Doom games were arcade-like. Also, just because something is colorful doesn't mean it's a cartoon.

 

Doom was anything but arcade-like when it came out.

I don't know where you got colorful = cartoon. It's cartoony because of certain animations and a host of other factors.

[A Nobody]

5 minutes ago, Shaviro said:

 

Doom was anything but arcade-like when it came out.

I don't know where you got colorful = cartoon. It's cartoony because of certain animations and a host of other factors.

Arcade gameplay is where it's fast paced and old-school.

 

I guess I meant to say that the monster's classic styles in Eternal don't look cartoony. You see, I find calling something a cartoon just because it's too colorful or the animations are not realistic offensive. I like that id gave Eternal's demons their classic designs.

Edited August 11, 2018 by The-Heretic-Assassin

[RightField]

there's something that some gamers here don't understand. doom was based of total recal and aliens which where both films that went over the top in a cartoonish style to make it interesting. even if you are too young to remember this the creators are not, and a cartoonish style was probably the real intention all along. the original doom wasn't designed by kids even though we experienced it that way. the cartoonish feel was intended, which is what the new doom and hugo martin really understands

[IMX]

Man, remember three years ago when people were boosting the colors of the demons and complaining about "piss filters"?

[Shaviro]

It seems like you're looking for some sort of concensus on what Doom is or what we should all look for in a modern Doom game. Been there. Can't recommend it.

 

When I first played Doom back in 93 it was considerably slower than most other games and MUCH less arcade-like or cartoony. Some of this is of course because back then we played with keyboard only and weren't very old, but the point stands that to me Doom is much less about being a badass and finding 1ups and much more about surviving against a relentless enemy in a dark and intimidating world.

 

I'm not saying you are wrong for wanting something else. That's fine. Just know that Doom is different to other people. That's why I said it looked a little too arcade/cartoony for my taste because that's really not how I experienced Doom. Now, I'm not saying that Doom 2016 is bad or that this will be bad. Not at all. I enjoyed it quite a bit and Doom Eternal is a day one buy for me.

 

To me, Doom was a fantastic mixture of action, suspense and experience (by this I basically mean the first person viewpoint including world building and drive which is what Half-Life took even further later on).

In this new incarnation it seems like the only one of the three to really receive some love is the action part. That resulted in a really good game with Doom 2016, but I'm still missing the other parts to be really hyped :)

[DooM_RO]

2 minutes ago, IMX said:

Man, remember three years ago when people were boosting the colors of the demons and complaining about "piss filters"?

 

Of course but even if they weren't right, it was still on Id. You gotta be careful what you divulge to gamers. If those screenshots were all you saw of the game then you had good reason to believe it would be brown. Of course, I knew better but I can see the point of other people.

[DooM_RO]

10 minutes ago, Shaviro said:

It seems like you're looking for some sort of concensus on what Doom is or what we should all look for in a modern Doom game. Been there. Can't recommend it.

 

When I first played Doom back in 93 it was considerably slower than most other games and MUCH less arcade-like or cartoony. Some of this is of course because back then we played with keyboard only and weren't very old, but the point stands that to me Doom is much less about being a badass and finding 1ups and much more about surviving against a relentless enemy in a dark and intimidating world.

 

I'm not saying you are wrong for wanting something else. That's fine. Just know that Doom is different to other people. That's why I said it looked a little too arcade/cartoony for my taste because that's really not how I experienced Doom. Now, I'm not saying that Doom 2016 is bad or that this will be bad. Not at all. I enjoyed it quite a bit and Doom Eternal is a day one buy for me.

 

To me, Doom was a fantastic mixture of action, suspense and experience (by this I basically mean the first person viewpoint including world building and drive which is what Half-Life took even further later on).

In this new incarnation it seems like the only one of the three to really receive some love is the action part. That resulted in a really good game with Doom 2016, but I'm still missing the other parts to be really hyped :)

 

The perfect Doom basically combines everything you said with action. To me Doom is all about suspense and exploration punctuated by relentless fights full of surprises. The first half of 2016 did this very well. Doom has always been a riot of color for me both literally and metaphorically. It's not that the suspenseful Doom 3 is any less valid than any other game but when a Doom game focuses on only one of these aspects something is bound to be off or at least feel incomplete. I really hope Eternal doesn't forget about the suspense and exploration. Those are deeply important to me. It's also why I have a soft spot for Doom 3.

Edited August 11, 2018 by DooM_RO

[Michniko]

I loved every second of the gameplay.

 

The classic designs, bright and DOOM like colors(especially that Cacodemon's blood.) and all of the fucking insane weapon designs,

 

 

 

the Plasma Rifle has never looked so good.

[Deleted_Account]

As far as cartooniness in Doom Eternal goes, I think it's just the trend of dark humor that has always been present in all of the Doom games since 1993. For example: "A chainsaw! Find some meat!" that is displayed when picking up the chainsaw, Doomguy's ridiculous ouch face, or his big grin when acquiring a new gun. And let's not forget the gaping orifices of the Imp, Cacodemon and Pain Elemental (WTF?) and the incredibly well toned ass of the Cyberdemon.

 

And even in Doom 3 the big turd logs in the Mars city bathrooms, or the obese zombie that's bashing his head against the glass door while chanting "mmmm boyyyy" while ripping loud farts.

 

All of this is juxtaposed against the macabre and violent backdrop prevalent in Doom. When you step back and look at the games as a whole, you're a space marine fighting demons on Mars with space shotguns and chainsaws with heavy metal riffs blaring the background with satanic imagery all over the place. It's serious, but not that serious.

 

So none of what we've seen in Eternal feels out of place IMO. But that's just it, everyone has a different perspective. The humor may not suit everyones taste, thats OK. It seems to me that the Doom series as a whole is very dynamic with something for everyone.

 

I have a feeling that some of the things in the reveal are not even final, I remember the drastic redesign of the Imp from the E3 days to the release version. I'm sure there will be some tweaks here and there.

Edited August 11, 2018 by Ex Oblivione
tongue-in-cheek

[DoomMan777]

By far my new Favourite Gun is the Regular Shotty. The Alt. Fires are Cool AF.

[doom_is_great]

31 minutes ago, RightField said:

there's something that some gamers here don't understand. doom was based of total recal and aliens which where both films that went over the top in a cartoonish style to make it interesting. even if you are too young to remember this the creators are not, and a cartoonish style was probably the real intention all along. the original doom wasn't designed by kids even though we experienced it that way. the cartoonish feel was intended, which is what the new doom and hugo martin really understands

Aliens was cartoony? Maybe Total Recall (it was a Schwarzenegger film after all), but I wouldn't exactly consider Aliens a cartoony film. Of course, I haven't seen the whole film, only parts of it. But if I recall, the whole scenario of the movie is a group of space marines who think they are going to kick ass and destroy whatever they're up against only to find out that they're up against seemingly impossible odds. The rest of the movie is just them struggling to survive, with only Ripley, another marine, and a child surviving the encounter. Doesn't sound like a cartoony, goofy film to me. Of course, if I am wrong, feel free to correct me.

[Touchdown]

46 minutes ago, Shaviro said:

It seems like you're looking for some sort of concensus on what Doom is or what we should all look for in a modern Doom game. Been there. Can't recommend it.

 

When I first played Doom back in 93 it was considerably slower than most other games and MUCH less arcade-like or cartoony. Some of this is of course because back then we played with keyboard only and weren't very old, but the point stands that to me Doom is much less about being a badass and finding 1ups and much more about surviving against a relentless enemy in a dark and intimidating world.

 

I'm not saying you are wrong for wanting something else. That's fine. Just know that Doom is different to other people. That's why I said it looked a little too arcade/cartoony for my taste because that's really not how I experienced Doom. Now, I'm not saying that Doom 2016 is bad or that this will be bad. Not at all. I enjoyed it quite a bit and Doom Eternal is a day one buy for me.

 

To me, Doom was a fantastic mixture of action, suspense and experience (by this I basically mean the first person viewpoint including world building and drive which is what Half-Life took even further later on).

In this new incarnation it seems like the only one of the three to really receive some love is the action part. That resulted in a really good game with Doom 2016, but I'm still missing the other parts to be really hyped :)

 

I'm not sure about everyone else but I was there when DOOM was released and nobody around me that played it considered it a cartoonish display of badassery back in the day. It was considered a horror themed shooter. The whole rip&tear, super fast action-action take is really a new-fangled thing. I guess that's where my point of view comes from.

 

But don't get me wrong. DOOM Eternal is a day1 purchase. Whatever issues I might have with what we've seen or what we've experienced in DOOM4 are no deal-breakers. The vast majority of what I've seen in the gameplay / environment department is fantastic.

Edited August 11, 2018 by Touchdown

[dsm]

1 hour ago, crazyflyingdonut said:

I got what I wanted. Thought the new Hell on Earth was cool. It actually looks better than the "Hell on Earth" scenario from Doom 2 now that I think about it. Now we have actual buildings high up in the air, burning after the demons have wrecked it.

Currently, it is my impression that Doom Eternal makes a better "Doom 2" than the original Doom II. Granted, back in 1994, I didn't care as much about updating the gameplay features and the engine because I basically saw Doom as "perfection" - altering it in any direction would "ruin it", but the sad truth is that I got tired of Doom II: Hell on Earth much faster than I anticipated, for several reasons I couldn't pinpoint back then.

 

As for Doom Eternal looking like a "better" sequel, it largely has to do with the fact that the Hell-corrupted city feels a lot more like you're in a futuristic city wrecked and corrupted by Hell than the abstract "mixture-of-techbase-and-rock-and-soil" textured levels in Doom II - as abstract as the level design was for the original Doom, it still felt like you were in a futuristic moonbase, but in Doom II, you didn't feel a good sense of "being in a location" (too abstract to be remotely recognizable), aside from the fact that I always thought it looked rather ugly (in a bad way).

I find it looks more impressive to actually recognize that "you're jumping around on the wreck of a skyscraper" and as cartoonish as several people are compaining about it supposedly being, at least it's interesting and varied to look at.

 

Another thing that makes Doom Eternal score higher in my book, as far as being a good sequel, is the simple fact that the guns are all-new with new altfire modes, not to mention additional movement upgrades and some changes to existing features from the previous title. Doom II largely reused the exact same weapons as the ones in Doom (aside from adding the awesome SSG, but that was the only addition) and kept the same basic gameplay mechanics, and while I didn't realize it at the time, it made the game a lot less fresh and made it feel a little samey; like going through the motions all over again.

 

So unless the game is horribly broken on release, some poorly thought-out gameplay design decisions have horribly destroyed what could otherwise have been a superb game when it releases, or the UI for the new game is clunky and too complex, I think Doom Eternal's "out-of-the-box" experience will enjoy better staying power (Doom II's staying power seems to be largely thanks to its moddability).

[elarmadillo3]

Well...

1. 2018 Zombieman is T H I C C

2. The new enemy and weapon designs are cool as fuck, some of them remind me of some mods. Tough some enemies seem useless

3. All of the weapon sounds are too quiet

4. If the enemy even has sounds, it sounds like shit

5. The music makes me consider suicide

6. Every fucking Doom 4 fan REEEEEs whenever someone says something negative about anything from Doom 4 and 5

Edit: Realized some things

Also, agree with everyone else about horror, dark and EDGEY and whatever. We need some of that.

Edited August 14, 2018 by elarmadillo3

[dsm]

2 minutes ago, elarmadillo3 said:

7. Every fucking Doom 4 fan REEEEEs whenever someone says something negative about anything from Doom 4 and 5

You Sir, you get a like. Even though I'm a Doom 4 fan, I still think this line of yours is hilarious. Well said, Sir. Well. Said.

[DoomMan777]

23 hours ago, elarmadillo3 said:

Well...

1. 2018 Zombieman is T H I C C

2. The new enemy and weapon designs are cool as fuck, some of them remind me of some mods. Tough a lot of the weapons seem to not even be necessary and some enemies useless

3. The level design is either just like an Invasion map or looks like it was made by a 2 year old

4. All of the weapon sounds are too quiet

5. If the enemy even has sounds, it sounds like shit

6. The music makes me consider suicide

7. Every fucking Doom 4 fan REEEEEs whenever someone says something negative about anything from Doom 4 and 5

3. It is not like the same can be said about Doom 1 and especially Doom 2, right?!

5. It is not like Doom 1 or Doom 2 Demons only made the sound of "manly" cries when they got shot.

6. Why? Valid reasons? Did someone in your house just turn on Justin Bieber tapes or what?

7. Perhaps, but you gotta show Valid Arguments, boi.

Edited August 11, 2018 by DoomMan777

[elarmadillo3]

21 minutes ago, DoomMan777 said:

3. It is not like the same can be said about Doom 1 and especially Doom 2, right?!

5. It is not like Doom 1 or Doom 2 Demons only made the sound of "manly" cries when they got shot.

6. Why? Valid reasons? Did someone in your house just turn on Justin Bieber tapes or what?

7. Perhaps, but you gotta show Valid Arguments, boi.

3. No.

5. At least they had their own sounds that you could differentiate

6. It sounds like someone raping an 100 year old computer, if it isn't that it's not interesting at all (except for BFG Division)

7. Just go look at any comment section on a Doom 4 and 5 YouTube video, or just tell them that you don't like whatever in the games

Edited August 11, 2018 by elarmadillo3

[seed]

33 minutes ago, elarmadillo3 said:

any comment section on a Doom 4 and 5 YouTube video

 

Found the problem, one of the worst places to check.

Edited August 11, 2018 by Agent6

[whirledtsar]

14 hours ago, Touchdown said:

DOOM Eternal on the other hand took the few things I hated about DOOM4, silliness and cartoony designs, and made it into a whole game. All the new monsters look like toys. The Pain Elemental is particulary bad. Not only it looks like a dumb cartoon monster (literally!) but it's animations are absolutely abysmal. What the hell was that bouncy movement at 23:45 supposed to be? Is that a joke? Not to mention it's 'waaah' expression and the huge stupid eye looking to the sides when he got executed. I didn't think they could make a monster that's worse than the D4 Pinky but evidently I was wrong. And why exactly does ANYBODY think that a 100%-faithful direct recreation of 25 year old assets in a modern engine is a good idea? It's not. It looks stupid as hell. Funny thing is I knew it would happen. I called it, in the very thread I linked above. I knew they would make it even more silly.



It's almost as if the original designs and tone were cartoony...

[elarmadillo3]

3 minutes ago, Agent6 said:

 

Found the problem, one of the worst places to check.

I've seen other places too.

[seed]

Just now, elarmadillo3 said:

I've seen other places too.

 

If Reddit is also among them, that's yet another bad place to look in.

 

Either way, my point there was that as we all know, the internet is full of idiots, therefore reactions like that should not be surprising in the slightest. You touch something they like, and they suddenly act as if it's a personal attack.

[crazyflyingdonut]

2 hours ago, dsm said:

Currently, it is my impression that Doom Eternal makes a better "Doom 2" than the original Doom II. Granted, back in 1994, I didn't care as much about updating the gameplay features and the engine because I basically saw Doom as "perfection" - altering it in any direction would "ruin it", but the sad truth is that I got tired of Doom II: Hell on Earth much faster than I anticipated, for several reasons I couldn't pinpoint back then.

 

As for Doom Eternal looking like a "better" sequel, it largely has to do with the fact that the Hell-corrupted city feels a lot more like you're in a futuristic city wrecked and corrupted by Hell than the abstract "mixture-of-techbase-and-rock-and-soil" textured levels in Doom II - as abstract as the level design was for the original Doom, it still felt like you were in a futuristic moonbase, but in Doom II, you didn't feel a good sense of "being in a location" (too abstract to be remotely recognizable), aside from the fact that I always thought it looked rather ugly (in a bad way).

I find it looks more impressive to actually recognize that "you're jumping around on the wreck of a skyscraper" and as cartoonish as several people are compaining about it supposedly being, at least it's interesting and varied to look at.

 

Another thing that makes Doom Eternal score higher in my book, as far as being a good sequel, is the simple fact that the guns are all-new with new altfire modes, not to mention additional movement upgrades and some changes to existing features from the previous title. Doom II largely reused the exact same weapons as the ones in Doom (aside from adding the awesome SSG, but that was the only addition) and kept the same basic gameplay mechanics, and while I didn't realize it at the time, it made the game a lot less fresh and made it feel a little samey; like going through the motions all over again.

 

So unless the game is horribly broken on release, some poorly thought-out gameplay design decisions have horribly destroyed what could otherwise have been a superb game when it releases, or the UI for the new game is clunky and too complex, I think Doom Eternal's "out-of-the-box" experience will enjoy better staying power (Doom II's staying power seems to be largely thanks to its moddability).

I'm not sure what people mean by "cartoony".

 

...I don't watch cartoons very much...

[dsm]

Truth be told, neither do I know what people mean by "cartoony". Could someone please elaborate on the whole "Cartoony" issue?

Edited August 11, 2018 by dsm

[Duke of Pathoris]

Just now, dsm said:

Truth be told, neither do I. Could someone please elaborate on the whole "Cartoony" issue?

No clue. It seems more detailed than before, especially with the Mancubus.

[crazyflyingdonut]

17 minutes ago, Duke of Pathoris said:

No clue. It seems more detailed than before, especially with the Mancubus.

And the gore. It looks more realistic. They actually explained it in the livestream.

[Stale Meat]

24 minutes ago, dsm said:

Truth be told, neither do I know what people mean by "cartoony". Could someone please elaborate on the whole "Cartoony" issue?

My take is that by "cartoony" they mean several things:

 

-The color pallet is too bright and vibrant, ending up looking more exaggerated than realistic looking

-The gunplay/gameplay is unconventional because of the weapon designs or the weapon mechanics

-The bits of story/how the Doomslayer is treated in the reveal is too silly or over the top

 

As mentioned earlier in the thread, I think different people have different tastes and expectations in how they enjoy Doom. Some people prefer intense and bombastic action and feeling like an unstoppable badass while listening to fast music, some prefer a darker and grimmer experience with a haunting soundtrack and a sense of surviving against the horrors of hell, and others want a cinematic and story driven adventure with cool looking places and enemies, with plenty of lore behind it all to give them more meaning and purpose. Many of people like some overlap, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with any of these ways to enjoy the franchise. The various games and much of its user made content has used these different kinds of directions and more as the foundation of their experience, and while it has led plenty of Doom fans who have quite different ideas as to what the ideal Doom experience would be, I don't think any of these are a bad or wrong ways to play or expect from future titles.

 

TL;DR I am personally fine with how Doom Eternal looks, but I can understand how some people might be put off in the directions it has taken. Hopefully most of these will just be subjective things that won't take away too much from what looks to me like a really fun game in the making.