I initially loathed a lot of the changes this Doom made after coming off of 2016's Doom. All of the jumping around and ♥♥♥♥ at first didn't sit well with me. They also made every weapon specialize in taking out certain types of demons, forcing you to swap between all of the weapons rather frequently.

Of course I didn't realize I actually really enjoyed this experience, because I was expecting more of basically what we got from 2016's Doom. I did not educate myself on how different Eternal was going to be when they were making it as I wanted to go in completely blind. Turns out that was a mistake for my first impressions.

This game takes 2016 and dials it up to 11. All of those cool weapon attachments that made your weapons simply stronger are now designed around countering specific enemy types.
The Chainsaw is mandatory in maintaining your ammunition.
The Flame Belch is mandatory for maintaining your armor.
The Blood Punch maintains your health and counters certain enemy types.
The Dash keeps you constantly on the move and in the air.
Both grenade types are crowd control tools

Almost every part of your arsenal is necessary for combat in this game instead of being optional like in 2016. When you got a new gun in 2016, you could stick with that gun for the rest of the game.
When you get a new gun in Eternal, it's trying to teach you how to effectively use your new toy.

Demons in this game have all been redesigned to look more like their classic Doom counterparts, with some exceptions like Imps and Barons. Some demons have defined weak points that need to be taken out by certain weapon attachments, like the Arachnotron's turret or Mancubus' cannons. Other demons are highly susceptible to certain weapon attachment combinations.

The combat feels mostly really nice, all of the guns are extremely punchy and powerful. Flying around in the air and raining hellfire down upon demons is truly a satisfying experience. It becomes amplified when you learn quick-swapping and are taking heavies out left and right.

Some of the projectile attacks in this game are genuinely ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ and will track you no matter how well you play, they'll even hit you as you try to Dash out of the way and it's extremely noticeable. The amount of times a Whiplash sends an attack at me that I've tried to side dash only for it to still connect is ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ infuriating, can't even fly over it, the ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ thing still connects. Tyrants have this issue too with their tracking ground projectile.

Then comes the Marauder. Honestly ♥♥♥♥ this guy. He's insanely easy once you know how to combo him to death, but I am of the opinion he completely breaks the flow of the rest of the combat. He demands that you sit with him in mid-range, wait for his eyes to glow green and then shoot him during his attack.

If you shoot him any time before this, he just instantly absorbs it with a shield and summons a dog to hound you. Get too close and he Super Shotguns you, get too far and he throws axe projectiles at you. He's obnoxious and unfun, I would've settled for him being a one-time boss like the Gladiator.

Oh and the music is 100% a banger. Mick Gordon always delivers some banging metal tracks, this is absolutely no exception here. Almost every track will have you wanting to rip and tear demons for days.

I initially loathed a lot of the changes this Doom made after coming off of 2016's Doom. All of the jumping around and shit at first didn't sit well with me. They also made every weapon specialize in taking out certain types of demons, forcing you to swap between all of the weapons rather frequently. Of course I didn't realize I actually really enjoyed this experience, because I was expecting more of basically what we got from 2016's Doom. I did not educate myself on how different Eternal was going to be when they were making it as I wanted to go in completely blind. Turns out that was a mistake for my first impressions. This game takes 2016 and dials it up to 11. All of those cool weapon attachments that made your weapons simply stronger are now designed around countering specific enemy types. The Chainsaw is mandatory in maintaining your ammunition. The Flame Belch is mandatory for maintaining your armor. The Blood Punch maintains your health and counters certain enemy types. The Dash keeps you constantly on the move and in the air. Both grenade types are crowd control tools Almost every part of your arsenal is necessary for combat in this game instead of being optional like in 2016. When you got a new gun in 2016, you could stick with that gun for the rest of the game. When you get a new gun in Eternal, it's trying to teach you how to effectively use your new toy. Demons in this game have all been redesigned to look more like their classic Doom counterparts, with some exceptions like Imps and Barons. Some demons have defined weak points that need to be taken out by certain weapon attachments, like the Arachnotron's turret or Mancubus' cannons. Other demons are highly susceptible to certain weapon attachment combinations. The combat feels mostly really nice, all of the guns are extremely punchy and powerful. Flying around in the air and raining hellfire down upon demons is truly a satisfying experience. It becomes amplified when you learn quick-swapping and are taking heavies out left and right. Some of the projectile attacks in this game are genuinely bullshit and will track you no matter how well you play, they'll even hit you as you try to Dash out of the way and it's extremely noticeable. The amount of times a Whiplash sends an attack at me that I've tried to side dash only for it to still connect is fucking infuriating, can't even fly over it, the goddamn thing still connects. Tyrants have this issue too with their tracking ground projectile. Then comes the Marauder. Honestly fuck this guy. He's insanely easy once you know how to combo him to death, but I am of the opinion he completely breaks the flow of the rest of the combat. He demands that you sit with him in mid-range, wait for his eyes to glow green and then shoot him during his attack. If you shoot him any time before this, he just instantly absorbs it with a shield and summons a dog to hound you. Get too close and he Super Shotguns you, get too far and he throws axe projectiles at you. He's obnoxious and unfun, I would've settled for him being a one-time boss like the Gladiator. Oh and the music is 100% a banger. Mick Gordon always delivers some banging metal tracks, this is absolutely no exception here. Almost every track will have you wanting to rip and tear demons for days.