2020-05-01_Official_PlayStation_Magazine_-_UK_Edition

091

REVIEW

are very poorly designed. The
jump and dash mechanics
simply aren’t tight enough for
the precision often demanded,
and it’s not always obvious
where you need to go. Worst
of all, it’s sometimes necessary
to find where to go next in
mid-air within a few seconds
which, combined with the
aforementioned issues, leads to
frustration. Overall, we found
ourselves much more likely to
lose huge chunks of health to
platforming than to combat.

DEMON ALBARN
Still, outside of these missteps
it’s a great experience. New
enemies, weapons, and areas
are fed to you at a rate that
ensures things never get stale,
nor are you overwhelmed. We
would recommend that, initially
at least, you play on the
default Hurt Me Plenty option.
We find it to be a perfectly
balanced difficulty, ensuring
that combat encounters are
challenging enough to keep us

VERDICT

Above Once
you get the
chaingun,
unlock the
shield as soon
as you can.

Right Your level
hub/ship, the
Fortress Of
Doom, contains
several secrets
and unlocks.

Above There are alternate skins to unlock,liketheclassic‘croptop’outfit.

THE OPM BREAKDOWN

A love letter to the classic

series written in blood, Doom

Eternal is a fast-paced and

utterly thrilling way to paint the

town (and Mars, and ethereal

realms) red. Luke Kemp

under constant pressure, while

remaining completely fair.

Checkpoints, too, are (usually)

very sensibly placed.

Despite the fairly lengthy

story, there’s a baffling lack of

‘proper’ bosses. There are only

a few, and only one appears

before the last few hours of the

game. They’re great encounters,

and we wish that there were

more of them. The final boss,

in fact, acts as something of

a microcosm of the whole

game. On the surface, it’s

incredibly intimidating, and

almost appears unfair. Once we

worked out how the developers

intended us to play, however,

it was fast-paced, epic, an

adrenaline rush... and, most

important of all, fun.

10% Poking

around the

environment for

hidden goodies

and extra lives.

20% Emerging

from a close

fight feeling like

the god people

claim you are.

3%Goingthrough

themenus,picking

thebestsuitand

weaponupgrades.

7%Spamming

thedashbutton,

searchingfora

grunttotopup

your health.

WHAT YOU DO IN... DOOM ETERNAL

50%

Blowing demons

into chunks

with a grin on

your face.

10% Missing a

jump for the fifth

time while saying

naughty words.

STAT PACK

Life, ie

permadeath,

if you go for

top difficulty.

Definitely not

for beginners!

Standard

weapons,

not including

flamethrower or

chainsaw – or a

few secret ones.

Bosses. Don’t be

fooled into

thinking there

are more;

certain enemy

types return.

20 8 13

Hours to finish

the campaign

(this will increase

depending on

your chosen

difficulty).

MULTIPLAYER

Longevity goes beyond

revisiting levels thanks

to the online Battle

mode. Offering five

playable demons and six

maps, it’s still Slayer

versus hellspawn, but

the powerful demons

are player-controlled.

Watch for our full

impressions next issue.

GET AHEAD

There’s a wry sense of humour

throughout, which makes the gore

part of the game’s distinct

personality rather than off-putting.

TAKE A RUNNING JUMP

Honestly, we can’t stress enough

how much of a bad idea the

platforming sections were. The

most dangerous enemy in the game.

LOVING/HATING

AD

NR

IT,

TH

EY

KEEP

TROPHYCABINET

’TI

S

A

M

AG

IC

NU

MBE

R

RB

EA

KE

R^

OF

GA

TES

BRONZE

Perform 33 glory kills

for this one. You should

unlock this very quickly,

as they’re such fun (and

necessary) to do.

SILVER

Find and complete all

the Slayer gates.

Harder than you think;

the keys are hidden,

and the fights brutal.

GOLD

Kill 666 demons, and a

shiny gold trophy is

yours. You might be

surprised at how early

on this one pops.