Death Dance Evolution
[otw_shortcode_dropcap label=”W” font=”zone” background_color_class=”otw-red-background” size=”large” border_color_class=”otw-no-border-color” shadow=”shadow” square=”square”][/otw_shortcode_dropcap]ell this is a particularly grim time to be a person isn’t it?
And I’m sure, like me, you are stuck inside waiting for the world to get back to normal, or for that surprise third act twist to 2020. My money’s on an asteroid…
luckily for some of us though, it’s like we have been training for this day for our entire lives. All day “working from home”. I was built for this and I’m working on the conspiracy theory that Bethesda planned this all along for the incredibly well timed release of DOOM Eternal.
Now, because we are a small team and no one knows who we are, I’ve had to wait until release day to get my hands on DOOM. So instead of a full blown review out of the gate I’m going to give you my first impressions. Lucky you.
HOLY FUCK
Everything in this feels like an upgrade over 2016s DOOM. It very much follows the same formula: go into room/murder everything.
Quick aside, I really enjoyed the fact that there was very little story in the 2016 iteration, it was kind of there but not really. We all knew what we were there for.
So imagine my surprise when DOOM: ETERNAL actually has a storyline. It’s a nice addition to keep the murder going, but do we actually need it? Who knows.
Within the first hour you get all the abilities that were first dished out and then some, and what I’ve been noticing more and more with ETERNAL is a fine balancing act between Health, Armour and Ammo.
Say you enter a room and it quickly begins to fill with unspoken horrors from hell. Don’t have any armour? Use the new flame belch to farm armour off the group of nearby zombies. Need Ammo? Chainsaw something in half. Need Health? Time for the Glory Kills.
And it’s those three pillars that the game at this point purely revolves around and it is amazing. It’s a careful balance that moves everything forward and I have caught myself a few times NOT murdering a monster because I can use them to get more health down the road if need be.
And that’s why it reminds me of Dance Dance Revolution. You hit the beats, you hit the right notes at the right time and you’ll go far.
Also the soundtrack is fucking amazing. Z
