Doom Eternal Review

Combat: The Resource Puzzle at 60fps

Doom Eternal's combat system is a genius inversion of the shooter genre's conventions. Most shooters give you infinite ammo and let you engage however you want. Doom Eternal gives you limited ammo for every weapon, limited health, and limited armor — then surrounds you with specific demon types that replenish each resource when killed correctly. The Chainsaw refills ammo from any demon (with fuel recharging on a timer); the Flame Belch sets demons on fire for armor pickup; Glory Kills (melee finishers) provide health. Running out of any of the three means death. Managing all three simultaneously while staying in constant motion is the core competency.

The result is combat that feels simultaneously chaotic and precise. A high-level Doom Eternal player knows instantly: Arachnotron is the first priority (its turret controls air space), Cacodemon is close behind (grenade in mouth, then glory kill for armor), Mancubus is flamed next (armor from burning), then the Cyber-Mancubus is chain-sawed for ammo. This threat priority matrix becomes automatic through practice, creating a flow state unlike any other shooter.

Movement: The Hummingbird Gunfighter

The Doom Slayer moves like nothing else in gaming. Two dash charges reset on a short cooldown. Double jump reaches high platforms. Meat Hook (Super Shotgun attachment) grapples to any demon for instant gap-closing. Monkey bars and poles create vertical paths through arenas. The movement and combat systems are inseparable — repositioning to the right location determines survival more than accurate shooting in high-difficulty rooms.

Arsenal and Weapons

Eight primary weapons, each with two mod slots, create 16 distinct attack options. The Super Shotgun's Meat Hook enables aggressive gap-closing; the Ballista's Arbalest mod fires an explosive burst for big single-target damage; the Heavy Cannon's Precision Bolt mode enables headshots on distant priority targets. Weapon switching speed is instant — maintaining full weapon rotation rather than camping one gun is the game's fundamental expectation.

Verdict

Doom Eternal is a mechanical masterpiece with essentially no peers in its genre. At $9.99 on sale with both DLC included, it is gaming's best value per hour of pure engagement.

Pros & Cons