“DOOM” Eternal is a sequel to “DOOM” (2016). However, it doesn’t just add new content, but it also adds some new functionality. Platforming is still a part of the series and DOOM Eternal adds a bit more to getting around. Now there is a mod for the Super Shotgun called the Meat Hook. It will let you grapple onto a demon and shoot or punch it. The new Blood Punch melee attack does some serious damage. If you want to instantly kill a Pinky, Blood Punch it in the face. The gauge for this attack gets refilled when you perform Glory Kills.

One new way to get armor is by using the Flame Belch. It is a new piece of gear that puts demons on fire. While they’re lit, they’ll some drop armor. Another way to get armor is to upgrade the Meat Hook. The demons you grapple on to will then temporarily catch on fire and drop some armor.

Your arsenal also includes Frag Grenades. You can turn them into Ice Bombs, which will temporarily freeze enemies. You can switch between the two modes just like you can with weapons.

The Codex is very resourceful. Along with lore, it contains information about weapons and demons. It will tell you what a demon’s weakness is, since this varies among them. The game doesn’t go about hiding this. It has a great Tutorials section. These can be brief videos that appear in a small window to show how something, like the Ice Bomb, is used. In the very beginning, the game will take you to through a brief tutorial.

One function I enjoyed with DOOM Eternal was Cheat Codes. They are part of the “secret” collectibles you can find on some missions. Using them does not affect your progression. However, you can only use them on a mission you’ve already completed and they disable the Slayer Key in the mission. Slayer Keys open Slayer Gates. These are “special encounters.” They will teleport you to a different battle ground and you have to defeat all of the demons. They can be challenging. I think the only one I didn’t complete was the last one in the Ancient Gods Part 1 DLC. Winning these in the base game grants an Empyrean Key. There are six of them and they unlock a new weapon similar to the BFG.

There are a lot of options within the graphics settings. I was hoping to use GeForce Experience to “optimize” my settings, but the program didn’t detect the game. So, I tried out the different presets. The highest one told me I didn’t have enough VRAM, so I think I chose the one below it. The game ran great, I never noticed any kind of lag. Speaking of issues, the game did crash at least at one point a couple of times, though I did get around it. There was also an issue when I first tried to play, but it was pretty much a network issue that was resolved not long after I encountered it.

There seems to be a bit more of an online part to DOOM Eternal. I didn’t explore the multiplayer parts of the game, but I knew it’s different. For instance, there is a Battle Mode and you can play as a demon. You can connect to your friends and get some experience points when they do. Experience points unlock special customizations for your character, title, weapons, and more. Along with mission and weapon challenges there are now weekly challenges, giving players more opportunities to earn experience points. There are also events that occur like the holiday one going on now. One of the items I got is a skin for a weapon, another is a Santa “Doom Guy” skin.

The central location in the game is the Fortress. You will be able to explore it between some missions. Within, you’ll find some of the collectibles you’ve found on different missions. Music tracks you’ve found are displayed on the walls. You can interact with them and make them your current background music. There are tracks from different id games. You can also visit a room that displays your collected weapons, gear, and toys (“secret” collectibles).

The Fortress also contains different things you can unlock. In some of them you’ll find Suit upgrades, Runes, or a skin for your slayer. In order to unlock them, you’ll need to get Sentinel Batteries, each item costs two. You’ll find these as collectibles on missions and by the end, it seems there are more than you need, so it may not be necessary to collect them all.

I pretty much think DOOM Eternal takes everything that is great (which is pretty much everything) about DOOM and gives it a nice upgrade. I like many of the “quality of life” things, such as being able to change the menu colors (although still limited to a few). The music is still good and being able to listen to tracks from older games is cool.

My biggest complaint with these two DOOM games is the platforming. I think being able to jump and dash around is helpful and can be fun or helpful during a fight. However, sometimes theses platforming instances can be complicated. It can be frustrating trying to make some of the jumps. Sometimes while playing, I’ve just wondered, “why?” As I said in my DOOM review, it’s kind of like a mix between Doom and Super Mario Bros.

If you like Doom, you should check out “DOOM.” Then you should check out DOOM Eternal, I would definitely recommend it. After that, assuming you’ve enjoyed the games, you may want to also check out DOOM Eternal’s DLC.

Also, now that I remembered, I like how DOOM is pretty much like Doom and DOOM Eternal is pretty much like Doom 2 (you may notice some similarities).

(Update) I just remembered that I forgot to mention that DOOM Eternal not only lets you jump and grapple, but it also allows you to actually stick on walls. There are certain surfaces you'll find that allow you to do this. They all look essentially the same, though they can sometimes be difficult to spot. Being able to do this and stay on the surface and look to your right or left before jumping is cool. While attached to a surface, your Dash meter will also recharge, allowing you to double dash in mid-air, as you'll need to do sometimes.

Have you played DOOM Eternal yet? What do you think about it? Feel free to comment.