Doom Eternal review round-up: Critics praise ‘masterful’ FPS design

Doom Eternal review round-up

• VGC (4/5) – “If you’re primarily a solo player, this is an exceptional FPS with more action than you’ll find in most other games’ campaigns (and an incredible metal soundtrack to boot).”
• Windows Central (4.5/5) – “DOOM marches back to the gates of hell with confidence, but some of its attempts to try new things fall flat. Literally.”
• DualShockers (9/10) – “DOOM Eternal proves now more than ever that the grandaddy of the first-person shooter genre is once again the king of them all — and it doesn’t look to be ceding the throne any time soon.”
• EGM Now (4/5) – “As long as Doom Eternal didn’t stray too far from its predecessor, it was going to be a good game. But id Software comes surprisingly close to muddying everything with new mechanics.”
• Stevivor (9/10) – “The problem is that id Software added in all these new features where only some are for the betterment of the game; others take away from the franchise and its legacy. Nevertheless, if you dive in I can promise you that you’ll have one hell of a good time.”
• Daily Star (5/5) – “One of 2020’s first essential games, Doom Eternal is a masterwork of first-person shooter design, and sets the bar for what developers should be doing in the genre.”
• PC Gamer (94/100) – “Doom Eternal is a ceaseless, panicked nightmare that pushes you to point and click with more skill and style than ever before.”
• PCGamesN (9/10) – “Id stumbles very occasionally in its ambition to expand on 2016, but you won’t care when you’re enjoying the best combat in shooters. Pure, animalistic catharsis.”
• God is a Geek (9.5/10) – “Doom Eternal is loud, brash, hellishly violent, and 100% entertainment. It might not be the perfect video game, but it absolutely is the perfect Doom game.”
• Push Square (9/10) – “DOOM Eternal delivers one of the best FPS campaigns of all time. The way it weds fast-paced, sensational action with gratifying platforming makes for a single player experience that will be remembered as one of the PS4’s very best.”
• Twinfinite (4.5/5) – “Doom Eternal is far more than gore, double jumps, and brutal executions. It’s an impeccably designed game that perfectly balances every single aspect of its action to create one of the most challenging, exhausting, and consistently fun shooters in years.”
• Destructoid (8.5/10) – “Doom Eternal keeps the strong foundation built back in 2016 intact, while adding some of its own panache in the process. I think we can officially declare that the last iteration wasn’t just a lone fluke, and that Doom is back in the shooter spotlight where it belongs.”
• Metro (8/10) – “A significant improvement on the reboot and while there are still a few flaws the core combat is some of the best in any first person shooter this generation.”
• Eurogamer (no score) – “An even faster and bloodier but slightly wayward follow-up to a thunderous shooter reboot.”
• VG247 (4/5) – “When you’re right in the thick of it, zipping around like a toddler after a pack of Smarties, efficiently and methodically laying waste to the hordes of hell at 900 gibs per minute, this is the strongest Doom has ever been.”
• ShackNews (8/10) – “While there are new mechanics and weapons, it just doesn’t offer that same sense of freshness that the reboot did. Platforming – while a strong addition to many parts of the game’s exploration – often feels heavy handed and forced.”
• LADbible (8/10) – “I’m going to go back and replay Eternal and I think it will be better on its second run, maybe better even than 2016’s Doom – but I wish that was the case on the first playthrough.”
• TheSixthAxis (10/10) – “Doom Eternal doesn’t just set the bar, it breaks it. Many of the best games of the FPS genre do what has already been done, and can do it really, really well, but Doom Eternal does what no other game has done before, crafting a fast-paced power fantasy that sets your brain cells on fire.”
• Xbox Achievements (92/100) – “A proper thrill-ride, DOOM Eternal is the sequel to DOOM 2016 that we wanted, and then some. Going to hell has never been so damn heavenly.”