Doom Eternal

Doom Eternal is a sequel to Doom (2016), announced by Bethesda and id Software at the BE3 presentation on. Further information, including a gameplay reveal, was released at the 2018 QuakeCon convention keynote presentation on August 10. Previously planned for release on November 22, 2019, in October of that year the game was delayed until its eventual release on March 20, 2020 for PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4. It was announced on March 19, 2019, that Doom Eternal would also support the Google game streaming service.

While originally slated for a simultaneous release on the Nintendo Switch, co-developed by Panic Button, as of the October delay it was stated that the Switch version would release at a later date. The Switch version was eventually released on December 8, 2020.

Doom Eternal was added to the Xbox Game Pass subscription service as of October 1, 2020, and this was later extended to access via Xbox Game Pass for PC on December 3.

Native enhanced builds of Doom Eternal for the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S consoles with support for higher resolutions and frame rates were released on June 29, 2021.

Story
Set two years after Doom (2016), about 60% of the Earth has been conquered by the demonic invasion. The Earth military, re-organized under the command of Samuel Hayden's ARC, ultimately proves helpless in turning the tide of the battle and the majority of the human population is killed during the first month of the invasion.

It is at this time that the Doom Slayer, accompanied by VEGA, arrives to save humanity by killing the three treacherous Hell priests, whom the Khan Maykr has sent to Earth to command the invaders and carry out the ritual that would plunge the Earth entirely into Hell. During his search for them, he recovers the damaged body of Samuel Hayden along with the demonic Crucible, and the former's mind is transferred into the Fortress of Doom to assist the Slayer in his quest.

After the Slayer kills all the Hell priests, the Khan Maykr decides to resurrect the Icon of Sin to ensure the sacrifice of the Earth is completed. The Slayer retrieves his Crucible from Taras Nabad, an abandoned city on the Night Sentinel homeworld, and enters the Maykrs' home dimension of Urdak by raiding the Nekravol&mdash;the ultimate source of all Argent energy&mdash;preventing the Maykrs from taking control of the Icon of Sin.

The Khan Maykr is slain after trying to prevent the Slayer from returning to Earth, and after a desperate battle the Icon falls as well, forcing the demonic army to retreat. As the Earth marvels at its salvation, the Slayer departs to continue his endless war against the armies of Hell.

Details
According to id Software's Marty Stratton and Hugo Martin, the game would feature an even more powerful Doom Slayer taking on twice as many types of demons, with portions of the game set on Earth, Phobos, Mars, and Hell. Among his new abilities, the Doom Slayer can execute a short-range dash up to twice in a row, even in mid-air, swing from poles and climb and jump between specially marked walls in a manner reminiscent of the  series. Runes are now acquired directly in levels rather than requiring separate special challenges.

Mick Gordon would return as the composer of the game's soundtrack, and confirmed that the formula used in the previous game would be iterated upon for the sequel. It was confirmed that songs from previous games in the series would again be sampled.

It was confirmed by id Software in a QuakeCon questions-and-answers session that SnapMap would not return. However, single-player packs were confirmed shortly after the initial announcements of the game.

The game utilizes the next iteration of the id Tech engine, id Tech 7. While no concrete details have been revealed, id Software has claimed "ten times the geometric detail and greater texture fidelity." Early analysis of the gameplay footage revealed no dramatic visual changes from Doom (2016) beyond higher detail, but among other technical changes, the engine no longer utilizes megatexture technology, and the shader pipeline is forward rather than deferred.

Bethesda announced that the game would launch on the Steam platform for PC in a tweet posted on March 25, 2019, putting to rest speculation that the game might be held as an exclusive for the Bethesda.net store.

At QuakeCon 2019, id Software revealed that the game would feature diverse collectibles for all of the demons rather than only Doomguy collectibles, which would also become available as action figures.

Standard
The standard edition is a box with a disc for Xbox One or PlayStation 4, or a Bethesda.net key for PC. This edition is also available on Steam as a digital download.

Deluxe Edition
The Deluxe Edition adds the digital subset of bonuses also available in the Collector's Edition: This edition is also available on Steam as a digital download.
 * Year One Pass, with access to the first two campaign DLCs, slated to be released within the game's first year.
 * Demonic Slayer skin
 * Classic weapons sound pack

Collector's Edition
On June 9, 2019, Bethesda announced the Collector's Edition for Doom Eternal, including: Digital content includes the three bonus items also included with the Deluxe Edition. Physical PC editions include a Bethesda.net key.
 * Wearable replica of the Doom Slayer helmet
 * Playable cassette tape with the Doom (2016) and Doom Eternal soundtracks
 * Steelbook case
 * Lore book
 * "The Gift of Argent" lithograph

Rip and Tear Pack
Pre-orders of any edition add the following content via the Rip and Tear Pack:
 * Digital download of Doom 64 for the matching system
 * Doot revenant skin
 * Throwback shotgun weapon skin
 * Cultist Base bonus campaign master level

Vendor-specific bonuses

 * Best Buy offered an exclusive Doom Eternal Scanavo steelbook case with pre-orders of any edition of the game.
 * GameStop offered a tin mini lunchbox for pre-orders.

Ambient

 * Buff totem: These structures do not attack on their own, but continuously summon and buff other monsters until pulled out of the ground with a melee attack.
 * Cueball: Is the new version of the Possessed engineer, no longer attacks the player, instead is an utility demon, the Slayer can punch him in any direction without staggering him to injure other demons.
 * Tentacle: These tentacles sometimes appear from holes in the ground. They are easily destroyed with the chainsaw, chaingun, or super shotgun.

Fodder

 * Gargoyle: Imp-like enemies with an acid barrage attack and limited flight capabilities.
 * Imp: Imps are now more muscular and sport spikes on their bodies. They also have brightly glowing red eyes.
 * Lost soul
 * Mecha zombie: More aggressive variety of the standard zombie enemies equipped with a flamethrower.
 * Soldier (Blaster): Functionally identical to the possessed soldiers from Doom (2016). Now closely resemble zombiemen from Doom and Doom II.
 * Soldier (Shield): Functionally similar to the possessed security from Doom (2016). Now closely resembles the shotgun guy from Doom and Doom II.
 * Zombie: Has multiple skins which depend on the level, two of which resemble the the possessed and unwilling enemies from Doom (2016).

Heavy

 * Arachnotron: Miniature versions of the spider mastermind that attack with a plasma turret. They can sometimes climb up walls and ceilings.
 * Cacodemon: Their appearance has been slightly modified, and they now bleed blue. They now have a long-range bite, and can spew fireballs in quick procession.
 * Carcass: An advanced cybernetic zombie able to project a shield that protects other monsters.
 * Cyber-mancubus: Now able to attack with flamethrowers, like its standard counterpart.
 * Dread knight: A cybernetically enhanced Hell knight that can attack from long range.
 * Hell knight: Largely identical to its 2016 incarnation.
 * Mancubus: Now closely resembles its Doom II incarnation.
 * Maykr drone: Low-ranking Maykrs. They drop many resources when killed with a headshot.
 * Pain elemental: Can spawn lost souls, and will throw them like grenades to attack.
 * Pinky: Largely identical to its 2016 incarnation.
 * Prowler: Now occurs as a monster in single-player mode.
 * Revenant: Can now fire a barrage of homing missiles similar to its Doom II incarnation.
 * Spectre: An invisible enemy
 * Whiplash: A female serpentine demon that attacks with whips.

Super Heavy

 * Arch-vile: Replaces the summoner. Able to summon and buff monsters like the buff totem, and can generate a shield of flames to block frontal attacks. It attacks by conjuring flame waves and fire pools, and can teleport to stay out of reach.
 * Baron of Hell: The baron now possesses a solid gray palette and wields fire swords. Now has a flaming skeletal frame underneath its skin instead of an organic body like most other enemies.
 * Doom hunter: A cybernetic demon armed with multiple weapons systems and an energy shield, mounted on a hover sled for increased mobility.
 * Marauder: A traitorous Night Sentinel infused with demonic power, wielding abilities similar to the Doom Slayer himself and able to defend from all but the most carefully timed attacks.
 * Tyrant: A new iteration in the class of cyberdemons, which now closely resembles its Doom incarnation. Occurs as an advanced standard enemy rather than a boss.

Bosses

 * Gladiator: A heavily armored demon resembling the classic Hell knight that fights with a flail and shield.
 * Icon of Sin: Previously present as an Easter egg, it is fought as the final boss in its unarmored and armored forms. Its new armor is based on Maykr technology.
 * Khan Maykr: The leader of the Maykrs and the primary antagonist of Doom Eternal.

Other

 * Kalibas
 * Titan

Mechanics
A new dynamic model damage system called "destructible demons" is introduced in the game, allowing monsters to actively reflect the amount and types of damage they have taken. This system has tactical advantages as well, as it allows players to destroy some enemies' weapons to disable certain enemy attacks. In addition to this, demons can also falter, briefly interrupting their attacks.

Mobility has been expanded; a new dash ability has been added, as well as wall-climbing and swinging on monkey bars found throughout the environment. You can dash twice (even in midair) before needing to recharge, and there are dash recharge items in the environment. The super shotgun also features a "meathook" that allows the Doom Slayer to grapple onto an enemy and pull themselves towards it. With the increased movement options, traversal sections have become more complex, incorporating various hazards such as flaming chains, falling platforms and damaging fields. Unlike the previous game, falling in these sections will instantly return the player to their last position at the cost of a few points of health. Aquatic sections have been added to the game.

The Slayer also has a new "blood punch" ability, a very powerful melee attack that damages enemies in a wide arc. This attack is charged by glory killing two demons.

Occasionally an "empowered demon" may appear in a player's single-player campaign, bearing the name of a player that was killed by that demon in their own play session. Such demons are stronger than normal, but give special rewards when defeated. Empowered demons are strictly optional. Though demonstrated before release, and available as an option in the menu, the empowered demons feature was fully added in the summer of 2020.

Also, the Doom Slayer now has a personal headquarters called The Fortress of Doom, a castle-like space station orbiting the Earth which serves as an in-game hub. Sentinel batteries are scattered across the game and can be collected to bring the Fortress online, unlocking more areas to explore. Another feature of the Fortress is the "Ripatorium", a demon prison that functions as a training ground.

Weapon points, rune perks and suit upgrades all make a return, containing a mixture of familiar and new upgrades. Sentinel crystals replace Argent cells as the method for upgrading the player's health, armor and ammo.

Secret encounters and Slayer Gates are optional combat encounters in most levels. Slayer Gates are unique in that they are comparatively intense encounters that can only be accessed by finding secret keys hidden in the maps. When completed, Slayer gates will reward the player with an Empyrean Key.

Due to the increased difficulty from the previous game, extra life power-ups can be found scattered across the game. These will allow the Doom Slayer to immediately respawn if killed instead of being sent back to the last checkpoint.

The Codex returns from the previous game, but now has the added feature of listing enemy weaknesses. Instead of datapads, lore is scattered across the game world in the form of burning, floating pages.

Weapons

 * Melee attacks have the Doom Slayer punching his opponents instead of bludgeoning them using his currently held weapon. Glory killing enemies fuels his "blood punch", a supercharged punch that deals damage in an area in front of the player.
 * Ballista, which appears similar in function to the original Gauss cannon, but with a new explosive bolt and "destroyer blade" mods.
 * BFG-9000, which is now a part of the weapon wheel. It now uses 30 ammo per shot and gets 30 ammo per pickup, instead of the previous 1 ammo per shot and per pickup. The new ammo count is intend for Unmaykr, which uses 1 ammo per shot.
 * Chainsaw, seemingly identical to its 2016 version. It is referred to as the Mixom "Dopesaw", versus the previous game's "Painsaw".
 * Chaingun, which now fires energy projectiles similar to the previous game's pistol, but shares its ammo pool with the heavy cannon. The Gatling rotator mod has been replaced with a shield, as it no longer needs to wind up before firing.
 * Combat shotgun, with the original Charged Burst replaced with an automatic fire mod, and the explosive shot being replaced with a sticky bomb.
 * Crucible - Used to instantly glory kill enemies. Functions in a similar manner to the chainsaw, but every enemy type costs one charge and slain enemies drop health instead of ammo. The Crucible carries three charges. It is a distinct artifact from the Demon Crucible retrieved in Doom (2016).
 * The Doomblade, an arm-mounted retractable blade used in glory kills.
 * Flame belch, a shoulder-mounted napalm-firing alternate weapon that sets enemies ablaze. Burning enemies drop armor shards.
 * Ice bomb, a projectile fired from the shoulder which freezes enemies temporarily.
 * Frag grenade, a shoulder-mounted alternate weapon which replaces the hand-tossed frag grenade of the previous game.
 * Heavy cannon, with a scope and a micro-missile mod, similar to the original heavy assault rifle.
 * Plasma rifle, with a new appearance inspired by the classic plasma rifle and with the Stun Bomb mod replaced by a Microwave Beam mod which slows down and damages enemies, making them explode with splash damage if killed.
 * Rocket launcher, with new demonic appearance and a returning Remote Detonation mod.
 * Super shotgun, which now includes an underslung hookshot-like device currently known as the "meat hook" which is used to grapple onto enemies from afar.
 * The Unmaykr, a secret weapon which requires six Empyrean Keys to be used in the Fortress of Doom. A Maykr automatic weapon powered by BFG cells.

A pistol was also fully implemented into the game, but is normally unobtainable. It can only be obtained by using a console command which is normally unavailable.

Base Campaign

 * Fortress of Doom (Hub)
 * Hell on Earth
 * Exultia
 * Cultist Base
 * Doom Hunter Base (Three Doom hunters are minibosses.)
 * Super Gore Nest
 * ARC Complex (The Marauder is a miniboss.)
 * Mars Core
 * Sentinel Prime (The Gladiator is the boss.)
 * Taras Nabad
 * Nekravol
 * Nekravol - Part II
 * Urdak (The Khan Maykr is the boss.)
 * Final Sin (The Icon of Sin is the boss.)

The Ancient Gods, Part One

 * UAC Atlantica Facility
 * ARC Carrier (Hub)
 * The Blood Swamps
 * The Holt (Samur Maykr is boss.)

The Ancient Gods, Part Two

 * The World Spear
 * Reclaimed Earth
 * Immora
 * The Dark Lord (The Dark Lord is boss.)

Master Levels
Master Levels are a remix of campaign levels featuring new enemy compositions consisting of the full roster of demons, making them more challenging than the original. So far six Master Levels have been released, with more currently in development.


 * Cultist Base (released as a preorder bonus)
 * ARC Complex
 * Super Gore Nest
 * Taras Nabad
 * Mars Core
 * The World Spear

Expansions
The first expansion for Doom Eternal, The Ancient Gods, Part One, was officially announced by Bethesda during the QuakeCon at Home stream on Twitch on August 7, 2020, with release of a teaser trailer. A full reveal followed August 27, with the release date confirmed as October 20.

The second downloadable content expansion, The Ancient Gods, Part Two, was officially announced by Bethesda on March 16, 2021, with the release of a teaser trailer. A full trailer followed on March 17, 2021 and was released on March 18.

Horde Mode was released on October 26, 2021 as part of Update 6.66. It is a single-player arcade-style mode that pits players against a series of intense combat encounters, featuring levels and monsters from Doom Eternal and its expansions.

Multiplayer
A new multiplayer feature called "Demon Invasion" (also referred to as "Slayer hunting parties") was initially announced, which would have allowed players to go on raids into other players' campaigns to play as demons in a manner similar to the first game's demon rune. Participation was to be strictly optional. The launch of Invasion mode was initially delayed to the post-release period but eventually cancelled in July 2021, in part due to the. id instead chose to focus on a new single-player Horde Mode.

While it was stated at QuakeCon 2018 that traditional multiplayer would be included as well, this time being developed in-house at id Software, it was later explained that ordinary modes such as deathmatch were not planned for inclusion. According to the E3 2019 announcement, there would instead be an asymmetric "Battlemode", where one player controlling the Doom Slayer fights two demons controlled by other players, who can also summon weaker AI-controlled demons such as former humans and deploy hazards. The playable demons are the revenant, mancubus, marauder, pain elemental, arch-vile and dread knight. This remains the game's only multiplayer component.

Multiplayer levels

 * Armageddon
 * Celestial
 * Corrosion
 * Extraction
 * Forsaken
 * Penance
 * Stronghold
 * Torment
 * Tundra

Criticism
Doom Eternal received "generally favorable" reviews, according to review aggregator. Some critics praised the campaign, graphics, level design, combat, soundtrack, and improvements over its predecessor, while others disliked the increased focus on storytelling and lore, and the platforming sections.

Phil Hornshaw of  gave the game an 8 out of 10, praising the game's combat and platforming, but criticizing the game's story, calling it "overly serious and confusing". Andrew Reiner of  criticized the game's multiplayer, calling it "a huge step back for the entire series." He also criticized the puzzles, saying he felt they were out of place. He did, however, praise the game's combat, particularly the game's expanded arsenal, as well as the soundtrack, calling it "catchy". He gave the game a score of 9.25 out of 10.

Crunch
The lead developers of Doom Eternal offered conflicting statements to the press about the company's use of practices. In speaking to PC Gamer's Andy Chalk shortly after the game was delayed from its initial November 2019 release date to March 2020, executive producer Marty Stratton firmly characterized the development schedule as "crunch", stating, "We were crunching pretty hard most of last year. It goes in phases... We’ll have one group of people crunching so the next group of people are teed up properly. As they get done, they may need to crunch a little bit." He went on to imply that such development was mostly voluntary, stating, "We have very dedicated people that just choose to work a lot in many cases."

Lead designer Hugo Martin would later claim on a podcast with that id Software did not employ crunch, instead describing and generalizing his own around-the-clock developer mindset as being "like a lifestyle" and implying that it did not have deleterious effects on his work-life balance.

Such statements about "voluntary" or "lifestyle" crunch are frequently made by upper management in the gaming industry and are regularly debunked by employees who state that the peer pressure from other workers and the implied threats of missing out on bonuses and opportunities for promotion, or even possibly facing termination due to unsatisfactory performance reviews keep them locked into the process.

Denuvo
Update 1 patched the game on Windows to include Denuvo anti-cheat technology, which operates by installing a. Some were concerned this would open up their computers to, while others claimed of performance losses caused by the patch. Though not officially supported, the game also previously had a platinum-level rating on ProtonDB regarding its compatibility with Steam's Proton for Linux, which was downgraded to unplayable due to Denuvo not supporting the operating system. This led users to the game on Steam over the decision. On May 20, id Software went on record stating that they would remove Denuvo anti-cheat upon the game's next patch due the following week, and would re-evaluate how they would implement anti-cheating measures in the game. The following week, the anti-cheat software was confirmed to be removed from the game.

Cosmetics
The structure of cosmetic item unlocks as presented in pre-release promotions raised concerns that the game would include an in-game cosmetic store. It was promised in response by project director Hugo Martin that, as a "$60 game, not a free to play game or a mobile game", Doom Eternal would be "a complete experience with no store just like you'd expect." However, as of March 13, the week of the game's release, it became evident that a series of premium skins was present in the game that would only be made available to subscribers, through an exclusivity deal between Bethesda and. Beyond this immediate compromise of the original promise, Bethesda would also begin migrating a number of the game's previously free cosmetics into paid premium packs as of April 30, 2021, provoking even further controversy.

Original Game Soundtrack
The release of the Original Game Soundtrack has been marred by controversy, seeing multiple statements released by Mick Gordon and Marty Stratton with contradictory details regarding the soundtrack release's poor quality. Multiple instances of developer harassment and review bombing have resulted from the conflict, which is still ongoing as of November 2022.

Trivia

 * Both Doom and Doom II are fully playable in-game via a classic 1990's era PC found in the Slayer's abode in the Fortress of Doom (though they must be unlocked first). Powering this are copies of the PSN version of DOOM.WAD and the Bethesda.net version of DOOM2.WAD which are included under the game's install directory, in . The Steam release of Doom Eternal initially omitted these files by mistake which resulted in a crash if the player attempted to play them; this was addressed shortly after launch.
 * Since the PSN version of Doom and Bethesda.net version of Doom 2 are similar to the versions featured in Doom 3: BFG Edition, having several elements of the games censored and altered, it is possible to replace the WADs with the original DOOM.WAD and DOOM2.WAD, either from the original PC versions or if downloaded from Steam, and play the titles uncensored.
 * The Doomguy had additional voice lines which remain in the game's files as cut content.