Obviously you enjoyed it, but what do you think of it compared to Doom? I fear it will just be more of the same, with a sword, that's not been enough of a hook for me to want to play it tbh. Persuade me!
And yeah, Halo would feel like treacle
Do you mean Doom 2016? If so then no, it most certainly is not "more of the same". There's a much tighter gameplay loop in Doom Eternal as compared to Doom 2016, with new mechanics such as the double-dash and the meathook providing additional movement options; this is one reason why Eternal is a faster game not just compared to most shooters, but compared to its predecessor. It's significant enough that I have to adjust my playstyle when returning to D16.
The combat is kind of puzzle-like in a rock-paper-scissors kind of fashion, with certain weapons being much more effective against specific enemies. For example, cacodemons can be quickly glory killed by chucking a grenade into their mouth.
The invasion of Earth means the story takes a much more epic turn, but with skippable cutscenes and the lore being tucked away in the Codex, you can ignore all the fluff if it doesn't interest you. Personally I liked it, but Doom Eternal is very much a "gameplay first" kind of affair, so I strongly encourage people play it even if they don't think much of the story.
The music is fucking amazing. Face-melting stuff that fits the action perfectly. It's a common joke among the fanbase that Doom 2016 and Eternal are music albums that come with a free game. By the time I reached the ARC Complex, I was getting confident with the game and having "The Only Thing They Fear Is You" blasting while slaying demons made me feel like a super fucking badass. The game makes you work for that feeling, but it's so definitely worth it.
Setting and level design have definitely been kicked up a few notches, there's not a single boring level in my opinion.
On the technical side, this is a stupidly well-optimised game. Even on my old computer with an HDD drive, Eternal loaded faster than 2016 did, despite being a more visually impressive game. They got this bad boy running on the Nintendo Switch, that's how well-crafted it is.
Doom Eternal feels like it has a lot more tricks up its sleeve than the previous game. By the time you reach Titan's Realm in 2016 the game has pretty much run out new things to show you apart from the bosses. But Eternal feels like it's constantly introducing new mechanics and enemies, keeping the experience fresh enough to make you want to keep pushing towards the end. Even when you've levelled up everything and learned how it works, you still need to master those things, and Eternal has a skill ceiling that can be best described as "stratospheric".
Also Doom Eternal got totally and undeservedly snubbed at the Video Game Awards, so it deserves love from players. Game of The Year material in my opinion.
