DLC Special: DOOM Eternal: The Ancient Gods – Part 1 – DOOM Eternal blew us away with the force of a monster hurricane in March. And then we actually express ourselves fairly lightly. Developer id Software delivered a whopper of a shooter; a super-fast, hyper-violent bullet ballet, in which you only had a chance with a lot of agility to reach the end of a level unscathed. Very challenging, and extremely satisfying, as evidenced by the empty feeling that overwhelmed us when we beat the oversized Icon Of Sin and watched the credits. Man, this tasted like more. Id Software realized that, and now delivers a blood-stained pearl of an expansion to fill that empty feeling.
DOOM Eternal, act IV
The Ancient Gods: Part One – because we’ll be getting more of this kind of genius on our plates soon! – actually feels more like a logical continuation of the surprisingly deep story that DOOM Eternal fired at us. The Icon Of Sin is underground and Earth has been saved from destruction, but in this universe, no good deed goes unpunished. The Doom Slayer has left heaven, earth and hell devastated during his murderous quest, and the remaining demons are now making good use of it. They conquer Urdak and threaten to invade all other dimensions from there. End of story, you might think… but the Doom Slayer and the UAC still have one ace up their sleeve. The legendary Seraphim, or the only figure that can offer solace now.
Thus begins an epic venture, which kicks off on a high-tech drilling platform and ends in an equally imaginative… never mind, that would be a huge spoiler. The first part of The Ancient Gods picks up the thread where Eternal dropped it and shamelessly comes out with more of the same – a damn good thing in this case. The story itself surprises again with some clever plot twists and also expands the underlying mythology of the entire franchise even further. Everything leads to an appropriately spectacular boss fight, followed by a cliffhanger to say the least. Clearly these are golden times for DOOM fans. And for controller sellers, because less gifted players will already be inclined to throw their copy across the room in frustration during the first levels.
For the lions
It takes a while before you get back to that hard rhythm of DOOM Eternal. Id Software is not inclined to help you and immediately forces you to climb a steep learning curve. In less than two minutes, you will be bombarded by a battalion of demons of all shapes and sizes, none of whom show the slightest compassion. So sink or swim. And if – as with us – it has been since March since you played DOOM Eternal, it takes some getting used to. Id Software throws the most impossible situations at you and asks you to come to a solution with stylish free running and tactical rotation of the weapon wheel. Easier said than done, but it feels unbelievably good again when you finally triumph against all odds.
The winning team keeps on winning
As soon as you are in the right rhythm again, you can enjoy the craftsmanship that id Software brings to the fore. The Ancient Gods: Part One also shows that the developer is very good at designing levels. No nook or cranny remains unused; every room or hallway contains a secret part that you can only expose to daylight after careful investigation. Boss fights or challenging combinations of demons regularly push you to the brink of madness, but never make you feel like it’s impossible to succeed. There is also little to criticize in the audiovisual field. The limited voice work does what it is supposed to do, the music is nice and exciting and the graphics make you forget at times that you are sitting in front of your TV. So good work.
Conclusion
DOOM Eternal was a genius; The Ancient Gods: Part One continues that line seemingly effortlessly. That Id Software does not reinvent the wheel for this expansion, we would like to cover with the mantle of love. After all, the result is stellar, so DOOM Eternal is once again crowned king of the First Person Shooter. The first part of The Ancient Gods contains more of the same fast-paced, ultra-violent and extremely challenging gameplay that we are used to and does afterwards – that cliffhanger! – beg for more. The level design also deserves praise again. So let that second part come quickly; we – and our freshly replenished stock of controllers – are more than ready!
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