For the first 4-5 hours of this game, I wasn't really enjoying it. Coming right after finishing Doom 2016, it felt like Eternal was a messy sequel cluttered with too many additional mechanics. Once the game finally bothered to inform me about some of the essential techniques needed to play it well, though, I actually started to enjoy it. There are a two things you don't figure out until like halfway through the main campaign:

- You don't need to wait for the scoping-in animation on the rifle to finish to get its effect (also that the scope mod is OP and the missile mod should never be used)
- Swapping from one weapon to another cancels weapon cooldowns (swap speed upgrade is the best in the game)

The game becomes infinitely more enjoyable once you start taking advantage of these mechanics. It leaves me asking, however, why the game doesn't bother to tell you these things right at the beginning? Why does the missile upgrade exist? Why even have a weapon switch speed upgrade if the game is worse without it?

For reference, I played through the main campaign and DLCs on Ultra Violence difficulty (second-hardest of 4 difficulties, seems like the standard Doom Eternal experience).

That being said, Doom Eternal becomes a much more enjoyable experience around the time you face your first marauder, and the game really forces you to figure this stuff out if you don't want to get crushed. The last third or so of the main campaign is great. The boss fights are also fun, save for the final boss, which is absolutely awful.

The first DLC is where this game really shines, though. It's first mission is probably the hardest in the game, but at this point I'd gotten good enough that the added difficulty actually made it more enjoyable. By the final boss of DLC 1, though, things really felt toned down again (maybe it's an Ultra Violence difficulty thing? Maybe I just got better?) and that carries through to DLC 2, which gets new wacky enemies (which are cool except for STONE IMPS AAAAH I HATE THEM I HATE THE AUTOSHOTGUN MOD AAHH) but is more or less the same. The final boss of DLC 2 sucks--it's not hard, but it sucks.

I could keep going on and on about the little things that are good or bad about this game and its DLCs, but It's better to just experience it yourself. I'd personally wait for the game+DLC bundle to go on sale for $20 again (it does that pretty often) before buying it, but if you're one of the weirdos who thinks 50+ dollars isn't a lot for game in the first place, feel free to purchase at full price.

For the first 4-5 hours of this game, I wasn't really enjoying it. Coming right after finishing Doom 2016, it felt like Eternal was a messy sequel cluttered with too many additional mechanics. Once the game finally bothered to inform me about some of the essential techniques needed to play it well, though, I actually started to enjoy it. There are a two things you don't figure out until like halfway through the main campaign: - You don't need to wait for the scoping-in animation on the rifle to finish to get its effect (also that the scope mod is OP and the missile mod should never be used) - Swapping from one weapon to another cancels weapon cooldowns (swap speed upgrade is the best in the game) The game becomes infinitely more enjoyable once you start taking advantage of these mechanics. It leaves me asking, however, why the game doesn't bother to tell you these things right at the beginning? Why does the missile upgrade exist? Why even have a weapon switch speed upgrade if the game is worse without it? For reference, I played through the main campaign and DLCs on Ultra Violence difficulty (second-hardest of 4 difficulties, seems like the standard Doom Eternal experience). That being said, Doom Eternal becomes a much more enjoyable experience around the time you face your first marauder, and the game really forces you to figure this stuff out if you don't want to get crushed. The last third or so of the main campaign is great. The boss fights are also fun, save for the final boss, which is absolutely awful. The first DLC is where this game really shines, though. It's first mission is probably the hardest in the game, but at this point I'd gotten good enough that the added difficulty actually made it more enjoyable. By the final boss of DLC 1, though, things really felt toned down again (maybe it's an Ultra Violence difficulty thing? Maybe I just got better?) and that carries through to DLC 2, which gets new wacky enemies (which are cool except for STONE IMPS AAAAH I HATE THEM I HATE THE AUTOSHOTGUN MOD AAHH) but is more or less the same. The final boss of DLC 2 sucks--it's not hard, but it sucks. I could keep going on and on about the little things that are good or bad about this game and its DLCs, but It's better to just experience it yourself. I'd personally wait for the game+DLC bundle to go on sale for $20 again (it does that pretty often) before buying it, but if you're one of the weirdos who thinks 50+ dollars isn't a lot for game in the first place, feel free to purchase at full price.