Doom Eternal Switch Review
When Doom Eternal arrived earlier this year, it was made into one of the most refined experiences of the year. Doom Eternal is a must-play for first-person shooter fans in 2020 on PC, PS4, and Xbox One, but while the game has been ported to the Nintendo Switch, the question is whether the adventure still holds up in handheld form.
Doom Eternal is a great first-person shooter. From the very first quick mission, it just doesn’t stop. Developer id Software manages to create a game that feels like a blast from the past while also bringing the genre to life.
One of the things that makes Doom Eternal special is how progression stacks on itself with new weapons, upgrades, and gear. Whether it’s the Super Shotgun that blasts enemies, the Heavy Cannon that snipes with precision, or the Ice Bomb that freezes a bunch of demons, Doom Eternal has some of the best video game weapons of 2020. Along with new weapons, Mods can be unlocked and selected. Each weapon feels unique because they play differently, and because each Mod gives the gun a real twist. Meanwhile, Runes are effective in allowing players to play exactly how they want. Options like Air Control provide increased movement in the air and Savagery allows for faster glory kills. All of this equates to a lot of freedom in play style. The 15-hour campaign is constantly fresh and at no point does it feel repetitive or dull because the constant experimentation is genuinely fun.
With all the different gunplay in mind, Doom Eternal’s monsters can be very difficult, but that’s by design. Enemies have weak points and are easier to take down with different weapons. The codex even describes different types of monsters, from “fodder” that can be taken down with a few bullets to “heavy” creatures like Cacodemon that are most effectively taken down by directly throwing a Frag Grenade in its mouth. Entering a giant room with countless demons can be quite a challenge, but rotating through different types of guns, using each weapon to take them all down, and coming out victorious is extremely satisfying. -he. There are moments where Doom Eternal seems to put the Slayer in a small corridor against an onslaught of enemies with no chance, and this is where it almost feels unfair. When the game is indoors and there is no freedom of movement, Doom Eternal is not at its best. But out on an open plain, where the movement and weapon range can be rotated to its full extent, Slayer feels like a god, and Doom Eternal feels like an incredible experience.
Doom Eternal’s platforming elements are the final aspect that helps set it apart. The verticality of the level design is unique to the first-person-shooter genre. Using timed double jumps and wall climbs, along with air dashes, to climb to great heights during quiet moments outside of chaotic and bloody combat works as a great pallet cleaner. The exploratory nature of platforming is also where most of the secrets lie.
Another great game design decision is the Fortress of Doom, which is the Slayer’s space ship. His massive ship allows players to choose missions, upgrade gear, and even practice fighting demons in space without the impact of losing lives or bullets. The game’s story also drives the experience. For those who don’t know much about the games, this isn’t necessary, but for Doom fans, there’s a lot of very interesting backstory to the area.
Doom Eternal on PC, PS4, and Xbox One is a gorgeous game despite its theme. Unfortunately, it doesn’t meet any sort of 2020 standards on the Switch. Interestingly, the enemy models almost look like sprites from the original Doom 64, which was actually included with Doom Eternal for a limited time. From a purely visual perspective, Doom Eternal on the Nintendo Switch doesn’t look good. The demons still get poked in the eyes by finishers, they still have their fangs removed, they still explode into a hundred pieces (which is fun to watch) but the details are blurry, pixilated, and not as impressive as PS4 /PC/Xbox One counterpart. Meanwhile, the heavy metal music, even the console of choice, is perfect.
From a performance perspective, Doom Eternal holds up very well on the Nintendo Switch, which is very promising. There are no noticeable hiccups in terms of frame rate drops or anything like that. The Switch version runs at 30 frames per second, which is a drop from the 60+ that the other versions run at, but the game stays true to that 30 throughout. There are a few instances where it seems like a fodder enemy might appear off-screen and start dealing damage, but nothing completely unfair.
Additionally, the game isn’t as smooth and responsive with the Joycons. The analog drift didn’t help at all, and the controller set up didn’t work well for what was supposed to be a precision-based and fast-feeling experience. The best way to play Doom Eternal on the Switch is with a Pro Controller and on a big screen, where the game looks even better.
Another interesting thing to note is that the cloud gaming experiment with Control on the Switch was generally successful. It’s fair to wonder if Doom Eternal would be better off using that approach. The game feels perfect from a gameplay perspective in this port, but visually it leaves a lot to be desired. If it’s a cloud-based game, it might look amazing, but maybe the gameplay is missing the point, which in many ways is more important.
Doom Eternal is now available for Switch.