DOOM Eternal Switch - Review

More than a year later from when it was initially due to release, doom eternal has finally come to the switch. did the extra development time make the game the best version around or is this one that should have been left in Limbo.

DOOM Eternal on Switch tells the same story as the other versions, there is no difference to the game here in terms of what it offers, you play as the Slayer and after the events of the reboot DOOM your goal is to stop the hellish invasion of earth. A number of years have passed between the end of DOOM and the start of DOOM Eternal, the Slayer now has a spaceship and arrives at Earth as the demonic invasion has dominated the planet. But the Slayer won’t let a little demonic overtaking stop him, with a simple plan of kill all demons and then kill the ones that run away, the goal is simple, this time though, there is a lot more lore behind that very basic idea. As the game progresses, you get to understand more about what makes the Slayer so dangerous, including where the now populous planet of demons are coming from, a lot of it is filler, meaning you can ignore it, but there are a few times when the game will directly give you this information. I really enjoyed the story, especially with how things fill out the world more, in that people just didn’t find hell, there is a full reason to why it is all happening and while it does seem a little out there, even for DOOM at times, it still fits the tone of the world.

The core gameplay is also intact it is fast paced, frenetic and a joy to play, it's probably the most surprising element about Eternal on the Switch. The game had always provided a very fast paced experience on the other platforms and it was one of the biggest issues I was concerned about coming into the Switch release would it be able to maintain that fast paced combat. It does and apart from the fact that I was holding the Switch in my hands I didn't feel like I was playing a watered-down version of the game, it may have taken them many extra months but the switch release holds up exceptionally well on the gameplay front. The only issue that I encountered, at least when played in handheld, was relating to the controls of interacting with the environment. Anytime a game uses a stick to interact with things, it always feels weird, here the weirdness is made even more prominate, given the Switch’s unusual stick placement, trying to interact with things just doesn’t work and without anyway of remapping, it can be quite annoying.

The game also features the full multiplayer suite, which means once you have conquered the campaign, the slaying doesn’t need to stop. Now the mode is called Battlemode and rather than being a standard deathmatch, is actually a 1v2 mode, where one play is the Slayer and the other are Demons, of their choice. There are countless systems in play, letting you make your character look how you want, as well as in-match upgrades that will allow you to change up how things will play out. While I was able to play a few matches, it took quite a while for them to be found each time, so if you are aiming to play the game, you might want to consider playing with friends in a private match.

On another note, the visuals, there is no way that you can talk about DOOM Eternal and not mention them, but if we are being honest, they are nowhere near as bad as you might have imagined. Now that is not to say they are perfect, there is a high level of blur to the game, and while there are countless times in which you will notice it, it fades into the background pretty quickly. The level of detail here is actually slightly higher than the 2016 release and that comes down to both the ID Tech 7 and just how much optimisation that Panic Button have done. The game on other platforms, was optimised to heck, with load times down to well under 30 seconds most of the time and I am happy to report that those same load times can be found here, which again was quite the surprise. Something that was a big improvement from the first DOOM on Switch to Eternal, is that there is not a massive jump in of textures, which again is a big improvement. I feel that I am starting to repeat myself, but it is a testament to the new engine and the work done by Panic Button, the game looks great, minus that blur.

Of course, there are some issues with the game loading in elements when you are in the largest locations where some textures will increase their quality right in front of you. While you won’t notice them all the time, you will occasionally and they can easily pull you out of the experience, because as demons are constantly spawning around you, you will be on the look out for changes. The other issue is when you are playing in handheld, the text can be very small at times and if they display a lot of it at once, it can feel like you are overwhelmed with hard to read information.

Of course we can’t mention DOOM and not bring into the equation that fantastic soundtrack and regardless if you are playing docked or handheld, using the Switch’s inbuilt speakers or a set of headphones, the audio is amazing. The soundtrack and associated in game sounds all sound great and while you should want to play docked or with a good set of headphones, in order to get the most out of it, playing directly on the Switch, without headphones still presents a clear mix. There were times when the mix was a little heavy with the music, when there speech happening in front of me, this wasn’t all the time, but I did notice it.

DOOM Eternal on Switch is a phenomenal version of an already incredible game, just as long as you can take the layer of blurriness that comes with it. If you only have a Switch, then this is a game you need to play, it offers an insane campaign that just keeps ramping up the action and then once you are done with that, a fun multiplayer mode. While there is a significant visual downgrade on Switch, the incredible art style from id Software shines through and perhaps even more impressive is that Panic Button got it all to work.

The Score

9.0

Review code provided by Bethesda

The Pros

+Plays like a dream, with smooth actions, no matter how crazy things get

+The game loads fast and manages to look very good, even with the lack of power

The Cons

-The right stick on the Switch, makes interacting with things weird, at least in handheld

-While the visuals are decent, there is a very noticeable blur over everything and it can get a bit much