Doom Eternal: The Ancient Gods Pt. 1-Review

Doom has always been a great franchise for expansions and suprisingly, Doom (2016) had no story DLC. It’s actually the first time ever a mainstream DOOM game came out without any additional single-player content. Many felt that it was a bit of a wasted opportunity considering how awesome the game was and how much better the single player was than the multiplayer, which did get extra attention in post release. Evidently, they learned from that in Doom Eternal and this game went on to have a lot of post release single player content. For starters, there’s the master levels, which are souped up remixes of main game levels. Then there’s all these skins and weapon skins you can get by completing challenges. But then, most prominently, you have these two DLC packs, Ancient Gods Parts 1 and II that add about 9-10 hours of gameplay.

Each of these DLCs has three new missions, new mechanics in some places, new enemy types and interesting new locations. They’re like the base game but turned up to 12. Especially, in my opinion, this first DLC Ancient Gods Part 1. The reason this one feels so insane, compared to the other one, is that it ramps things up quickly and pretty much pushes the game and the player to it’s limits. Whereas before you felt badass, now you’re getting your ass kicked and the game feels downright hostile at times. The enemy count in these levels is obnoxious, the arena battles feature wave after wave of increasingly clever and harsh encounters and the combat amps up to desperate levels at all times. But let me tell you, for the most part, it’s pretty fun. For the most part.

The first mission is the UAC Atlantica. This mission is peak DOOM and it takes the franchise somewhere it’s actually never been before- the ocean. Things have changed. The Doom Slayer has moved his base of command to this aircraft carrier type thing, with Samuel Hayden and staff in tow. They send him in to this massive ocean base to retrieve the Seraphin, which is an angel who is supposed to be…it’s really not that important right now. The point is, there’s movement, action. Even though you just defeated the Icon of Sin and saved the world, there’s still work to be done and further reckoning to unleash.

This ocean base is a beauty. It’s infesting with demons, in fact it’s basically militarized by them, with turrets and traps spread throughout. They aren’t invading, they’re guarding something. And there’s a lot of them guarding it. Right from the jump there’s a lot of enemies to deal with. Basically every room now is some sort of lock-in encounter with waves of enemies, tough enemies at that. In between that you get some really cool platforming sequences that have you swinging above the ocean aboard cargo trailers. It’s epic and a little over the top, but it works. This whole thing works. Even the fact that this mission is absurdly long works, because it shows that you’re cleaning out this whole place and it gives a sense of scale to your mission.

But then it gets even crazier. After spending what will probably be about an hours clearing out the ocean base, behold, one of the older tricks in the book- another secret base below the water that has the thing you actually need. Why didn’t we just go there first? Well, then you couldn’t have a badass scene where the Doom Slayer rides a submarine down to the ocean floor, passes by a shark and then swims around. That part alone made it worth it. It gave me BioShock 2 flashbacks, which was interesting because in general these DLCs do have a bit of a Minerva’s Den (BioShock 2 DLC) influence throughout.

You infiltrate the super secret real facility and then once again, you’re fighting wave after wave after wave. And these are tough, brilliantly configured waves, paced to always keep you on the backfoot. You’re likely to die a few times at least and the further you get the more you realize that this DLC has no chill. It’s punishingly hard and forces you to up your game. There’s no reason for this to this hard honestly- it’s already at the bottom of the ocean, who’s going there?(Besides us.)

But yeah, stretch our your hands, you’r gonna need every fraction of a second. I’m not kidding. This expansion will have you fighting enemy groupings you weren’t sure were possibly before now. They throw Tyrants (mini-Cyber Demons) around like they’re pinkies, pinkies like they’re imps and imps like they’re atoms. The key is to never stop moving and just keep mashing buttons. At some point you’ll make it through. And all those systems and skills from the campaign? You’ll need to use each and every one of those too. Constantly. If you aren’t regaining health or shield or ammo every 15 seconds you’re probably getting your ass kicked.

This level has a very good reputation though and it’s well warranted. It’s a grind, but visually it’s a spectacle and the sheer scale of this conflict is impressive without feeling gaudy or trolly (that comes later.) It’s before the DLC really has time to break out it’s newest tricks and traps and so it’s more straightforward and less gimmicky than the later levels. It’s probably the high point of all the DLCs, which…isn’t a bad thing per se. It’s just a sign of how good this level is and how delicate of a balance this DLC keeps to maintain it’s maximalist death mandate. And it’s also the location- of all the DLC locations, this one is new and feels new because as Earthlings, we have some context. Sending me to a new part of a distant planet that doesn’t exit doesn’t hit the same as saying “DOOM but also Subnautica.”

The next level The Blood Swamps is another gem. Some people really love this level, some simply like it. I would probably land somewhere in the middle. I love the aesthetic- green, misty swamps, menacing overgrown temples. It’s got this mechanic where sometimes the mist is poisonous and you have to follow this spirit wolf that will produce a bubble that is safe. From there you fight waves of enemies in this enclosed bubble. It doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but it’s pretty cinematic and hasn’t been done before. There’s also a weird ass boss fight against giant eyeballs and they introduce these “Spirits” that inhabit an enemy, boost all their attributes and then flee to another enemy if you don’t Ghostbuster style suck them up with the Plasma Gun. They’re a fun challenge and then just a hassle. The “relocation” mechanic almost feels like overkill because the spirit-powered demons feel un-killable.

There’s more platforming, but this time it’s trickier and has a time limit. If you like the platforming (I do), you’ll enjoy this a lot. You have to really fly around and time your jumps, with the occasional trick-shot that opens up platforms. It can be really frustrating if you aren’t mindful and keep your eye on where you need to go. But it’s refreshing, at least I thought so, and it serves as a good break from the otherwise unrelenting violence.

The Blood Swamps is a very weighty and hefty level. It’s not quite as long as the previous level, but it introduces a bunch of new mechanics and by the end of it, it’s like you’re playing a slightly different game. One thing The Ancient Gods (both parts) do is chip away at the power and skill creep you. get from the campaign. You may have figured out how to take care of business in the main campaign. But the new elements here, such as Spirits that beef up health, poison mist, Evil Eye turrets and just an increase in the sheer volume of enemies leaves you exhausted.

That, I think, is my criticism of this DLC. It’s hard but it’s often just exhausting. Yeah, the room with 200 enemies spread across 4 waves is difficult- but even if it wasn’t, it’s still tedious. These missions are long, like many in the base game, but importantly, the feel very long. It feels like there’s always another wave, another section, another mini-boss right around every corner and it can kill a little bit of the joy because it is a slog at times. Even though the environments are beautiful and the encounters are smartly constructed, there’s just so many of them it grinds you down after a while.

The last level here is The Holt. I wish I could say I liked this level more than I do. The aesthetic is cool. An alien forest full of evil Angels (Makyr). But the execution…it feels like a bunch of relatively linear platforming and shooter box sequences leading into a boss fight that goes from fun to annoying somewhat quickly. I think it’s still fun- it’s Doom Eternal after all. But it’s doesn’t feel as dynamic, I think because it starts out at the very top of the difficulty curve and then really pushes from there. There’s not enough sequences where you feel badass. I mean, you’re badass in the cut scenes, but in the actual gameplay you get your ass kicked a lot.

The Holt is a decent mission but at this point, the constant grind of the arenas begins to wear out it’s welcome. I do feel like the gameplay pacing is a weakness because the entire thing is that you fight some horde of enemies and then here’s five more bigger enemies and it’s like this in every room. The Holt is especially guilty of this and it feels like it enjoys it a little too much. I think the boss fight is a little too long and the platforming isn’t interesting as the previous levels either. Overall not one of my favorite Doom Eternal levels.

I also want to add here that the plot at this point, is beginning to get more and more outlandish and perhaps even a little melodramatic. At this point, you’ve killed the leader of Heaven and you’ve killed billions of demons and so on and so forth, but now apparently is to resurrect the Devil, basically, and fight him so you can win once and for all. Which is a very Doomian concept except, again, it’s dressed in so much bravado that it can a little bit cringe at times. Especially because the writing is very self aware that the Doom Slayer is super cool and unstoppable and so now everything he does is just some epic saga now. And that’s an okay direction, but it can’t always work and it nearly doesn’t here.

Overall, this is very strong expansion for what it is. But it has it’s weak points and they aren’t necessarily things that I think I’ll change my opinion on. I think it’s too hard, specifically pointlessly hard, in parts and I think the lore is a little cheesy. But I also think the aesthetics and world design are excellent and some of the new mechanics do some fun variety. Doom Eternal is full of moments. This DLC is full of moments as well. You may not like them as much, but they’ll definitely make an impact.

I appreciate this DLC and it’s followup because I think they did a great job of taking Doom Eternal to it’s logical conclusion gameplay wise. They don’t leave you wanting too much more. Not that they aren’t good or fun, they just really test the limits of this gameplay loop and style of shooter. It’s like getting a Masters degree in DOOM. Once you’ve handled this, you’re pretty much ready for anything the franchise can throw at you. The bosses are punishing and powerful, the encounters are overwhelming and all the while, the settings are great and gorgeous to look at. They definitely hit the mark far more than they may have missed it.