“Doom: Eternal – The Ancient Gods: Part 2” Review

Story posted March 25, 2021 in

Picking up right where the previous DLC drop left off, “The Ancient Gods: Part 2” tasks players with finally eliminating The Dark Lord himself.

“Doom: Eternal” itself introduced players to the platform as a part of the Doom Slayer’s conquest against hell, but, as with “The Ancient Gods: Part 1,” “The Ancient Gods: Part 2” added yet another element to the system. Players can now use the meat hook on the Super Shotgun to grapple onto preset “anchors” in the environment for required map traversal.

There is also the addition of several new variants of demons, all of which come with a recommended way of taking them down. This is a welcome addition, as it requires the player to use more of the arsenal rather than picking favorites and rolling with those. As well as giving engagements a little more variety without making them excessively difficult at the base difficulty level, otherwise called “Hurt Me Plenty.”

The player is also equipped with a Sentinel Hammer, which can be used to stun opponents in the vicinity, if not outright eliminating them.

The last mission starts with a cutscene that is very reminiscent of the portal scene from “Avengers: Endgame.” The Doom Slayer stands at the walls of Immora, The Dark Lord’s fortress, with an army of Sentinel warriors coming through blue portals behind him to face down the demonic horde.

It is a scene that is truly epic, and the chaos can be viewed all around the player as they partake in the ensuing battle. Certainly, it is a memorable moment in recent gaming.

The three environments the player traverses are memorable as well, consisting of areas surrounding where a giant cosmic shard speared through a planet, a post-demon invasion Earth and as mentioned the fortress of the Dark Lord himself. The DLC is truly biblical in scale.

Since “The Ancient Gods: Part 2” serves as the end of the recent “Doom” storyline, a lot of the collectible lore and in-game dialogue pulls back the curtain entirely on what is going on in the fictional universe. Players are no longer entirely in the dark about what transpired eons before the game takes place, and a lot of the new storyline is quite fascinating.

Unfortunately, the DLC does have one drawback, and that is the gameplay in the final battle against The Dark Lord. It is a recognized trial-by-combat match within a series of arenas. The Ancient Gods themselves are watching over the two characters, with the stakes being incredibly high. If only it felt that way while playing.

The Dark Lord can be defeated by using a strategy the game provides via in-game tips. Just rinse and repeat until all his health bars are gone and the day is won. At base difficulty, there is little to no pressure so long as the player is paying attention to what is happening.

However, the cutscenes that take place between and at the end of the fight do a lot for the impact of what the Doom Slayer is there to do. That, and the design of The Dark Lord’s armor is captivating.

Overall, “The Ancient Gods: Part 2” is a fantastic way of sending out the recent “Doom” storyline with a bang and is an absolute thrill to play.

Rating: 4/5

 

Colton Pleslusky is a junior majoring in telecommunications. To contact him, email csp5289@psu.edu.

About the Contributors

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Colton Pleslusky

Fourth-Year / Telecommunications

Colton S. Pleslusky is a fourth-year from Aliquippa, Pennsylvania majoring in telecommunications at Penn State. He is a director and writer for the CommRadio Arts & Entertainment Department as well as the host on Nittany Stories and a co-host on Nittany Record Club alongside Emily McGlynn. He does behind the scenes tasks, including directing, producing, programming and more for the Centre County Report. To contact him, email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).