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Review of DOOM Eternal: The Ancient Gods – Part Two
Honestly, I don’t know how to start this review. Should I begin by saying this is the best DOOM content ever made? Or by mentioning how id Software delivered an incredible story filled with unexpected plot twists?
Let’s break it down because The Ancient Gods – Part Two expansion adds amazing details to DOOM Eternal, both in terms of story and gameplay.
Let’s talk about the story first, which means there will be spoilers for DOOM Eternal and The Ancient Gods – Part One. At the end of Part One, the DOOM Slayer captured the soul of the Dark Lord, aiming to resurrect him—not to help the demons but to bring him back just to kill him.
The Ancient Gods – Part Two starts with the Slayer reviving the Dark Lord. However, since they’re in a sacred place, the Slayer cannot kill him there. The Dark Lord challenges him to meet in Immora, a city in Hell. From there, the Slayer sets out to rally allies and prepare for a final battle. If the Slayer defeats the Dark Lord, all demons outside Hell will perish, cleansing the world of their presence.
As the studio stated, this expansion is the conclusion of the DOOM Slayer’s story that began in 2016. And they succeeded in wrapping it up in an unexpected and perfect way!
The expansion introduces three new levels, each with a unique design and feel. The first level, World Spear, is the longest and takes about 1 hour and 15 minutes to complete. The other two, Reclaimed Earth and Immora, take about 30 minutes each, assuming you’re skilled. The final battle with the Dark Lord is another 30 minutes. In total, the expansion offers around 3 hours of gameplay, the same as Part One, which is fair for its $20 price.
Gameplay-wise, the expansion introduces several new demons that create more challenging battles and encourage players to use different weapon mods. For example, the Stone Imps can only be killed with the Auto Shotgun, a mod many didn’t use in the base game.
Another demon curses you, gradually reducing your health until you kill it to lift the curse. The Baron of Hell gets a new shielded version that you must break using the Plasma Rifle before defeating it.
There are more new demons, but I’ll let you discover them yourself. Each adds fresh challenges that keep the fast-paced, action-packed DOOM Eternal gameplay exciting.
The standout addition to gameplay is the new Sentinel Hammer weapon. This weapon can stun surrounding demons, giving you a chance to escape deadly situations. It also lets you extract health, armor, and ammo from demons using different mods like freezing grenades or fire attacks.
Since the expansion introduces new environments, we need to talk about the visual design, especially the Reclaimed Earth level. It’s the only daytime level on Earth in the DOOM series, featuring lush green surroundings. This level showcases the capabilities of the id Tech 7 engine, and I’m excited to see what the studio does with its next version.
The soundtrack, composed by Andrew Hulshult and David Levy, who also worked on Part One, is fantastic. I found the music in Part Two even more intense, especially during the final Immora mission, perfectly capturing the DOOM Slayer’s power.
