The shooter that proves that tight mechanics still mean more than presentation

The first-person shooter space still has room to grow, and few games prove this better than the 2020s DOOM Eternala blistering romp through hell and back that, for my money, is one of the best single-player FPS games ever made. But just like how normal life can seem dull after returning from vacation, most first-person shooters feel pedestrian and uninspired after playing DOOM Eternal.

The FPS genre has gone through several iterations over the years, with DOWNFALL franchise that actually plays an important role in its development. Along with other MS-DOS franchises such as Quake, Duke Nukemand Wolfenstein, DOWNFALL helped establish first-person shooters as smooth, fantastical journeys through the most unlikely environments; Realism was generally not at the heart of these games' design philosophy. But things started to change with the advent of IP which Rainbow Six, Medal of Honorand Call of Dutywhich was founded not in imagination, but in reality; you were no longer the larger-than-life Doomslayer, but a private in the US military, or a top secret special agent in… the US military. This camp of first-person shooters, while not without its merits, began to focus more on spectacle, atmosphere, and realism than compelling mechanics, setting the stage for the likes of DOOM Eternal to make his dramatic entrance.

How DOOM Eternal makes running and shooting feel fresh again

When the news came that Id Software would be revived DOWNFALL In 2016, many were not sure what to think. I, for one, was skeptical of the series' modern reinvention, as someone who was a little underwhelmed by DOOM 3 at the time (I've since been informed that I should give it another shot), but the renewal actually worked surprisingly well. But about 2016 DOWNFALL doubled down on the fantasy of the Doom Slayer as an unstoppable, demon-hating force of nature, DOOM Eternal quadrupled.

DOWNFALL 2016 is a good FPS, though DOOM Eternal playing jump rope with the conventions of the genre. While many shooters encourage the player to stay in one position, take cover and avoid damage, DOWNFALL Eternal basically requires consistent aggression. Just like in its predecessor, players must perform Glory Kills on enemies to heal up DOOM Eternal—Retreat is therefore often a much riskier strategy than forward movement and further engagement with the combat sandbox. Eternal reinforces this design pillar through new features such as the armor-drop system, dashing and Blood Punches.

The result of these adjustments, not to mention DOOM Eternals vastly improved arsenal of weapons (DOWNFALL 2016's starter gun is hilariously quaint in retrospect), is an elegant mechanical dance unlike anything offered by most other shooters. Nothing feels superfluous or gimmicky, and its core mechanics are perfectly balanced: not only is it more fun to be fast and aggressive, it's the most optimal way to gain health and ammo and thus stay alive. And with each weapon and attack serving a distinct purpose (eg snipers for Maykr Drones, grenades for Cacodemons), DOOM Eternals combat design becomes even more airtight.

DOOM Eternal is far from the only modern FPS with unique mechanics

I'd be remiss if I didn't draw attention to other, lesser-known games that do interesting things with FPS conventions. DOOM Eternal is certainly not the only creative leader in this genre. Some of the most compelling and innovative first-person shooters released in recent years include:

Ghostrunner 1 & 2
I am your beast
Neon white
Change
SUPER THREAT
Chipped steel
Titanfall 2
Turbo Overkill
Ultra cool

These games, while often crossing at least one other genre, succeed through their unique implementation of FPS systems and tropes. Something similar Titanfall 2 takes a traditional sci-fi shooter campaign and fills it with so many unique ideas and settings that it makes them all modern Cod or Battlefield single player modes to shame, while I am your beast and Chipped steel are frenetic and puzzle-like in a way that few action games are.

Although not quite as effective as DOOM Eternal, DOOM: The Dark Ages is also worth highlighting as a hard-hitting, well-crafted modern FPS.

Franchises like Call of Duty are great, but can't define the FPS space anymore

Part of what makes this comparison between something similar Call of Duty or Battlefield and something similar DOOM Eternal is that, until relatively recently, the former replaced the latter. Sure, the likes Medal of Honora series so cinematic that it is literally produced by Steven Spielberg himself, began to rerun DOWNFALL, Wolfensteinand Quake in the early 2000s. Audiences were hungry for American war stories at this time, and perhaps the glory and honor such stories portrayed served as soothing balm for anxious Westerners in a post-9/11 world. Or perhaps the desire for more cinematic gaming experiences, which were much more novel at the time, overshadowed the desire for mechanical complexity.

Anyway, the genre has clearly evolved, yet Call of Duty and Battlefield seems to have largely abandoned innovation in its single-player campaigns, opting for bombastic spectacle or interesting cutscenes rather than deep mechanical sandboxes. For example, if a new Cod campaign introduces a car chase, I can be sure it will be a flashy, dramatic, intense, but ultimately on-rail gaming experience. This is fine for the roller coaster ride such experiences are meant to emulate, but sometimes you just want a little more. First person shooter like DOOM Eternal and the other aforementioned games, as long as they continue to be made, will be here to provide that.