Back to hell

A few months ago, in full confinement due to the coronavirus health crisis, Bethesda launched DOOM Eternal, a video game that seeks to continue with the classic essence of DOOM recovered by the 2016 video game. Now, Bethesda is trying to take a step Beyond this bet, adapting it to the Nintendo Switch, a console that despite obvious technical limitations has shown on several occasions to be capable of surprising.

After the ports of works such as DOOM 2016 or Wolfenstein II, the Nintendo hybrid now has to pull DOOM Eternal. Will it get it or will it be half done?

DOOM Eternal brings back the essence of classic DOOM in the wake of 2016 DOOM to present the player with an explosive mix that includes one of today's best gunplay, spectacular visuals, and lots and lots of violence. DOOM Eternal continues to be that classic video game that focuses all its attention on being the best possible shooter, without drifting towards other genres.

The superb design of DOOM Eternal levels makes fighting hordes of demons almost like a dance. It's not just your aim that matters, but it's important to flow across the stage, not stand still, and keep jumping around and around to find ammo, health, armor, and avoid getting hit. To continue, in short, dancing to the sound that DOOM Eternal marks.

One of the few buts that DOOM Eternal has at the playable level is losing its way at certain times. The game intersperses these phases of unbridled action with areas focused on the platform. Although they serve to give a pause to the frenetic pace of the work and a break for the player, the platform phases do not quite fit with the general bet. There is a certain shock that, due to the high level of the rest of the video game, becomes even more palpable; Like a dissonant note in a perfect waltz

Beyond this, DOOM Eternal is able to take advantage of the story (or lack thereof) of previous installments to propose a bet that, at the narrative level, is more interesting than expected. Without focusing too much on telling a story, the video game is able to explore some details of its universe that, without a doubt, will please the most staunch fans without making the work become heavy for those who just want to hit shots.

An outstanding port

DOOM Eternal certain concessions have to be made. The dynamic resolution drops to 720p in most cases to keep the frame rate stable, the joysticks of the Joy-Con are not particularly comfortable when aiming in a shooter that requires precision and the general quality of the shots. graphics suffers. In addition, in portable mode, the size of the texts is ridiculous, leading to a headache.

Despite this, the port of DOOM Eternal is outstanding because it knows how to take advantage of all these sacrifices. The game is capable of maintaining the 30 frames per second in a stable way at almost all times, the lack of precision is partly replaced by the gyroscope control and in general, playing, despite all the limitations, is not at all uncomfortable.

DOOM Eternal is, as I said, the worst way to play the video game. However, and this is important, it is still possible to play the video game. The experience is worse than on the other platforms but it is still really pleasant, and that is great news.

More adaptation and less port

One of the few things I can throw at this version of DOOM Eternal is that it is too port and too little adaptation. It is an outstanding port, yes, but at the end of the day it is only a port. The same video game is being transported to a platform where, by its nature, it is played in a different way.

As I mentioned before, there is less precision when aiming, making the game more complicated. I miss that DOOM Eternal is more of an adaptation than a port. That the controls and even some mechanics change in a more radical way, that the video game adapts to the console and is not simply a show of technical force to be able to run a graphic beast in the hybrid. In short, I miss a job that is closer to design and less to technical.

DOOM Eternal follows in the footsteps of DOOM 2016 and the port of the new installment follows in the footsteps of the port of the 2016 game. This is the worst possible way to play DOOM Eternal and that is something that is undeniable. But, if this is your only way to play DOOM Eternal, rest assured that you can do it without problems.

With a very stable frame rate per second and more than acceptable quality, DOOM Eternal is once again an outstanding port. Another great success for Panic Button with the hybrid that will allow the millions of players on this console to access a video game that is a graphic beast of the last generation.

Although some retouching is missing to improve the playability and adapt the game (especially to portable mode), on a technical level the truth is that the work more than meets, and that is something that shows the good work of Panic Button with the console hybrid.