Passing DOOM Eternal, More than once I caught myself thinking that I was uncomfortable watching the story cutscenes in the game. Monologues into emptiness, awkward silence, a complete lack of understanding of what is happening at the first levels and some kind of feeling of deprivation… As if they promised to serve you a glass of good wine with the main dish, but in the end they brought you grape juice. Yes, it did not affect the main course. It still juicy and meaty, even tastier than before, but we were also promised something sensible in addition.

But let’s put an end to these awkward analogies. We still have to delve into the plot of the game and its characters.

Let’s agree on the shore. This is not a review in the usual sense. This article only addresses plot component games, personal opinion about it and some objective assessment. Gameplay remains aside. The questions and complaints voiced below do not reflect my attitude towards the game.

This blog is recommended for those who have played DOOM 2016 And DOOM Eternal. For others – WARNING SPOILERS and possibly unfamiliar characters.

Let’s start from afar. How did the main character feel in the classic DOOM And DOOM 2? The first thing that comes to your mind is his facial expression. Every action of the player was “commented” by DOOM slayer himself. This is a completely useless addition that does not affect the gameplay in any way. BUT! Affects perception and gaming experience. Every time you pick up a new weapon, you are filled with ecstasy. Now you are more powerful, you have new opportunities to destroy hordes of demons. And then you look at the interface and see that same face, completely reflecting your current mood. You feel like this very Marine.

Plot in DOOM there wasn’t, and if there is no story, then there are no characters (we don’t count text inserts). There are only dummy demons and the player. The face we constantly see in the interface does not belong to the person or character. This is an image and a tool, which sets the mood for the entire game.

IN DOOM 2016 a plot appeared, which, in essence, was only a modest addition to the gameplay, but surprisingly turned out to be extremely well staged. And in particular the main character. Yes, exactly the hero. Now in our hands a character with his own history and character, which, nevertheless, is expressed by one emotion – anger. But how did ID Software manage to combine an independent character with a feeling of unity between the player and the game image??

Firstly, this is the image itselfDOOM slayer. If we look at an image without everything we know about it, how can we characterize it?? Tall and strong, dressed in armor, apparently a soldier… And… Well, that’s all. Neither floor, neither age, neither character, Nothing. We don’t know anything about him except the basic characteristics for, in this case, the image, which means he could be anyone, it could be anyone.

The golden rule of cinema, which also works great in games, is: show, don’t tell. During the entire campaign we will not hear a word from the mouth of DOOM slayer. This, as we have heard a lot from some developers who are greedy for the cost of voice acting, allows you to get used to the role and feel like a part of what is happening. During gameplay, the player feels that he’s the one who chops up packs of demons, and not some character making a one-line joke after every third person killed, this he personally destroys everything around and, by some miracle, makes the technology work, this betrays him in the end, a seemingly loyal ally who wishes death to all who invaded Mars.

Speaking of destruction. And how to put the player on the same rails that the main character follows?? How synchronize their emotions, so that both react similarly to events around them? U DOOM 2016 there is an answer. Show that the player can do the same things as the main character. Remember the opening scene?. In the first 30 seconds we see the enormous power of DOOM slayer and the fury with which he tears apart the helpless damned. And within a minute we learn that we ourselves have the ability to brutally kill, and we do not hesitate to crush every demon we meet.

The unity of the hero and the player is completed in the first 5-7 minutes in elevator scene. Having tasted the juicy and fast-paced gameplay, neither the player nor the hero wants to listen to the empty chatter of Samuel Hayden. The only thing both are waiting for is another fight with the creatures of the underworld. That is why the player is fully agree with the subsequent actions of the Executioner. And the music… Great scene.

The equality of the hero and the player lies in the movement inside the base on Mars. We have no idea how everyone is its elements work, which sliders do what?. Therefore, the Executioner has only two ways in which a gamer would follow – poke at large and clear buttons or destroy everything indiscriminately. Isn’t this how we deal with what we don’t understand??

Well, now the hero of the occasion. Doom Slayer 2020. Let’s start with its appearance. Look at the character from scratch. What can we say about him? This person, middle-aged man, pumped up, in armor, apparently a soldier. Facial expression gloomy, this means that this character will most likely be represented seasoned and stern warrior. And this can only be understood at first glance.

At this stage, the degree of unity between the player and the character is fading, but wait… Maybe the production will fix everything. Ah… No. Now we have full-fledged cutscenes, where in addition to the first-person view we can watch the Executioner from the side. Calm down, let’s not run away. Perhaps the unity in the capabilities and behavior of the Executioner himself and the player has been preserved? Yes, it is preserved, but with minor changes. The player still behaves like a beast, finishing moves are more brutal than effective. All those micro pauses before piercing a soldier or frantic hammering of a doom hunter. Everything the player does is kills and enjoys it. A Executioner? But the Executioner does not enjoy killing, he acts as efficiently as possible. He shoots one reaper in the face, cuts off the head of another in one movement, doesn’t even finish off Kan the Creator, but simply listens to her final monologue, pierces the brain of the Icon of Sin as quickly as possible, breaks the blade and jumps off. The only exception is finishing off the Gladiator. It’s impossible not to enjoy the scene there. In the rest of the videos there is no pleasure or brutality, only practical application and effectiveness. This is not what we expect from the Executioner.

Fine. Player is not equal to Executioner. But ID claimed that they had worked out the plot and characters. During the passage we will learn the story of the hero, his origin. Let’s take a look at it separately from the history of the series. With this viewing angle, the question immediately arises: “why doesn’t he speak?". Doesn’t even allow the slightest comment in response to the interlocutor. Why? The answer is in the game.

The Doom Slayer used to be an ordinary marine who apparently went crazy and saw no other purpose than to crush demon skulls. They are trying to give us a full backstory in the form of "look, Doom slayer = Doom guy. You don’t need to know more". He could very well speak. Yes, all his speech in flashbacks is limited to curses against his enemies and guts, guts, guts, but still it was a conscious speech. So why doesn’t the main character say at least this in the main game?? The answer is simple: BECAUSE. And I’m serious. If you haven’t read the codex, here’s an excerpt from one entry with the history of the guards.

He just stopped talking. No severed tongue, no price for great power, nothing. He’s just too cool for human speech. Great character, isn’t he??

Let’s say. The executioner maintains a vow of silence, but perhaps he somehow reveals himself during the plot? Finds new ways to solve emerging problems. No. The entire ship is controlled by the artificial intelligence VEGA, it detects the location of the Reapers or ways to get to them, it opens all doors and controls all the equipment around. The Executioner only needs to press a button, insert a battery, or some other action dictated by VEGA. Even when VEGA is at a dead end and does not understand how to get to the last Reaper, Doctor Hayden appears and instantly finds a way. Even the brilliant idea of ​​​​shooting Mars with a huge BFG-10K is not proposed by ours "crazy"The executioner, and his ship.

As a result we get:
— The main character has a large number of specific characteristics that can greatly distinguish him from the player and prevent the latter from getting used to the role.
— The production of cut scenes presents us as observers, and the Executioner as an independent character.
— He is not perceived as the Executioner from DOOM 2016
— The executioner was written simultaneously with an eye to his previous images, so as not to upset fans, and with a focus on creating a story and a world with its own great lore. The balance is not maintained, which is why there is no unambiguous perception of the hero.

It’s an extremely shame for this character, especially considering that the same people literally four years ago made an excellent Doom Executioner. Moderately close to the canon, but at the same time opening from the other side.

Let’s talk directly. The story is extremely simple and unpretentious. The Doom Slayer strives to stop the demonic invasion of Earth. To do this, he needs to eliminate three Reapers and the guards protecting their souls. The first two are found quickly, and the third is hidden by Kan the Creator, who staged the invasion in order to absorb the souls of earthlings and save her world with this energy. The executioner eventually finds and kills the priest, but Kahn does not give up and summons the Icon of Sin – the most powerful titan. We first deal with Kan, and then on Earth we kill the Icon of Sin. And the curtain. Here’s the story in five sentences.

What else do you need from a meaty shooter with an emphasis on gameplay?? It’s a fair question, but I’ll answer it a little later.

-Marty Stratton, Game director
And he didn’t lie. Unfortunately, the developers put more effort into lore creation, than in writing a logically structured and coherent story. There is a lot of the first in the game. Even dedicated to its disclosure whole level. Remember the Executioner’s arrival at the guardian’s abode. Before the boss battle, only notes, flashbacks and monologues from Kan the Creator await us. And this is actually incredibly cool. The authors have come up with a long and exciting history of this world. About the guards who sought to protect their homeland, but found themselves blinded by the battles and failed to notice the traitors in their ranks in time, about the Creators who succumbed to the temptation of Argent energy and saw salvation in it, the origin of this Argent energy itself, a little ridiculous, but still entertaining, the origin of the Executioner’s powers, the history of the Traitor and the Icon of Sin. All this is incredibly interesting read. And the last sentence trumps all my praise.

An idea with a special code in which all information about weapons, demons and the past of the universe will be stored, in my opinion, outdated, but still has the right to life. In our case, this approach loses all its value when this in-game library is filled with dozens of large summaries and descriptions, which hide plot elements that could perfectly play a role in the direct narrative.

In this and lies the answer to the question asked above. Yes, a meat shooter doesn’t need a plot. With the right approach to gameplay mechanics and game design, it can turn out to be a great game for the general public. But the authors tried to create something more and created. They had ready-made material on hand that would have worked well in the main campaign, but it was used for other purposes. Therefore, I consider these claims to be justified.

It is not necessary to weave new https://casinosnogamstop.co.uk/ storylines hidden in the code into existing ones. DOOM 2016 years did an excellent job of presenting lore through the environment. The same golden rule of cinema – show, don’t tell. Remember these holograms telling about what was happening at the station before the invasion. Some of them talked about things that were completely unnecessary for the main plot, but extremely interesting for forming a picture of this world. The formation of a cult around Olivia Pierce, the expedition of Doctor Nayden and the discovery of the sarcophagus with the Executioner. Even the obelisks, voicing pieces of history, worked great to reveal the lore. And they worked similarly to how the code works in the sequel: interesting – listening/watching, not interested – move on. And in Eternal? Dry tons of text.

It can be assumed that in DOOM 2016 there was little lore and it was directly related to the plot of the game itself. Now we have a deep backstory that reveals the history of the world, the characters and their motivations, but does not always intersect directly with the narrative. There’s no code here, but what about the stories related to the plot shown to us??

Remember the Souls-Borne series and its bosses. In what case do you feel more emotions from the battle? When in front of you is a simple hunter, whom you will see more than once during the game, or a father who has gone crazy, hacked to death his own wife and left his daughter to be devoured by the creatures of the moon? When in front of you is a large giant with a fiery sword or a ruler who tried with all his might to save his people from a terrible death, but failed and was left sitting on the throne all alone, surrounded by ashes and faces frozen in horror?

I bet after their first playthrough, many never found out that in fact the Icon of Sin is a soul imprisoned in the body of a titan the son of that very Traitor. The former guard received this name because he betrayed his people for the sake of resurrecting his son, but was deceived, which is why the soul of the latter was sealed and forced to suffer until the end of time, and the relatives whom he betrayed, lost their last battle.

Does anyone even remember this character?? Why is it needed?? Without immersion in the code, its role in the history of the world, the meaning of the nickname do not play any role at all. That is, all our empathy towards this hero is built according to the scheme "oh, I saw this character, yes, I probably feel sorry for him". And that’s only if you look in the code. Why couldn’t this topic be developed?? For example, put it in at the end of the game instead of starting, report that we are going to kill the Icon of Sin and show his torment. This episode would be perfect for diluting the dynamic gameplay, no worse than the platforming so praised by the developers. And there are many more similar stories and a stone on top. About the evaporated immortality of Kan the Creator, about the transition of the Reapers to the dark side, about the surviving guards, about the origin of VEGA and much more.

There are many holes in history. Here I have nothing to answer to complaints about the need for a plot in meat shooters. Just at least some there is a plot, Means there is something to sort out. In particular, I want to examine some plot threads that incorrectly served, don’t make sense within the framework of given rules or simply simply interrupted and not developed at all.

First of all, I would like to know more about the Rock Stronghold. What kind of fortress is this? Where did she come from? The last time we saw the Executioner was when Dr. Hayden teleported him back to Hell. How did he get out of there?? It was in hell that the Stronghold was located or in our world? This hub location is presented as something goes without saying, but since it plays an important role in the plot (VEGA, Hayden, powering the fortress, teleport), I would like it to be more carefully sewn into the narrative. And yes, I won’t forgive ID software if they don’t let us control that giant mech in the next part either.

The next question came to me already in first 10 minutes. What are those glowing medallions?? Yes, it is clear from the monologue of the first Priest that they make the body and soul of the latter vulnerable, but where did this item come from?? This is where a problem begins to emerge, which would be perfect for another argument in favor of the lack of unity between the player and the Executioner.

Unlike the previous part, the main character knows about the world and what is happening in it more of us. And we are not talking about the past of the lost cities and the appearance of demons, but about directly what the player interacts with. Medallions, a part from the second level that we need to find the second Priest, the place where it is charged, the mechanism of the crucible and the algorithm for charging it, and so on. Previously, the Executioner, like the player, found himself in an unfamiliar base, the equipment of which had to be tinkered with, but here the main character is well aware of everything, but in view his silence doesn’t really want to share his knowledge with us.

So here’s the medallion. The second time he appears, as expected, is when killing the second Reaper. But we still don’t understand where the Executioner gets them from. But the fact is that for some reason the developers were a little lazy expand cutscene and show how the medallion flies out of the guard’s corpse. The most interesting thing is that we see something like this only at the moment of the third and final murder. Why such a production?? Intrigue? She’s completely out of place here. Yes, before the battle with the doom hunter we are told that before killing the Reaper, it is necessary to defeat his guard. But how should a player tie it to medallions? A minor, but impactful moment on the quality of the narrative.

The next fragment that raised questions is the already mentioned murder of the third Priest. Even before the battle with the Gladiator, I read in the code that killing a guard on the territory of the monastery will entail consequences. Even before his death, the Priest himself directly says that we will not be forgiven for violating customs. We, of course, don’t listen to him, and a crowd of guards runs out at us. And that’s what? We broke the rules, the guards are trying to kill us, but what? We are now an outcast and cannot return to our previously native abode? So we don’t need her. The Executioner’s only goal in life is to exterminate demons. Why the hell does he need allies in the form of guards?? He has already received power from them. He doesn’t need them anymore. Then why were we shown this scene and why were these rules introduced?? Groundwork for a threequel? A very controversial fragment that does not lead the story anywhere.

I was also alarmed by the UAC holograms that appeared during the game, calling me to give my soul to the demons. Let’s put aside the indignation about the loss of some seriousness of what is happening due to the fault of the publisher, who never changes. I want to ask a question regarding these very remarks. If in DOOM 2016 years, such holograms came across, it could easily be explained cult of Olivia Pierce and its position in the organizational structure of the UAC. Olivia is not here, Doctor Hayden, who returned from Mars and retained the post of director of the UAC, spoke out, for obvious reasons, against demons and actively invested in the fight against them. Then where do these even come from? one-liners?

Here I would like to finish listing the claims in the already drawn-out analysis. Of course, there are still questions about the integrity of history DOOM Eternal, such as the return of Hayden to Earth or the draining of the Seraphim line, which was so named, apparently, only to draw a parallel with the sacred scriptures, but I would like to end there.

DOOM Eternal – unique game. Her approach to staging fights is amazing. A bunch of micro mechanics that, after a little practice, are put into use without exception, a wide range of skills and leveling “branches” that allow you to choose the most suitable style for yourself from the very beginning of the game, incredibly dynamic battles that instantly put you into a state of flow, from which it is impossible to tear yourself away, and a soundtrack by Mick Gordon that gives you goosebumps in every battle.

But nothing is perfect. There will always be unfinished or simply weak aspects of the project. So for me personally, the big minus was the plot and interpretation of the main character. As has been repeated many times, the plot in a meat shooter is not important. I understand that for many DOOM IS COOL.

Nevertheless, for me personally, and for many who are not indifferent to the plot, the presence of it in a high-quality and well-developed form would make DOOM IS EVEN COOLER.

DOOM (2016)

DOOM Eternal

Best comments

Well I don’t know. This is exactly what I expected from the Executioner. I like to see him not as a crazy maniac enjoying the carnage, but as a warrior, whose every movement is clearly calibrated and brings maximum effect.

Here I probably agree. In two hours of playing I didn’t understand anything. Nothing at all. I’ve only played for two hours so far and, to be honest, I don’t want to play anymore. All these elements that came out of nowhere, such as a base, huge robots, lost cities, etc.d. Because of all this, I didn’t feel the atmosphere of the game one iota and I’m simply not interested in continuing to play. In the 2016 game, the plot did not go very far from the original Doom, but there I was able to feel the atmosphere of the game and I had a clear motivation for action. Well, people wanted the best, but it turned out as always and everyone was devoured, and we need to fix everything and save the stupid people. I don’t feel anything like that in Eternal. When VEGA once again told me to go somewhere and do something to save the Earth, I looked out the window at the base and asked myself: “Do I really give a damn??"…And then I turned off the game..

In general, as for me, the image of the Executioner is completely disfigured. While exploring the hub, I came across some packets of chips, chocolates, and electric guitars. Damn, okay! He is the greatest warrior, about a hundred years old, dedicated to the continuous fight against demons! What the hell are guitars made here??! Duke Nukem or Serious Sam should have this shit, not the Doom Slayer.

Cool design. Like
Regarding the topic of the material – I completely agree. The gameplay is not similar to DOOM at all. I’ve already received slaps in the face from many of my friends, but I won’t refuse their words. I was hoping for at least a plot, but it’s empty. All these stories from the authors at QuakeCon about the interesting story behind the appearance of the marauder, about the incredible plot… I don’t know, there was no motivation to play at all. For me the game was a failure on all fronts. But don’t get on me! This is just my opinion!

Well, actually, from the ending of D2016 it’s not clear whether Hayden pushed him into stasis, like G-Man Freeman, or somewhere else.

I was also alarmed by the UAC holograms that appeared during the game, urging me to give my soul to the demons… Doctor Hayden, who returned from Mars and retained the post of director of the UAC, spoke out, for obvious reasons, against the demons and actively invested in the fight against them.

But here there are two types of people on the Earth of DOOM Eternal: survivors and cultists from the UAC, who are commanded by the second priest, who is, surprise surprise, at the level “Cultist Base”. So those same sectarians recorded these holograms, they say, people, you all have a khan, get out of town. And Hayden had already returned during the demonic invasion of Earth and headed the ARC – Armored Response Coalition – which was already in the process of being created by the surviving heads of state.
I like the codex from D2016 better, it is more in the same scientific style: a description of all the “regions” of the Martian complex, the types of weapons at the base, forays into the world of Hell and captured demons. In Eternal, this is just text that describes events, only the history of the Night Guardians and their world is written in the “ancient” syllable, that’s a plus for that. And these two codes from the two following games constantly do not fit in with each other – for example, the history of the spectrum (invisible kicks): in 2016, scientists mixed with ordinary kicks, and he escaped to Hell through a portal and multiplied there, and in 2020 it turns out that ordinary kicks “a hundred years ago” were cursed by someone in Hell and now they are invisible. And such holes are everywhere – both in the main story and in the codex.
Eternal has become more aggressive and faster, this is the same hurricane action that I was missing. But the developers also stated that in addition to polished gameplay, they also spent time on the plot and lore. And when you go through the game, you again open a bunch of text in the “PDA” of the Executioner, as was the case in the last game – it becomes a little offensive (+ holes between these games).

The executioner seems to be asking the same question as you during his passage, but still he has a lot of responsibility, which means he HAS to go and kill.

Well that’s all clear. But if in Doom 2016 I was imbued with the hero’s motivation, then in Eternal all the motivation remained behind the screen. There is no longer a hero I can identify with. In fact, Doom: Eternal returned to the original Doom duology in terms of storytelling and character development. That is, if in previous games we had at least some hero whose motivation reached the player, now we just have a cannon on the screen. The feeling that this gun is held in the hands of a certain character has disappeared. I’m glad that the hero has some goals and motivation for action, but I don’t have them. And since I have no motivation, then let the Executioner sit and eat his chips.

First of all, I would like to know more about the Rock Stronghold. What kind of fortress is this? Where did she come from? The last time we saw the Executioner was when Dr. Hayden teleported him back to Hell. How did he get out of there?? It was in hell that the Stronghold was located or in our world? This hub location is presented as a matter of course, but since it plays an important role in the plot (VEGA, Hayden, powering the fortress, teleport), I would like it to be more carefully sewn into the narrative.

Thank you for this topic, some things now fall into place. I’ll add a little, I’ll try not to repeat what has already been said.

After purchasing the game, I couldn’t get further than a few levels due to my disgust at the changes in the game. Only now, several months later, I finally forced myself to play it again and finish it. Having immersed myself in the process and not caring about what it looks like, it turned out to be easier to do it. I liked the gameplay of the game, although not without reservations, but regarding the plot and the world as a whole… it’s kind of gloomy)

The 2016 game was a simple, but quite strong sci-fi story, into which mysticism fit in from a conventionally scientific point of view. The environment (except for Hell, of course) corresponded, as did the weapons, as well as the texts and stories.

Game 2020… it’s no longer Doom, but it turned out to be something else. First impression: this is Quake. Judge for yourself:
— A mixture of shooter and slasher, knights and guns, demons, ancient gods, portals, a sent fighter who is trying to stop this nightmare. Quake
— A war between people and creatures that are a mixture of machine and flesh, directed by some semi-machine super-intelligence, turning captured people into machines in its service, torturing them or using them for fuel. Quake II, Quake IV
— Constant control of resources in the arena and play from them. Quake III

Second impression: Hayden plunged the Executioner into a drug-induced dream, in which he sees his interpretation of how the world works: Hell and Heaven, ancient gods, the world of warriors, giant robots, unreal weapons (a rocket launcher with chains and skulls), a shelter house where chips, records, toys and guitars are lying around, HERE is a TAKEN bfg that runs on an ordinary hand-held beefgi.
This version generally writes off all the flaws of what is happening: the suddenly appeared fortress, and the type-gods, and the transformation of weapons from conceptual and technological to mystical and grotesque.

Previously, the weapons were not only more… adequate, as far as fictional futuristic weapons in the game are concerned, they were also presented differently. We took the cannon from the numb hands of a dead warrior. And now the gun is just a colored model in the air.

We pulled out a chip from the armor of the fallen to insert it into our armor and thus strengthened it, apparently there was some data there or just additional RAM… and now the ghosts give us silver plates that strengthen… something. Beware, demons, my armor is reinforced with a set for 12 people! Instead of a unicorn costume they should have made a maid outfit.

From the previous dive there was a piece left in the orbit of Mars, where we take away the plasma gun from the fucked up warrior… and this is not needed for anything, because we already had the plasma gun a long time ago, and this piece was needed only for the trailer, to show: “Look, the game will still be the same atmospheric!» Blatant deception =(

We used to really be in the shoes of the Executioner, who didn’t give a damn about these tedious explanations, and we exclaimed joyfully when we saw him throw the screen out of the way, not wanting to listen to instructions, like in a hundred games before. We didn’t want to run errands because of the dubious benefit of storing something there, and we destroyed the most complex instruments with our fists and boots. Rage and anger, rip and tear!

Now the Executioner is shown from the outside, but not only this takes you out of the immersion: the fact that he stopped breaking and destroying, and obediently runs at the orders of others, the fact that in the cut scenes he looks like an immensely tired guy, and not an angel of vengeance burning with anger. Like, what, go somewhere again? Oh, okay… (in some ways this reminds me of the third Dead Space, by the way, where instead of atmospheric attempts to survive and escape, you stupidly run around on any wildest errands and you generally don’t care about all these horrors).

Some things have changed, some have disappeared, some have appeared out of nowhere. Well, in the sequels-additions they can tell us where Hayden threw the Executioner, where the Fortress came from… But why couldn’t it be said right away??
Okay, now we won’t be running around in outer space, so the suit can be partially opened. But how can the Executioner know where the difficult journey will take him?? What if the Fortress depressurizes?? What if the portal throws you in the wrong direction, or after the demon you fly somewhere in the wrong direction?? Dressing up is as logical as fighters on the battlefield without a helmet.
And all for the sake of making it impossible to splash around in radioactive waste without a completely unjustified but fanservice protective suit. Was it worth it?

Seraphim, who was only in the picture in 2016, is shown in person and it turned out to be Hayden. Okay, it’s clear where the Executioner gets such powers. Somewhere there was information that his name was not Hayden at all, but that he simply took the name of a deceased scientist in order to do things in his name… what did he do?. Maybe someday they will even tell us why he started all this, t.To. so far, a cunning calculation is clearly visible in his actions, but his goals (except perhaps the banal destruction of the old order) are not clear.
But why fire Vega ahead of time?? What use is this knowledge to us now??

The game as a whole turned out to be very crumpled and damp. What in terms of sound (personally, after 2016, the music didn’t seem good to me, and in some places it was poor, but this is certainly a matter of taste), what from the point of view of the script, what in terms of visualization. But – a ton of fan service in the form of the appearances of demons, some of their old incarnations, health flasks, costumes and all sorts of other garbage. And this is doubly a shame, because it’s pleasant and interesting to play, the boss fights are the same, the tactics are for different monsters – but it’s just as clumsily made as placeholder icons for weapons.

Thank you for your attention to the design!
In general, yes, everyone has the right to an opinion. So I’m not at all against explanations even about the gameplay, even though the topic of the blog is plot

So we meet the traitor towards the end of the second level; even in the first part, not everything quite coincided with the fact that it was the executioner who was the traitor.

Good article and overall I agree. The plot also seemed a bit bland to me. No matter how the lore has been developed, the plot can’t keep up with it. Yes, there was a lot of fan service, but also a ton of plot holes. In 2016, the story was simpler and more intimate, and simplicity was the theme, but here..
The Traitor line is not finished, where did the fortress come from, Hayden speaks with exposition, Kahn pushes typical villainous speeches. DLC may improve things, but it’s a pity that in the end everything turned out badly in the game

Hayden and Seraphim are voiced by the same person. Even the phrase they say almost identically is about the gift and that it will help along the way. There is no direct confirmation that Hayden is a reborn Seraphim, but there are a lot of small hints (like the fact that one of the scientists says that Hayden’s body is clearly alien).

Thanks for your comment!
As for the Executioner – nevertheless, in the backstory he is presented precisely as a fighter who only wants to tear and throw. Yes, over many years of battles it would be strange if he did not achieve mastery in his craft, but still, animal atrocity did not seem to disappear anywhere. This is wonderfully reflected in the gameplay, but in the cut scenes… The executioner seems to be asking the same question as you during his playthrough, but still he has a lot of responsibility, which means he HAS to go and kill.

Here only time travel will help, supposedly Hayden flew into the past somewhere after the eternal and became a seraph to close the loop..

I think that Hayden is definitely a person, t.To. in the first part there is a portrait of him (at a respectable age), and if he were Seraphim, he would hardly have been so eager to get the argent, because his people, to put it mildly, had already stumbled on this and then there would have been no point.
But where did he get this exoskeleton, I don’t know, maybe someone caught it.

p.s. wonderful blog, thanks to the author

And somewhere this is hinted at? Maybe I missed it. It’s just that Hayden, it seems, used to be a man, but the Seraphim shown to us clearly was not so. If this is true, then I agree with the comment below

This is of course a dishonest tactic, but at least it’s something. The main thing is that the approach to presenting the plot should change. If the DLC just brings us 10 new articles in the codex, then this is already unforgivable

Of all the twists, perhaps the one that froze me the most was “Vega is the Father”. Not only does this twist not affect anything at all, but it also, firstly, makes no sense (how could Hayden get into the world with the Creators and capture the most powerful creature in the universe even before the events of the 2016 game?), secondly, the game clearly failed in a different way (the notes say that Seraphim has something to do with the disappearance of the Father, and he, as we know, buffed the Executioner, so I assumed that the essence of the Father was actually placed in the Executioner during the upgrade).

I really liked Doom 2016 and finally got to Eternal a year ago. I just abandoned it in the middle. I didn’t understand what it was at all, the game seemed to have nothing to do with the previous one, neither in gameplay (I’m exaggerating here, of course, but the sensations are completely different), nor in the plot, it’s unclear what’s happening, where it all came from, as if I missed another game, a rewritten plot after the fact. The plot was not expanded after the previous part, but rewritten. The game turned out to be a colorful arcade with unrelated levels, before, oddly enough, there was a whole game with a consistent plot, it is clear what is happening, where we are coming from and where we are going, but in Eternal we teleport to unrelated locations, observing a crumpled plot.