Doom Eternal is one of the best action games of 2020, and was rightly lauded when it was launched on PS4, Xbox One, and PC back in March. Boasting fast-paced gunplay that requires you to shoot fast and move even …
Doom Eternal is one of the best action games of 2020, and was rightly lauded when it was launched on PS4, Xbox One, and PC back in March.
Boasting fast-paced gunplay that requires you to shoot fast and move even faster – it’s a refreshing throwback to a simpler, and arguably far more satisfying, era for the FPS.
This Switch port is up against it from the off though, due to Nintendo’s system having nowhere near the power of the consoles already hosting the game.
The team at Panic Button have done a quite simply amazing job with this port though. It looks rough in screenshots, but in motion it’s hugely impressive. Despite going from 60 to 30fps (and never below) it’s still very playable.
So the combat is just as fun in this iteration, which was the most essential element to get right. And we don’t exaggerate when we say it’s an absolute riot.
There’s a huge variety of enemies to face, all with their own unique attack patterns and weaknesses. It works with the basic combat and enemy mechanics from the original Doom games, but in an impressively modern way – featuring twisting and expansive level designs its 90s predecessors couldn’t even dream of.
The weaponry is also hugely satisfying to use, with a range of upgrades available to improve your favourite pieces of kit. There’s arguably too many weapons to pick from, but Doom Eternal never really feels too bogged down in this regard. Â
What it does get bogged down in though is a convoluted plot that’s shoved into your face far too much considering how nonsensical it is. There are also a number of platforming sections that you’ll be begging to end as soon as they begin.
The latter are obviously intended to break up the action, but the combat is so much fun that anything else was bound to pale in comparison.
This Switch port is an impressive piece of work then, but there’s still the fact that this costs nearly £50/$60 from the eShop – whereas the other iterations are now available for a fraction of that.
So despite the game’s undoubted quality, at this stage we’d recommend this only to those who just have a Switch available to play this on – or simply must play it on the go. If you fall into one of those camps this is still a more than serviceable way to play one of the very best titles of 2020.
