Bethesda talked about a number of different games today during the QuakeCon 2018 keynote, including The Elder Scrolls Legends, Rage 2, and—naturally—Quake Champions. But Doom Eternal was the big attraction this year, and id Software main guys Hugo Martin and Marty Stratton did not disappoint.
Doom Eternal will have double the demons of the Doom reboot, and the Doom Slayer will be amped up to handle them, with updated armor that includes a retractable blade (similar to Mass Effect's Omni-Blade, but more imposingly vicious) and what I believe is a portable flamethrower. (And yes, the chainsaw is still at hand too.)
Yet the added bulk does not slow the Slayer down: If anything, he's even faster and more agile than before, with a new wall-climbing ability and a dash move. He's also capable of far more airborne verticality than he was in the previous game thanks to a grapple that enables access to out-of-reach places—and which works very nicely with floaters like the Cacodemon and Pain Elemental.
Doom Eternal with grappling hook action pic.twitter.com/0QpDnD8cFrAugust 10, 2018
Speaking of which, the Pain Elemental turned up as expected, as did the updated Arachnotrons, which look absolutely brilliant, and the Arch-Vile, who by all appearances will be even more of a terror than it was in Doom 2. Also very interesting was the concept art reveal of the Marauder, who as they teased "looks like the Slayer—there's a story behind that."
The new demons come with some impressive new Glory Kills, and enemies who aren't immediately turned into a shotgun smear (or a giant eyeball lollipop, as the case may be) will apparently reflect the damage they suffer more visibly through a new "destructible demons" damage system.
But the chart-topper has to be the new "Invasion" feature that enables players, alone or in groups, to become demons in other players' games. "We're now giving players the ability to take control of a demon and invade another player's campaign," Martin said during the presentation. "It's a really fun new way to add drama and unpredictability to your campaign."
"You can actually even team up with demons to form a 'Slayer Hunting Party'," Stratton added. "Of course, it's up to you if you want to invade, be invaded, or you just want to rip and tear by yourself in your own campaign. It's totally up to you."
It was a hell of a presentation, and it sounds fantastic: A major, on-target upgrade to one of the best shooters to come along in years. The one thing that was missing was mention of a Doom Eternal release target. We're hoping for it to arrive next year.
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