Topic: Doom Eternal

Major North American game retailers are cancelling the physical release for Doom Eternal.

Sounds like Bethesda are opting for digital only since the game isn't officially cancelled.

DOOM Eternal next week peeps!!!

And yes, gyro aiming confirmed!

I'll continue to hold out hope for a $70 physical release from LRG.

Or wait until a digital copy reaches $20 a year from now.

Either way, no rush.

@JaxonH what do you think the graphics will be like? Wasn't the first one downgraded too much or am I thinking of something else.

@AndyD
First one was downgraded but the post release patch helped it look a lot better. It looks really good in handheld mode. Not full 720p, but that aside it looks good. Outer Worlds is a disaster. But Doom was pretty good, even if it was a bit lower res.

I figure at worst, this one will look the same as the first does now. Which is good enough. At best, it improves the res slightly thanks to prior experience and longer dev time. Either way it's nothing to worry about, I'd say.

You could safely say that the first game broke new ground in terms of how good an FPS could be on a handheld. The docked performance is obviously far short of what you'd get on any other platform though, so the desire to play it handheld has to be your main driver for getting the Switch version.

I'm not expecting Eternal to be much different. On the one hand, they've got the experience of the first game to build from, but there's bound to have been a certain amount of engine creep, and the Switch version getting thrown on the back burner when the release was delayed pretty much ensures that it's not going to be as well optimized as it could have been.

I can't believe I'm saying this because I was so upset when they got rid of the physical, but I think I'll still get this. I could get it on my PC and experience the awesome graphics, but the trade off is I would barely get to play it lol My gaming time is just so limited and my Switch is really the only thing that makes sense right now.

@rallydefault
That's a common sentiment.

I'd also add, I have plenty time to play at home, but convenience is key. Starting up my PC, turning on TV, switching inputs, then launching the game through steam takes considerably longer than "grab Switch Lite off charge base, tap A 3 times, back in the game).

It's that low barrier entry to getting in and getting back out that makes playing on Switch so appealing (of course, playing on handheld is also appealing, as is using gyro, though you can use gyro on Steam via Steam Controller).

PS5 became a lot more convenient like Switch, but it doesnt offer gyro and it doesnt offer handheld. The only system that checks all the boxes is Switch.

At the end of the day, get the version you'll actually play. I've always felt it's better to spend more on a version I'll play than waste money on a cheaper version that'll just figuratively collect dust on a hard drive.

@JaxonH
Yea, for me I still pretty much play at home so it's not traveling or anything (especially nowadays), but I have a 2-year-old daughter and as any parent knows, gaming time is hard to come by. I can sometimes sit down on the computer for an hour or so when she naps, but that's not a guarantee. All I have really is some time at the end of the day, and it's easiest for me to just grab the Switch for a few minutes. Sometimes I'll play on my Switch a bit with a football game on in the background or something. It's the relaxation I need most days instead of hunching over at my computer desk.

5 more hours until release, ya?

@JaxonH DOOM Eternal isn't a midnight launch for the UK so I'm guessing it's not a midnight launch anywhere.

@Grumblevolcano
Per the Bethesda FAQ:

December 8, 2020 at midnight 00:00am ET which is 11pm central time, for me. So maybe 5am in Great Britain, or 6am for other Europeans?

https://slayersclub.bethesda.net/en/article/4vjyTl2Ed4oblB0ud...

So has anyone tried it yet? Is it comparable to the first Doom? Is it a better or worse port or more or less the same? It will be interesting to see how it performs, since it's a more demanding game than Doom 2016.

The game looks pretty good on Switch.

@Reprise
Seems slightly better? I played 5 minutes before heading out to work this morning. It looks good in handheld mode. Gyro is perfect from the start. Menus have larger text in handheld and subtitles are readable.

Its impressive. Looks considerably better in in-engine cutscenes than Wolvenstein 2 did in handheld.

edit
That docked footage posted above looks absolutely RIDICULOUS. I can't believe that's running on Switch. That looks noticeably better than the first game.

And look at this solid framerate, my goodness!

Are levels identical to the other versions of the game? I recall one of the reasons DOOM Eternal was a more demanding experience was because of how huge its levels were in comparison to those in the original game. There has to be a cutback to draw distance or something. This looks like it runs better than DOOM 2016.

I'll wait for people to dig deeper into this release, but it's certainly looking like it might be one of the most impressive ports on the system.

@Ralizah It sounds as if the levels are identical. From https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2020/11/feature_doom_eterna...

NintendoLife: Are there any omissions or any things that had to be cut?
Travis Archer: Nope, it's the full experience.

I played this on PC. It's fun. I both love the frantic melee, and wish it was more of a 90s shooter at the same time. Something more like Prodeus.

Still, it's a great game. I personally did not like the multiplayer. It felt like an rts, and while a few matches were fun, it wasn't anything that I asked for or wanted in a fps multiplayer.

If the port is as good as the 2016 game that I did play on switch, then you're in for a treat. I can't believe these games run on a handheld. I love this thing.

@Ralizah
I think that footage Dionesos283 posted kinda gives the full picture of what this version offers. Honestly... it looks really good. The resolution doesnt appear to be tanked as much the first game. Theres that threshold where, beyond it the game just feels noticeably blurry, and this doesnt seem to cross that threshold. It looks more like a normal Switch port than a "Panic Button" Switch port, if you know what I mean. Seems developing with Switch in mind from the start, and having extra time, has paid off.

I still say Sniper Elite 4 is a better Switch port. But thats an insanely high bar.

More thoughts.

Load times after dying are really fast. I remember them taking forever in the 2016 reboot. But here, its just a few seconds.

Also, handheld still blurs things farther away for the really large open, outdoors areas, but it does so in a much smarter way that doesnt make it feel like everything is super low res. It just seems better implemented, and the distance at which things become lower res doesnt seem so outrageously short in this game.