DOOM Eternal: The Ancient Gods Part One

 PC
User Score
7.8

Generally favorable reviews- based on 116 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 78 out of 116
  2. Mixed: 23 out of 116
  3. Negative: 15 out of 116

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  1. Antek
    Oct 24, 2020
    5
    Loved the base game, finished it few times. Was waiting eagerly for this continuation.
    Now that I've finally touched it, I'm truly disappointed. It proposes a minimal content maximally packed with the endless waves of the same old enemies, which quickly becomes rather exhausting than fun.
    Overall feels like a cheap quantity over quality product.
  2. ilson
    Nov 22, 2020
    6
    Too much demons inside boring narrow locations.Stupid long jumps again! Nothing new, just pointless story line.
  3. TitaniumDragon
    Jan 17, 2021
    5
    DOOM Eternal – The Ancient Gods (Part 1) is the first DLC for DOOM Eternal. It picks up where DOOM Eternal left off, with some lingering plot points from the main game being answered here.

    Unfortunately, there’s one major flaw – DOOM Eternal really ended at the right spot. You got your last new weapon and ran out of new demons to fight, so there’s four levels of basically a ramp up to    DOOM Eternal – The Ancient Gods (Part 1) is the first DLC for DOOM Eternal. It picks up where DOOM Eternal left off, with some lingering plot points from the main game being answered here.

    Unfortunately, there’s one major flaw – DOOM Eternal really ended at the right spot. You got your last new weapon and ran out of new demons to fight, so there’s four levels of basically a ramp up to the conclusion of the game, with some cool boss fights and scenery along the way, along with the final enemy type finally showing up.

    As a result, The Ancient Gods basically feels like the first DOOM game’s ending did – an unnecessarily large amount of content after the main game has effectively finished and run out of new things to throw at you. There’s not much new to see here – there’s only a couple new enemy types, neither of which are particularly interesting, as well as a third, a cloaked version of a standard enemy from the game. There's also yet another way for enemies to be powered up, and while these powered up enemies are nasty, they're nothing we haven't seen before, just a faster, tougher version of them.

    There are a few new bosses, which are nice to see, but they don’t feel particularly “necessary” so to speak.

    Moreover, the game exhibits one of the main game’s primary flaws – this is a DLC focused around resolving plot elements from the main game, but the plot wasn’t particularly good to begin with! All of the “twists” were rather obvious, considering that the main game had kind of implied what was going on, and the only actual twist was the protagonist acting in a somewhat villainous fashion, which seemed kind of out of the blue and poorly explained because the protagonist is mute.

    The result, then, is something that feels like it doesn’t actually need to exist in the first place. It’s just more of what we had before, without enough new elements to make it feel exciting. Sure, the scenery is pretty enough, but that’s really all there is going for this.

    On top of that, the level design isn’t particularly amazing. A lot of the fights take place in extremely small areas, which undermines one of the major strengths of DOOM Eternal – the ability to move around a lot while fighting, and approaching enemies from multiple angles. While it makes the game harder, it isn’t a particularly fun way to fight, and oftentimes you just end up resorting to using your most powerful weapons to mow down the enemies rapidly before they can corner you, and because there’s no more “tricks” to these areas, that solves the encounter.

    All in all, I think this is something you can skip. It’s not awful – it is, after all, more DOOM Eternal – but you’ve likely gotten your fill of it by playing the main game, and there’s nothing really here that you need to see.    … Expand
  4. joshbreviews
    Mar 22, 2021
    6
    Review done on Nightmare difficulty, 130+ hours playtime on Doom Eternal and Ancient Gods Pt. 1.

    Id Software is losing their way here. They're veering away from what made Doom 2016 great. For reference, Doom 2016 I give a 9/10 for revitalizing the run and gun genre, all while delivering a fairly interesting story, visually interesting levels, and awesome music. Doom Eternal I give    Review done on Nightmare difficulty, 130+ hours playtime on Doom Eternal and Ancient Gods Pt. 1.

    Id Software is losing their way here. They're veering away from what made Doom 2016 great.

    For reference, Doom 2016 I give a 9/10 for revitalizing the run and gun genre, all while delivering a fairly interesting story, visually interesting levels, and awesome music.

    Doom Eternal I give an 8/10 for improving on most of the above (except story); but I ended up making the tough decision to deduct a point because the finesse of the gameplay was being lost. Everything was becoming more and more chaotic to the point that enemies will visibly stop attacking you if there are a certain number of them on screen. If you have to dumb down your AI in such a way, you know you're losing control of the game's difficulty. Good fun, but too messy for its own good.

    Now, Ancient Gods 1, I have to give a 6 for 2 reasons: first, they are doubling down on the things people hated about Doom Eternal, and second, they seem to be adding things just for the sake of adding things. Let's tackle the first issue. Doom 2016 was great because you literally just run and gun. There was a lot of strategy and skill involved, and it was hard as hell (never finished on ultra-nightmare), but ultimately it was a very tight and fun experience. But Doom Eternal added the controversial marauder. The issue with the marauder is he makes you run-STOP AND WAIT-and gun. The popular phrase to describe the marauder is that he "ruins the flow". and he totally does. Now, take that principle of run-STOP AND WAIT-and gun, and crank it up to 11 - that's Ancient Gods 1. All the new enemies make you stop what you're doing, stand still, and wait for them to make an opening. This is incredibly frustrating because Doom 2016 was snappy as hell. See an enemy? Then shoot! Now, you have to wait and stare for an opening that you can't really create yourself. You can't pelt blood makyrs to force them to do their vulnerable attack. You can't coax out the eye turrets. You can't force the marauder to do it's vulnerable attack. You can't delay the possession of spirits. Ancient Gods 1 adds tons and tons of WAITING before shooting. Snap-shots to the enemy weak-points are incredibly satisfying; and here they took that away and replaced it with the infinitely inferior WAIT. The marauder was one occasional enemy that ruined the pace of the game - but this entire dlc ruins the entire pace of the game.

    Second, adding things for the sake of adding things. Smokey areas? Really? Unpoppable gas bubbles? Huh? Blood Makyrs with 3 different modes of fire? Tone it down. Don't get me wrong, I've beaten the game myself, so yeah, they can be beat. But holy hell it is NOT fun. And the spirits. God, the spirits. Incredibly un-fun. The x2 speed possessed enemies get is not fun. Beatable, but not fun. And the worst thing is that you have to microwave-beam the spirit to kill it. There's no other way to kill it, and there's no way to delay the spirit's possession move. Whoever designed this needs to reevaluate what he thinks is fun. Ancient Gods 1 tells me that the devs are desperate to spice things up, so they're just adding the first things that come to mind. The finesse, precision, and control of the gameplay and combat loop is further being lost.

    The snap-shot nature of Doom MUST return, or else these wait-and-gun mechanics they seem to be doubling down on will exhaust their fanbase. As it is, Doom Eternal is far, far, less accessible than Doom 2016. Id Software, whether they know it or not, are creating a franchise that is increasingly niche, even more so than Dark Souls. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but I'm telling you, if Ancient Gods 2 commits to this wait-and-gun travesty even more, this franchise will fall off a cliff, and will have to be re-rebooted, preferably under a different studio.

    I'll end with this. Doom 2016 is like Dark Souls. Difficult? Yes. Beatable? Yes. Fun? Hell yes. But Doom Eternal (+Ancient Gods 1), is more like Sekiro. Difficult? YES. Beatable? Yes. Fun?... er, give me Dark Souls again.    … Expand
  5. Borgoros
    Oct 28, 2020
    5
    This is the same enemies all over AGAIN. Ok, it's harder, but just because it is the same enemies in larger numbers in small rooms again and again. It should have been new enemies, a few new weapons, more new worlds. It's just too repetitive, and i really love the base game.
  6. Jetman2021
    Nov 16, 2020
    7
    A very solid expansion to what is without a doubt one of the best games of 2020..............except for one problem: The difficulty. At the time of writing, this DLC has a huge difficulty balance issue. Once you come across the new enemy, The Spirit, the difficulty goes from the fair challenge seen in the main campaign to utter frustration. I could not even finish the game onA very solid expansion to what is without a doubt one of the best games of 2020..............except for one problem: The difficulty. At the time of writing, this DLC has a huge difficulty balance issue. Once you come across the new enemy, The Spirit, the difficulty goes from the fair challenge seen in the main campaign to utter frustration. I could not even finish the game on Ultra-Violence like I did with the main campaign, seeing myself setting it to Hurt Me Plenty and even opting to use the Sentinel Armor buffer. There will be those who will like the challenge, but the people, like me who are not quite at that level, will be upset. Overall, it's still pretty good. Hoping that there are improvements in Part 2.… Expand
  7. SilverOrlov
    Jun 25, 2022
    7
    Like the original Doom, literally everything is excellent here, except for the combat system. It became even more terrible. I can understand if an addon is made for the fans to experience them as hardcore players, but when a story/campaign is involved, you have to feel responsibility of what you are doing. Master-Levels - do whatever you want. But the story should be able to go through anyLike the original Doom, literally everything is excellent here, except for the combat system. It became even more terrible. I can understand if an addon is made for the fans to experience them as hardcore players, but when a story/campaign is involved, you have to feel responsibility of what you are doing. Master-Levels - do whatever you want. But the story should be able to go through any player who took up the game. I exaggerate a little, the players are also could be different, but I think the essence is clear.
    In general, in this addon they throw at you all enemies at once, constantly, and even didn't give you the ultra-sword Crucible. This may not be difficult for some people with some skill in Doom... but it is EXTREMELY tiring and stuffy. And the icing on the cake of the inadequate was a new enemy - the spirit. Cut off the hands to that man who invented it.    … Expand
  8. Bronebaka
    Nov 1, 2020
    7
    Пожилые боги - это тот же дум этернал, который чисто геймплейно тянет на максимальную оценку, НО в этом аддоне нет нового оружия, нет новых врагов (призрак - банальный модификатор скорости и жирности врагу, а прокаченный ангел с неуязвимостью тянет на половинку врага максимум), а еще тут максимально убогие босс-файты, особенно последний. Особенно последний!!!1 Я проходил игру на кошмаре иПожилые боги - это тот же дум этернал, который чисто геймплейно тянет на максимальную оценку, НО в этом аддоне нет нового оружия, нет новых врагов (призрак - банальный модификатор скорости и жирности врагу, а прокаченный ангел с неуязвимостью тянет на половинку врага максимум), а еще тут максимально убогие босс-файты, особенно последний. Особенно последний!!!1 Я проходил игру на кошмаре и с последней фазы последнего боссфайта я рвался как в последний раз. Я долго мог бы расписывать почему все очень плохо и как сильно я бил бы геймдизайнеров ногами в лицо с разбегу за этого босса, но поиграйте сами хотя бы на ютубе и все поймете.
    Вычтем по баллу за эти косяки и получим неплохое дополнение 7/10, которое можно взять по скидосу, если понравилась оригинальная игра.    … Expand
  9. maiconpl
    Dec 8, 2020
    7
    O jogo é muito bom as questões gráficas, tiroteio, matança, mas não conseguiu me manter motivado a jogar
  10. ThatGuy845719
    Dec 20, 2020
    5
    I have beat this DLC on Ultraviolence twice & Hurt Me Plenty once, and at first when starting this DLC, it was challenging but fair. Much like the Default Campaign. However, once I hit the second of three levels, I felt my happiness and smile dwindling.

    To start, there are now turrets, eyeballs that hide inside of pillars and only come out when you're a certain distance away. The only    I have beat this DLC on Ultraviolence twice & Hurt Me Plenty once, and at first when starting this DLC, it was challenging but fair. Much like the Default Campaign. However, once I hit the second of three levels, I felt my happiness and smile dwindling.

    To start, there are now turrets, eyeballs that hide inside of pillars and only come out when you're a certain distance away. The only good way to kill them, is either with the Heavy Rifle's scope or, I guess, a Ballista shot. But as it goes on, the way the Devs implemented their positioning, while trying to dodging everything else and destroy them, due to the insane damage they can deal, felt quite cheap. At one point during a part of the second level, you must move through damage dealing fog. The only thing halting your eventual death being a wolf with a dome you must follow. Near the end, the first thing you see is a Turret, which the Devs knew would draw the player's attention, only to have a Marauder come out of nowhere and blind side you. You must proceed to dance between him and the turret, trying to find small openings to kill it or him first. The dome is only so big, and it you go out of bounds, you take damage. So, trying to find that sweet spot where you’re far enough away for the eyeball to come out and be inside the dome is extremely infuriating.

    The second is an old enemy from 2016, there called The Summoner, now called The Spirit. It possesses and enhances, usually a Heavy, like a Barron of Hell, Arachnotron, or at one point for me, a Doom Hunter. This causes faster movement & attack speed. I did not mind this, adding a new type of challenge. The cheapness comes in on how you kill it. After destroying its demon-meatsuit, you must use the Plasma Gun's Microwave Beam. Why would you make the player use an attachment that makes you come to a crawl, opening them up to either heavy damage or ultimately death? It goes against everything we are taught. Push forward. Run & Gun. Refill when you can. So on and so on. Not halt everything and switch from whatever you’re doing and use a specific attachment for a weapon. It appears to be done for two reason: One: As a Ghostbuster’s Reference, there being a Milestone based off the “Don’t cross the streams” line & Two: So, the players actually use it for once, as I don’t know anyone that chose the Heat Blast over the Microwave Beam.

    At no point in the campaign did you have to do anything like this, save for Blood Punches. Even then, that is not a primary weapon. There were always multiple ways to kill your enemies, whether it be the suggested option that is always provided when first fighting it. I.E. The Scope to destroy a Spider-Mastermind’s turret. Or, your own decision, whatever that may be.

    While I understand this sounds very similar to the Marauder, the difference between the two is that you usually face him 1-on-1 with trash mobs to give you health or ammo. With the Spirits, you have to worry about more threatening enemies spawning in. Shotgunners & Imps, for example. So, when you are finishing The Spirit off, you run the high risk of taking large amounts of Damage.

    A third, and minor one I will admit, is that I feel some, keyword: some, not all, of the Arenas last a bit longer than they should. I.E. The ending Arenas for the two paths you must traverse n the second level. Or the room where you must eventually face two Marauders; which I felt, along with the Buffed One you encounter at one point, wasn't even that hard.

    My final gripe with this DLC is how I mentioned Hugo Martin saying some players may need to tone the difficulty down.
    “I suspect that most people will probably play at a difficulty setting that is a maybe a little bit lower, no shame. Maybe if they finish Doom Eternal on Ultraviolence, they might want to, even for a little bit, drop it down to Hurt Me Plenty as they get re-acclimated to how to drive the racecar.”

    I understand where he is coming from with the difficulty, however if you make it where the players have to via cheap tactics and force themselves into a certain Playstyle (Nearly always having the Scope for the Assault Rifle & Microwave Beam for the Plasma Rifle) just so they can beat the DLC, it is no longer fun. And what angers me the most, they know that players have their own Playstyles for this game. As the new support runes tell you explicitly to choose one of three that suits your Playstyle. Keyword, YOUR. Not the game’s.

    I want to state that I did not have trouble adapting to the difficulty spike from 2016 to Eternal. I understood they wanted to make it more challenging, and they did, leading to a divided fanbase. But in the default campaign, you learned and felt each death was justified. Here, they felt extremely cheap and infuriating.

    In closing: This DLC is fun, but taking into account how some of the Arenas just feel longer than they should & the new enemies, just sucks the fun out.

    I hope Part 2 is better.    … Expand
  11. dan-man
    Apr 23, 2022
    7
    Replay the main campaign instead. This DLC is extremely difficult, frustrating and pretty average all around. Invisible and invincible new enemies? Check. More horrible platforming parts? Check. A god awful near-impossible boss on normal difficulties or above? Check. Achievements that won't unlock properly? Check.
  12. TheHambro
    Apr 12, 2023
    7
    The Ancient Gods - Part One is a decent expansion to the much acclaimed Doom Eternal. I will say that, I was a bit disappointed with any new features. There are no new weapons, equipment, or even a hub area to explore; instead, you get three new levels, two new enemies, and three more Runes. Sure, a bit lack luster, but fine regardless. Difficulty wise, this one is significantly harderThe Ancient Gods - Part One is a decent expansion to the much acclaimed Doom Eternal. I will say that, I was a bit disappointed with any new features. There are no new weapons, equipment, or even a hub area to explore; instead, you get three new levels, two new enemies, and three more Runes. Sure, a bit lack luster, but fine regardless. Difficulty wise, this one is significantly harder than the Campaign: there are so much more enemies thrown at you. So, anyone wanting to play this on Nightmare, beware, it’s pretty damn tough. All in all, I had a good time with it, and I think it deserves a thumbs up from me.… Expand
  13. NyanFish
    Feb 19, 2023
    6
    Ого
    Виды 10 на 10
    Стрельба 10 на 10 Проработка всего 10 на 10 НО ПОЧЕМУ ТАК ДУШНО? Я казуал получается, я сдался на последней миссии и не смог пройти на хардкоре, плюньте в лицо А так то поставить на тяжёлоный и нормально пройти и наслодиться игрой, эпик зашкаливает 6 из 10    Ого
    Виды 10 на 10
    Стрельба 10 на 10
    Проработка всего 10 на 10
    НО ПОЧЕМУ ТАК ДУШНО? Я казуал получается, я сдался на последней миссии и не смог пройти на хардкоре, плюньте в лицо
    А так то поставить на тяжёлоный и нормально пройти и наслодиться игрой, эпик зашкаливает
    6 из 10

Awards & Rankings

75
#75 Best PC Game of 2020
67
#67 Most Discussed PC Game of 2020

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
79

Generally favorable reviews - based on 16 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 12 out of 16
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 16
  3. Negative: 0 out of 16
  1. CD-Action
    Feb 8, 2021
    85
    It’s the same Doom Eternal we know and love, but the DLC managed to make it even more frenetic. The onslaught of demons is actually so intense that it can easily get overwhelming, especially if you haven’t played Doom for a while or never mastered it. It’s a shame the developers were quite skimpy with new content, so we only got three new enemies (of which one is not even worth mentioning), three new runes, and three new maps (huge and well-designed though). [13/2020, p.49]
  2. GameCritics
    Nov 17, 2020
    90
    While it’s easy to nitpick, it’s even easier to rave about how great the rest of the The Ancient Gods is. I’m not sure this is the best place to jump into Doom Eternal given its initial difficulty, but picking up the whole package is absolutely recommended. The Ancient Gods consistently delivers some of the best combat ever seen, and delivers it in spades.
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  3. Games.cz
    Nov 12, 2020
    80
    A solid expansion that will test even the hardest Doomguys around. It’s almost the same as the basic game, with one exception: It’s even harder. And, regretfully, the music isn’t as amazing as before.
    Read full review
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