DOOM Eternal: The Ancient Gods Part One

Doom Eternal’s first piece of substantial singleplayer oriented DLC feels like it is off to a good start, offering a real challenge for fans of the original while feeling like a natural continuation of the base game. In essence, Ancient Gods Part One feels essential to the Doom Eternal experience, rather than something that feels tacked on or unnecessary, while simultaneously setting up some fun narrative beats for part Two of the DLC.

The Ancient Gods Part 1 is a fantastic piece of DLC partly because of those narrative implications, but also for how it wonderfully continues and expands upon the base game’s legacy. Seamlessly dialing up the difficulty leads to more rewarding combat, especially with the banging metal soundtrack and horde of new hellspawns. Environments divulge from the typical Doom template, but are undeniably Doom and beautiful regardless. Part 2 has a lot to live up to, but if it’s anything like Part 1, it shouldn’t have a problem shattering high expectations.

Doom Eternal's first expansion, The Ancient Gods — Part One, stumbles in a few areas, but it's ultimately a damn good addition to the foundation laid earlier this year. All said it's a ripping good time despite its blemishes.

Ancient Gods is not necessarily a bad expansion pack, but the original DOOM Eternal was so good and even small changes in the wrong direction can hurt the experience. In Ancient Gods case, the uneven difficulty and confusing story seem to be those wrong changes that topple DOOM Eternal from the top a little bit.

It’s hard to say if the DLC wouldn’t have been as satisfying if it’d come out later than it did, but releasing a few months after the base game isn’t a bad timeframe at all. There’s no telling when Part Two will release, but The Ancient Gods – Part One has shown that the conclusion of this chapter is one worth looking forward to.

DOOM Eternal: The Ancient Gods - Part One offers a meaty expansion that doesn’t dramatically differ from the base game, and despite a crushing difficulty and dodgy platforming sections, it's an essential purchase for those clamouring for their next DOOM fix.

For veterans of Doom Eternal, The Ancient Gods DLC is arguably a must-by…especially if you’re looking for increased challenge and some clever worlds. Bethesda is likewise famous for supporting their titles to the nth degree, thus this DLC will offer significantly more playtime for the Doom devotee. There’s oodles of ongoing and/or contests for those registered with Bethesda’s online Doom portal. New players…don’t bother. The barrier of entry is simply too high in storyline, complexity and difficulty. Start with the main title (now readily available at huge discounts), and revisit this DLC in due time.

DOOM Eternal: The Ancient Gods - Part One is so much more of the PS4's best first-person shooter. It doesn't do anything dramatically different from the base game, rather letting its phenomenal gameplay loop revel in new environments and against new enemies. Difficulty spikes present more problems than we'd like, though, to the point where casual players might feel like giving up. Nevertheless, bring on Part Two.

Like most DLC it doesn’t introduce much in the way of new ideas but if you enjoyed Doom Eternal you’re going to love these new levels and their uncompromising challenge.

While we may regret the rather light content and some less successful arenas, it is difficult to resist our pleasure by browsing the 3 levels that make up this DLC. The DOOM experience is as strong as ever and we can't wait to see what happens next.

If you're desperately looking for more Doom Eternal, The Ancient Gods – Part One will give it to you.

With three new enemy types and one (very challenging) boss in the mix, as well as three new perks to earn by completing the optional Slayer Gater challenges, it’s a familiar yet distinct experience. But it’s still best to play through Doom Eternal before trying this. [Issue#182, p.155]

Quotation forthcoming.

Despite some new and enduring weak spots, Doom Eternal's frantic combat (mostly) continues to shine through. Once you get back into the swing of the action, the rock-paper-scissors design philosophy still results in a great time. I just wish Doom Eternal could get out of its own way.

Though Part One’s story does have quite a few twists and turns that’ll keep players interested, it ends too soon with too many threads left open. Doom Eternal: The Ancient Gods – Part One delivers more Doom Eternal and it can be a devilishly fun ride as long as that’s all you’re looking for out of an expansion.

The Ancient Gods a great addition to DOOM Eternal. Gameplay is still very nervous, fast and its difficulty makes it more exhilarating than ever.