Bethesda's conference was severely lacking in big announcements. Outside of GhostWire Tokyo and Deathloop, the publisher failed to hold my attention - that is, until the second half of their showcase which was exclusively given to id Software's upcoming shooter, DOOM Eternal. The game is looking to be a perfect evolution of the 2016 reboot, as all sequels should. As with all DOOM games, though, you've come for the gameplay. Luckily, our friends at Glitched managed to get hands-on with the game at E3 2019, and we've now got a better idea of what you can expect from the bloody FPS (be sure to read their full thoughts!).

Health, Armour, Ammo, A**kicking


The HUD layout is fairly straight-forward: in the bottom left-hand corner of your screen is your health and armour bar. Above that is your dash meter (which lets you dash mid-air quickly) and next to it your heavier melee punch, which basically almost insta-kills most enemies in a single punch. On the right corner side of your screen is your ammo count, including rockets, grenades, and special abilities above. The top of your screen is dedicated to your map markers, much like the original.

Doom Slayer's New Abilities


Apart from getting a slight redesign - he looks like he hit the gym a few times since we last saw him - Doom Slayer now has a few nifty tricks quite literally up his sleeve. His suit has been drastically upgraded to house new abilities. The first one highlighted since the first gameplay debuted was the blade that's attached to his right arm. He can use his blade to deal satisfying glory kills, but also offer a melee edge for when your bullets run out. It's great for swiftly taking out demons individually, though we wouldn't rely on it to clear a room.

Secondly is the flamethrower, also attached to his arm. He can use this flamethrower to achieve two goals: to deal fire damage to enemies, and stun them long enough to get in a few more hits or a glory kill. Additionally, the rocket launcher can fire rockets in quick succession, but you're also able to detonate a rocket mid-flight by simply tapping a button. When it comes to retaining vital resources like health, armour and ammo, Doom Slayer now has the choice to kill enemies in specific ways that ensures demons drop your preferred resource. For example, glory kills almost certainly rewards players with health drops.

Oh, and you get a sword. Nuff said.

Gunplay


Gunplay is king in DOOM. id Software perfected the frantic, fast-paced flow of combat in the 2016 reboot, and have seemingly nailed it again in DOOM Eternal. Apart from a variety of new weapons at your disposal, you're still able to control the fights depending on your weapon of choice and how fast you move around the environment. Paired with gunplay is the grappling hook which can latch itself onto higher platforms and give you a mid-air advantage over demons who may bully you in close-quarters combat.

A newly introduced feature in the game is the ability to blast off individual body parts from demons. We see this during gameplay in all its bloody, detailed glory. Bigger enemies take the brunt of this as it's immensely satisfying to see large chunks of flesh burst off of them from your gunfire. This also serves the purpose of disarming enemies as, you know, it's kind of hard to hit you or throw fire balls without arms.

Environments and Platforming


This is one of the main aspects of DOOM Eternal that's been given a surprising amount of attention. Unlike the first DOOM which just had standard level designs meant to cater to your speed, Eternal harnesses the full extent of your agility. Environments have been designed with platforming in mind. This works in tandem with your grappling hook, but also gives you the high ground in a tough spot. Platforming is just as fast as the combat, and requires you to be light on your feet in order to hit booster pads, glide over handy pick-ups like armour and ammo, and avoid environmental hazards during combat.

There's a deliberate arcade-y feel to the level design. It's far more old-school than we first imagined, and this is a great thing for a number of reasons. Platforming in a first-person shooter is rather tricky to pull off, with only a few games like Mirror's Edge or Dishonored really hitting that sweet spot. DOOM Eternal favours platforming because it not only makes traversal a breeze, which should house a plethora of well-hidden collectibles in the campaign, but also allows you to consider options during combat. Do you use a higher platform to get the jump on a bigger enemy? Do you use the platforms to your advantage as you block incoming attacks? Maybe you need to get out of a tricky situation, and a higher platform affords you that chance? It all works wonderfully with the high-octane, fast gameplay.

Items will be scattered around the environment for you to pick-up, but it also reintroduces the awesome portal that lets you quickly teleport to other locations on the map.

Slayers Die Twice


DOOM Eternal introduces an extra life system that, when downed, gives you the chance to resurrect yourself. For a brief few seconds that you do return from the dead, you're invincible, and get a bit of a power buff that lets you mow down enemies as fast as possible. This will be incredibly useful as the game is reportedly quite challenging. With hordes of demons being thrown at you by the minute, and all of them are out for your blood, you're forced to aggressively control the flow of combat - and thankfully, it's all designed to work in your favour. From ingenious platforming to weapons that pack more of a punch, there's a variety of ways to tackle the challenge that should give DOOM players that rush of adrenaline.

We'll update the article as more gameplay information becomes available to us.

DOOM Eternal arrives on November 22, 2019 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC, and Google Stadia.