Last March we plunged into the underworld in the company of the Doom Slayer – or Doomguy, for friends – in what turned out to be one of the most amazing games of the year. DOOM Eternal returns to punish us with The Ancient Gods , expansion that proposes an unprecedented campaign with a double objective: to expand the narrative universe of the franchise and to test the most daring players.

Yes, because this add-on represents the toughest challenge a DOOM veteran can face, a concentrate of pure adrenaline and visceral nastiness that will once again enchant first person shooter fans; and, let’s be clear, we’re only talking about the first part of the DLC. Shotgun in hand, so we accepted the last challenge of id Software : demons, start to tremble.

A new mission for the Doom Slayer

We pick up where we left off the DOOM Eternal story. After eliminating the Khan Maykr, our anti-hero unleashed the fury of Hell by pushing the demonic legions to invade the other dimensional planes, including the heavenly Urdak .

The only way to stop the infernal advance is to awaken the Serafino , an ancient entity with semi-divine powers that has been safeguarded by the AUC itself for several decades. On the advice of Samuel Hayden, the Slayer sets out in search of the Maykr.

The greater attention paid to storytelling, which has always been considered one of the weaknesses of the series, gives The Ancient Gods a more engaging narrative than in the past and allows fans to deepen their knowledge of the DOOM lore, previously expanded by the Eternal itself and its prequel. The goal of the developers is achieved, but only in part.

The Slayer catches the ball to prove that he is not a simple ‘puppet’ in the service of the player: the choices that the protagonist completes at the end of each mission catch us off guard and open the doors to completely unpredictable situations. The last descent into hell thus becomes a journey full of surprises , culminating with another duel that will leave without another sign and with a cliffhanger that is nothing short of evil. Plot twist aside, the narrative deepening is however limited to the introduction of new figures and does not dare to touch the emotional sphere, still maintaining a certain detachment with the player. There are also doubts regarding the writing and the very presence of some supporting actors, but we hope that Part 2 can fill any gaps.

It will be necessary between 6 and 7 hours of gameplay to complete the story of The Ancient Gods – Part 1, a longevity that can extend to just over 8 hours by opting for the higher difficulty levels – we can testify that after experiencing Ultra-Violence mode. As this is the first part of a more substantial expansion, this duration can be considered acceptable, but collides with a rather unbalanced selling price (19, 99 euro, also in standalone version).

The id Software team did not limit itself to expanding the narrative sector: the characterization of the setting was also improved. In this first part of The Ancient Gods we will visit three new locations, one more varied than the other in stylistic terms

We will therefore start from an operational base of the UAC, a futuristic complex located in the middle of the ocean, to then set foot in the less hospitable Blood Marshes, where the sci-fi element gives way to horror, in a hellish place where you can breathe the air of death. The final destination coincides with Urdak, or rather, with the Forest where demons and corrupt Maykr live together: an extremely fascinating scenario and, without a doubt, the most incisive of the triptych.

The artistic sector is supported once again by a fine level design. An even more noticeable vertical development will reward less static players , prompting them to move quickly from platform to platform keeping your finger on the trigger. Equally dynamic are the platform phases, which see here a couple of more or less original implementations and bizarre puzzles.

Each map has a labyrinthine structure that guarantees the presence of several secret areas: among these we find the Slayer Gates, extra levels in which to face the most demanding battles of the game which, in the case of The Ancient Gods, earn an additional difficulty boost.

Ancient deities can be cruel

With this add-on, DOOM Eternal’s challenge level reaches dizzying heights, putting a strain on both the veteran of the series and the naive novice he wears for the first time the Praetor armor. In both cases, the first part of The Ancient Gods will open with the Doom Slayer at its peak, with all weapons and skills already unlocked , except for the Crucible lost in the final stages of the original campaign. Don’t be fooled: full access to the arsenal is not meant to be a simplification, but an incentive to experiment with deadly new combos with which to thin out the demonic hordes, now more enraged than ever.

The real challenge lies in the crazy combinations of demons that populate the aforementioned scenarios. The IMPs will become the least of your problems as Barons, Mancubus, and Cyberdemons join forces to bully you – and yes, there will be the fearsome Reapers, more than one at a time on some occasions. To complicate things further, the new enemies introduced by the DLC, particularly innovative in the mechanics.

The Turret