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On March 20 the long-awaited sequel to Doom 2016 was released and doubled the sales of its predecessor. It was rated highly by critics at IGN and Game Informer, averaging between an eight or a nine out of 10.

The story of Doom Eternal takes place months after the events of Doom 2016, where Hell begins an invasion of Earth, killing billions. The first cutscene begins with a short monologue about the main character, the Doom Slayer, a man hell-bent on destroying the battalions of Hell. It then shows the Slayer gearing up to save the earth, with the amazing soundtrack composed by Mick Gordon playing in the background. The Slayer’s mission is to stop Hell’s consumption of Earth by killing three demonic priests, who serve an angelic being known as the Khan Maykr, who requires the sacrifice of Earth so that her world and people can gain the energy from Earth.

The story in Doom Eternal was handled a bit differently than in 2016. Most cutscenes in 2016 were shown in the Slayer’s perspective, while Eternal shows the Slayer in third-person more, shifting the focus away from him. Some cutscenes in Eternal still show the Slayer’s perspective, which is the method I prefer. The story is also handled similarly to 2016 in the sense of keeping the main storyline simple while adding optional codex pages for players who want to get into the lore of Doom Eternal.

Doom Eternal also focuses more on world-building than in 2016, showing a diverse set of environments. In 2016, there were only two environments, Hell and a sci-fi facility on Mars. Eternal adds many more, such as literal Hell on Earth (which I must say is probably the best rendition of that term I’ve ever seen) and arctic environments.

Doom Eternal takes the already amazing gameplay of Doom 2016 to a whole new level, giving the player new abilities such as dashing, climbing and swinging from bars. They also added the Blood Punch ability, which is a powerful melee attack that creates a shockwave, damaging nearby enemies. However, most of the arsenal carried over from 2016. The Slayer’s armor was given an equipment launcher, which can launch grenades, cryo bombs and a flame belch, which is used to damage demons and makes them drop armor for the player to pick up. The super shotgun (a double-barreled shotgun that deals massive damage) has been given a meat hook, which can be used to grapple onto enemies for better movement.

The game puts more focus on resource management, as well. It will always have the player thinking about their health, armor and ammo. There is a specific way to keep replenishing all of them. Perform glory kills (returning from 2016) on enemies for health, use the flame belch on enemies for armor, and use the chainsaw on enemies to regain ammo.

The weapon arsenal is given much more purpose in Eternal than in 2016 in the sense that the game forces the player to use their entire arsenal instead of just running with a single gun. The ammo capacity has been decreased since the previous game, making the game more challenging. Enemies are also given weak points, that, if destroyed, can either take away one of their attacks or simply weaken them. There are weapon modifications that are useful for taking out these weak points. Director Hugo Martin said in an interview that the new system was like bringing the right tool for the job.

Along with the story mode, there is also a multiplayer Battle mode. It pits two players who control demons up against one player, who is the Slayer. The Slayer’s objective is to kill the two player-controlled demons within a certain time frame, and the demons’ objective is to simply kill the Slayer. There aren’t that many maps to go along with it, and developer id Software has no plans of adding a traditional multiplayer. Another feature missing is the SnapMap mode from 2016, where players could create their own maps and share them with the community.

Even with the fast-paced gameplay of Doom, what really makes it stand out from other first-person shooters is the soundtrack. Gordon did an amazing job with the soundtrack in 2016, despite initially not being allowed to add guitars to it. In Eternal’s case, Gordon was allowed as much creative freedom as he wished to make an amazing soundtrack, and he went above and beyond. He even gathered a choir of metal vocalists to perform chants featured in a few of the songs. In a game like Doom, it’s important to have something to motivate the player to move around the arenas, and Gordon’s headbanging riffs will put anyone in a testosterone-fueled rampage in-game (They can also make anyone’s workout that much more intense. I can speak for that last part personally).

Beyond the base game, id Software planned two DLC (downloadable content) updates, the first of which came out on October 20.

The Ancient Gods Part I is much more difficult compared to the main game. It actually made the game more engaging and gives a reason for people to buy the DLC for $20 if they are looking to scratch that itch. The DLC only adds three new levels to the game, but they are longer than all the missions in the main game and, as mentioned before, much more challenging. The soundtrack is not composed by Gordon this time around; instead it’s composed by David Levy and Andrew Hulshult due to complications with deadlines.

There are a few new enemy types, the most notable of which is the spirit. The spirit possesses demons and makes them faster and more damage resistant. Once the possessed demon is killed, the spirit is released, and the only way to kill them is using the microwave beam mod for the plasma rifle as a nod to Ghostbusters.

Overall, Doom Eternal packs one hell of an experience. The single-player story has a lot of replay value because each playthrough can be different. The game itself is incredibly violent and gory, so for those that get squeamish about that, this game would not be an option. However, for players looking for a fast-paced, testosterone-fueled experience with awesome guns and heavy metal, this game is great. I would rate the overall game a 9/10, and it would get that last point if the SnapMap feature was in the game. For anyone interested, it costs $60 to rip and tear through Doom Eternal’s story. And remember: “The only thing they fear, is you.”