Should I get Doom 2016 or Doom Eternal?

[Lizardcommando]

I'm thinking about buying either Doom 2016 or Doom Eternal on the Nintendo Switch during the current sale. Which one should I go buy?

Edited November 30, 2021 by Lizardcommando

[Rudolph]

Have you played either of them on other platforms?

[Lizardcommando]

I played Doom 2016 on my friend's PC. I had a pretty great time with it. Is the gameplay vastly different between the two games? 

[Rudolph]

I would argue that Doom Eternal jumps the shark by introducing too many new mechanics and enemies in addition to being tonally inconsistent. The Ancient Gods DLC also appears to be very divisive in the way it is designed and also the way it handles the lore.

 

Regardless, if you enjoyed Doom 2016, then you probably cannot go wrong with getting a game that you are already familiar with. I unfortunately do not own a Switch myself, but I hear the port is pretty decent.

Edited November 28, 2021 by Rudolph

[Edward850]

They kind of are. Doom 2016 is sort of like Doom and Quake in a blender. Doom Eternal meanwhile is evolved Doom 2016 but hyper focused on the verticality and meta game. Eternal forces you to play like it's a 2016 speedrun.

 

Put simply, the correct answer is to buy Doom64.

[Teo Slayer]

Buy whichever you like the most

[spwnSH4Rk]

41 minutes ago, Lizardcommando said:

I played Doom 2016 on my friend's PC. I had a pretty great time with it. Is the gameplay vastly different between the two games? 

The feel is quite different. If you like 2016, why not finish it? Its an amazing game, and I personally prefer it over Eternal, even tho that game is quite great in its own right. 2016 has that darker, grittier, gorier feeling to it. Eternal feels more like a gauntlet, its less dark feeling, and focuses more on the combat mechanics and weapon swapping specifics than 2016. 

[Midnight_00]

no

[DaAndroid614]

i got doom eternal on switch, and in my opinion, it's a bit like SNES doom;
it's very impressive that it runs on the hardware at all, but it's a pretty lackluster way to play the game

i didn't get the switch version of 2016, but its gameplay is much less relentless then eternal, so i'd imagine it's hurt less from the 30fps cap

[TheMagicMushroomMan]

I perfer 2016 myself. However, you should support Edward's hard work and buy DOOM 64 (or Quake) instead.

[Astronomical]

Doom 64, like it's the best option, it's the cheapest of the 3, and my favorite of them.

[Lizardcommando]

I went ahead and bought Doom 2016. I just wish there was a way to play as the classic version of Doomguy in it lol.

[D4NUK1]

I would go with Eternal because i like it more. And i feel it's got more sustain and variety of levels and weapons that Doom 2016. Also it's more Arcade so it's more fast-paced and fun.

[Cruduxy Pegg]

2 hours ago, Lizardcommando said:

I went ahead and bought Doom 2016. I just wish there was a way to play as the classic version of Doomguy in it lol.

Meanwhile Eternal has both the classic costume from Doom 1 and Doom 2 :P.

[Lizardcommando]

True lol. I suppose I will wait for the next sale to buy Doom Eternal.

[SMG_Man]

Doom 2016 and Eternal are both really good purchases imo. 2016's combat and level layouts really do feel more like a "doom if it was released today" kind of thing (in a good way), while Eternal's combat mechanics (re: lack of ammo) demand a more specific playstyle and level layouts are generally more linear. In a perfect world, I'd be able to back-port some of Eternal's improvements to 2016 and have a game perfect to my tastes, but oh well. I'd lean more towards 2016 if you're only getting one for now, and consider Eternal if you find yourself wanting more modern Doom.

 

As for Eternal's DLC, I'm honestly not a big fan of it. The levels themselves are really cool aesthetically and Hulshult's OST is a great companion to it, but the new enemies are a bit... I dunno the right word for it, kind of "hamfisted" in their implementation? Also, the finale boss fights in both parts were a bit lame in my opinion. I'd only recommend it if you *really* like the minutiae of Eternal's combat rather than the kinds of free form fights in 2016.

[Kute]

Doom Eternal is a much better game and it leaves all the other modern single-player FPS for dead

 

Bursting into an ice bomb is the most fun gunplay possible.

 

It's got quite a learning curve because it doesn't play like anything else. Watch some zeromaster videos or someone like that if you want to see what a top tier player can make of the game, it's an artform. Fuck having to switch grenades though, what a stupid, stupid ui choice that is.

 

2016 is very solid but without Eternal's antics it feels a little underwhelming now.

 

With that said, no modern shooter will have the longevity of Doom 1/2.

[TuomasGaming]

DOOM Eternal is a lot more fast-paced. Quite hard at times.

Spoiler

Also, the DE community ain't the greatest most of the time...

 

DOOM 2016 feels more like classic DOOM. Not as fast as DE, but action is still bloody great.

[Chezza]

On 11/29/2021 at 8:22 AM, Lizardcommando said:

I went ahead and bought Doom 2016. I just wish there was a way to play as the classic version of Doomguy in it lol.

I think you made the right choice.

 

In saying that, I love Doom Eternal and like it more than Doom 2016. But as @Edward850 said Doom Eternal dials it up to 11 with difficulty, mechanics and lore. It's as if the developers were so hyper focused on getting the meta perfect (which they did a brilliant job) that they ignored or sacrificed the pacing / learning curve. You play by Eternal's rules, which is specific weapons for specific heavy enemies, lots of weapon quick-switching for maximum damage and a requiring you use all the tools in your arsenal less you run out of ammo and die quickly.

 

Also I'm going to assume the Switch has a skill cap with its controls, which I'd imagine would be more fairer and enjoyable with Doom 2016.

Edited November 30, 2021 by Chezza

[Cruduxy Pegg]

56 minutes ago, Chezza said:

Also I'm also going to assume the Switch has a skill cap with its controls, which I'd imagine would be more fairer and enjoyable with Doom 2016.

I tried Doom 2 yesterday to see how much of a difference the controller makes. I don't think I've ever taken this much damage in years in these maps lol. Didn't have control confusion in ages on keyboard/mouse so it is kinda refreshing to remember how ruthless the games can be to a "beginner".

[Kute]

5 hours ago, Pegg said:

I tried Doom 2 yesterday to see how much of a difference the controller makes. I don't think I've ever taken this much damage in years in these maps lol. Didn't have control confusion in ages on keyboard/mouse so it is kinda refreshing to remember how ruthless the games can be to a "beginner".

 

Doom Eternal is the catalyst for me making some nice spending money.

 

I had it on PS4, but FPS are unplayable with a controller. So in January, I upgraded my PC. I randomly tried mining ethereum with my modest gtx 1660, and kind of got hooked on that.

 

So now I have 6 GPU's making 30 bucks a day, and the whole operation has been paid off for a few months.

 

I figure I'll make like 10 large by July or whenever Eth 2.0 hits and supposedly wrecks GPU mining.

 

I've seen a few guys on youtube who are absolute monsters with a controller though. SMVR? I think that's his name? It blows my mind how well he plays. I'd definitely play it on PS5/4 or one of the x-boxes before I'd play on Switch though.

 

[Lizardcommando]

7 hours ago, Pegg said:

I tried Doom 2 yesterday to see how much of a difference the controller makes. I don't think I've ever taken this much damage in years in these maps lol. Didn't have control confusion in ages on keyboard/mouse so it is kinda refreshing to remember how ruthless the games can be to a "beginner".

 

I managed to play through all of Doom 2 on the Nintendo Switch Lite (including MAP31 and 32) on Hurt Me Plenty and I also ended up getting my ass kicked quite a bit. The controls were a bit wonky at times and there was maybe one or two sections that I had a ton of difficulty on (there was a part in MAP15 where you had to strafe run just at the right angle to get the red key). The Icon of Sin was weirdly more difficult too. I don't think I had as much trouble playing it on the old, old Doom 95 port and even on the original XBox port from the Doom 3: BFG Edition.

 

As for my current experiences with Doom 2016 goes, I'm really liking it so far. The controls aren't too bad and it really is impressive how smooth it runs and even how it looks considering how lightweight the Switch Lite is compared to other consoles. Too bad multiplayer seems to be dead. I played a few rounds with bots and it's not too bad. It feels a bit like Quake 3: Arena with how fast the players move around.

Spoiler

I just got to the part where you finally catch up to Olivia Pierce before she jumps into the portal to Hell. Is it ever explained why Samuel Hayden is a robot? Also, is Doom 3 and its expansion pack supposed to be canonical to this game?

 

Hmm, I just realized that maybe this thread should have been posted in the console Doom ports section...

[Cruduxy Pegg]

31 minutes ago, Lizardcommando said:

 

I managed to play through all of Doom 2 on the Nintendo Switch Lite (including MAP31 and 32) on Hurt Me Plenty and I also ended up getting my ass kicked quite a bit. The controls were a bit wonky at times and there was maybe one or two sections that I had a ton of difficulty on (there was a part in MAP15 where you had to strafe run just at the right angle to get the red key). The Icon of Sin was weirdly more difficult too. I don't think I had as much trouble playing it on the old, old Doom 95 port and even on the original XBox port from the Doom 3: BFG Edition.

 

Yeah I don't think you can do "exploits" like sr40 unless you swap to buttons, but trying to hold those on the joycon for long to do sr40 sounds like hell lol. And it is harder to aim without a mouse so it might not be as useful to kill hordes anyway. I think I took more damage in the first 6 maps on the switch than I did playing UV Doom 2 in the past decade tbh lol, and I wasn't even on UV after seeing how... wild it can be.

[Jaccident]

2 hours ago, Lizardcommando said:

Is it ever explained why Samuel Hayden is a robot?

Yeah, it’s in a codex entry later in the game. The codex entries are fun if you actually want to learn about the lore, but it’s not intrusive, which I very much like.

[Edward850]

2 hours ago, Lizardcommando said:

Also, is Doom 3 and its expansion pack supposed to be canonical to this game?

Seemingly not in the slightest, but the question is not without merit. The developers admitted that Doom 2016 seemed to come out as more stylistically connected to Doom 3 than expected.

Spoiler

It has more to do with Doom 64, though 2016 is subtle about it, while Eternal is a bit more direct. The "story" of Doom 64's expansion was designed with Doom 2016 in mind, though prior to our knowledge of Eternal, we didn't know a thing about it despite developing it along side.

 

[Quasar]

5 hours ago, Edward850 said:

Seemingly not in the slightest, but the question is not without merit. The developers admitted that Doom 2016 seemed to come out as more stylistically connected to Doom 3 than expected.

  Hide contents

It has more to do with Doom 64, though 2016 is subtle about it, while Eternal is a bit more direct. The "story" of Doom 64's expansion was designed with Doom 2016 in mind, though prior to our knowledge of Eternal, we didn't know a thing about it despite developing it along side.

 

This is why I wrote the ending to The Lost Levels in a very non-committal way, which some people were unhappy with-

Spoiler

(they expected an end scene with art showing the Doomguy arriving on Sentinel Prime, lulz)

 

[Zero Master's Clone]

On 11/28/2021 at 2:11 PM, Lizardcommando said:

Is the gameplay vastly different between the two games? 

I read a youtube comment that basically explained the difference

it went something like this

" DOOM 2016 is like taking a walk through hell while DOOM Eternal is a meth fueled sprint through hell"

Edited November 30, 2021 by Zero Master's Clone

[Wavy]

Out of the two, I'd recommend Doom Eternal. The gameplay IMO is less repetitive and just more fun generally. It also runs at a consistent 30FPS on the Switch, but Doom 2016 runs at 30FPS but can lower in the more intensive moments or playing on higher difficulties.

 

And if you have some spare cash, you should also support Nightdive Studios by buying one of their ports if you haven't yet. Doom 64, Quake, Strive VE, Turok, just any of them really. They're all worth it.

[Oday]

Of course 2016. Unless you didn't want to know where the, "Doomguy" came from after the classics and how it started all over again.

[Muusi]

Even though the monster designs are ugly, Doom 2016 i feel is closer to classic Doom. But then there's also the actual Classic Doom. Get those instead, 64 included and while you're at it, buy the whole Nightdive catalogue!