DOOM's campaign was generally very well received. On the contrary, its multiplayer modes didn't fare so well. As the game's Executive Producer Marty Stratton says, " it didn’t have any of the components of DOOM that people loved from the campaign. It didn’t have the slayer or demons in a meaningful way. It just kind of fell flat". The result is the creation of Battlemode for DOOM Eternal, a new 2v1 battle between demons and the DOOM Slayer. As Stratton confirmed to IGN, this mode will be the game's primary multiplayer mode and there won't be a "traditional multiplayer mode".
The mode has been developed internally to be everything players want DOOM to be all about. A single DOOM Slayer armed with a full arsenal of weapons takes on a duo of demons, who could range from the Revenant to the Mancubus. Each demon has unique abilities, movements, and attacks, and they can also spawn AI reinforcements. The result is that both teams are relying on strategy rather than twitch reflexes, as Creative Director Hugo Martin explains:
We couldn’t figure out a way of introducing another slayer to the experience without it just becoming twitch skills vs twitch skills, which is what we did last time. If we go head to head as two slayers — if your twitch skills are better than mine, I can’t overcome that. But with demons, I can overcome someone's twitch skills with strategy and teamwork, and in that was the spark.
You'll be able to try out the new mode when DOOM Eternal arrives on November 22nd. Will you miss the traditional deathmatch experience?
We've got the full list of DOOM Eternal achievements - check the list for guides to unlocking them.