The newest installment in the storied franchise, DOOM Eternal, is coming November of this year. The shooter series has been pillar of the gaming world for a long time and, if anything, it’s hotter than ever as the last installment (2016’s DOOM) revived it with a vengeance and the followup is promising a refined version of that. What has allowed it stay so relevant through the years? Well, much like the games themselves, it’s deceptively simple.
In an interview with VGC, Executive Producer Marty Stratton and Eternal Creative Director Hugo Martin talked about the series and why it’s been able to survive from generation to generation. While there are several reasons you can look at, Stratton pointed to the simple reason of the way the franchise had evolved the Doom Slayer into the natural good vs evil theme of blasting demons as a one man force for good.
“I think probably the greatest part of working on Doom and the reason that it’s stayed so relevant is because what we’ve done with the Slayer and what he represents is so universally fun,” said Stratton. “The power fantasy of the game, the good versus evil eternal fight against demons… it’s a very universal feeling, of wanting to be a badass superhero. Keeping it relevant for today’s audience from a gameplay and technical point of view… it’s a lot of work.”
No doubt, it is a simple idea but one that works, and no doubt it’ll work again to great effect when DOOM Eternal launches November 22nd for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, Stadia, and PC.