The final chapter of the DOOM Eternal storyline has finally arrived in the form of the game's last DLC expansion, DOOM Eternal: The Ancient Gods - Part 2. This completes the highly influential DOOM saga as it stands today, with the DOOM Slayer heading into the deepest part of Hell to confront the Devil himself.
With the DOOM Eternal story now finished, it's the perfect time for players to reflect on the missions across the game and its expansions. Most of them were fantastic and are worth highlighting, but there were undoubtedly a few less-than-stellar battles in the game too, which are worth calling out.
Best: Hell On Earth (DOOM Eternal)
Four years after DOOM (2016) blew up the FPS genre once again (yet staggeringly didn't receive any story DLC), DOOM Eternal blasted right out of the gate with one of the series' best levels. It starts with an incredibly epic opening where it is revealed that, despite the player's best efforts in the first game, Hell has indeed made it to Earth.
Things ramp up quickly despite the player's lack of weapons, as the level quickly introduces classic enemies such as the Arachnotron while showing off the gorgeous devastated cityscape, before ending with the suspicious suggestion that a third of your goals are done. The rest won't come so easily.
Worst: Reclaimed Earth (Ancient Gods Part 2)
While there's nothing particularly awful about the second mission of The Ancient Gods - Part 2, considering it's the penultimate area of possibly the entire DOOM saga, there's nothing standout about it either. In this mission, Earth is being reclaimed by vegetation after the near-destruction of the planet in DOOM Eternal, which results in an environment that's more than a little boring to look at and play in.
Other than some neat demon encounters there's nothing truly exciting about "Reclaimed Earth." Furthermore, the abundance of demons here really makes no sense considering the whole point of the level is that it's set on Earth after the demons have left.
Best: Immora (Ancient Gods Part 2)
The final full level of the entire DOOM series isn't necessarily the best designed or the most complex, but it's certainly the most epic. Set in the final city of Hell, the stronghold of the Dark Lord himself, the level would be incredible enough with just the DOOM Slayer fighting to breach the citadel of the Devil on his own.
Then the unthinkable happens, and for the first time in DOOM history, the armies of Earth arrive and the player isn't fighting Hell alone. So while the player is slaying demons an entire Lord of the Rings-style battle is going on in the background. It's an epic way to finish the series.
Worst: Taras Nabad (DOOM Eternal)
In general, the missions set in the DOOM version of Heaven are not the finest levels in DOOM Eternal and its expansions. Compared to Hell, Mars, or Earth, the Heaven levels are generally drabber to look at and often contain a lot more platforming sections.
The final Heaven level "Sentinel Prime" is saved thanks to an epic boss encounter with the Khan Maykr, but Taras Nabad is a far more straightforward mission - albeit one with an unreasonable level of difficulty in parts. Despite featuring the first appearance of the classic Arch-Vile enemy, Taras Nabad is mostly forgettable.
Best: Super Gore Nest (DOOM Eternal)
The Earth-set level "Super Gore Nest" was shown off in many pre-release gameplay videos, mostly because it contains many intense firefights over some of the best-designed arenas in the DOOM series. All of the level's locations look like they've been overgrown with flesh and are truly disgusting, and all offer many imaginative ways of getting around.
One of the best areas is wall-to-wall meat, teeth hammers striking from the ceiling, secret flesh wall openings, and teleporters to create a small organic labyrinth. The whole level feels like you're fighting in the stomach of a huge monster, and that's as terrifying as it is entertaining.
Worst: Sentinel Prime (DOOM Eternal)
It's almost unfair to call "Sentinel Prime" the worst level DOOM has ever produced, as it's not meant to be a thrill-ride like most of DOOM Eternal's missions. It's mostly a lore-only stage revolving around revelations about the DOOM Slayer, so if players aren't engaging with DOOM Eternal's story then this level will be an absolute bore.
"Sentinel Prime" contains almost no enemies other than a small boss encounter, which is challenging but isn't quite epic enough to make up for having a DOOM level with basically no demons to fight.
Best: UAC Atlantica Facility (Ancient Gods Part 1)
The opening level of the first DOOM Eternal expansion is set on a base in the middle of a turbulent ocean and is one of the most imaginative and exciting missions in the game. It also wastes no time establishing the difficulty ramp-up The Ancient Gods Part 1 is infamous for since it throws players into one of the toughest levels in the game.
Platforming puzzles, intense firefights in small (but well-designed) areas, a huge stretch of walkway belying just how big the level is, then just when the player doesn't expect it to get more interesting, the level switches to a battle on the ocean floor.
Worst: The Holt (Ancient Gods Part 1)
There is nothing truly bad about "The Holt," the final level of The Ancient Gods - Part 1 DLC. It's still a solid and intense bout of demon-slaying with well-designed arenas, for the most part.
Unfortunately, it's also an annoying, fiddly, and occasionally confusing level, with a level of difficulty so high that developer id Software actually had to tone it down for The Ancient Gods - Part 2. Worse still, the final boss battle against Samur/Seraphim is one of the least interesting fights in DOOM history, set within a deeply unimaginative arena featuring boxes that rise up and down out of the ground.
Best: Final Sin (DOOM Eternal)
The final level and subsequent boss battle of DOOM Eternal is one of the most exciting, taxing, epic, and overwhelming finales in the history of video games. The first half of the mission involves the player bouncing between skyscrapers, taking out monsters in and on top of every building, all while the gigantic Icon of Sin stomps down the block smashing those towers that have been left behind.
Then players finally get to the Icon itself and face one of the best boss battles in the DOOM series. A deeply cinematic end to a fantastic game.
Worst: The Dark Lord (Ancient Gods Part 2)
While technically part of "Immora," the final level of DOOM Eternal: The Ancient Gods - Part 2 (and so the finale of the entire DOOM saga) is positioned as its own mission, so has to be judged as such. No matter what the player's opinions on the fight against the Dark Lord, having the final mission of the DOOM series be entirely a boss battle is greatly disappointing.
What's worse is how repetitive the Dark Lord boss is. It's essentially one long Marauder fight, which already seems ill-advised given the Marauder enemy type isn't seen as the most popular. The Dark Lord can only be damaged at certain points, and if he hits the player he'll get back a large chunk of his health. The battle has five stages and all five play pretty similarly, with no massive difference between them. All in all, it was a bit of a disappointing finish.