DOOM Eternal | VGC Score 85

Screenshots & trailers

What players say

Why the number is what it is: aspect mentions counted across 389 sampled Steam reviews (335 positive / 54 negative), recent and most-helpful. Plain keyword counting, fully reproducible; nothing here is written by a machine.

What positive reviews talk about

Performance13% mention it
Music & audio12% mention it
Story & writing9% mention it
Combat7% mention it
Visuals & art7% mention it

What negative reviews complain about

Story & writing11% mention it
Combat11% mention it
Difficulty & balance9% mention it
Bugs & crashes9% mention it
Controls & UI9% mention it

Satisfaction by hours played

Same score, different games: see how sentiment holds up the longer people play.

Under 5h

65%

65 reviews

5-15h

84%

102 reviews

15-40h

94%

141 reviews

40-100h

90%

63 reviews

100h+

100%

18 reviews

Review sentiment over time

Weekly positive-review rate (green) and review volume (bars). Dashed lines mark significant patches; the amber line is the start of the current scoring window. Hover the dots to see what drove a dip or a jump.

How this score was computed

The VGC Score is a weighted blend on a press-comparable 0-100 quality scale. Steam approval rates are first calibrated (95% positive on Steam ≈ 89.5 quality, since Steam approval skews high). Press and tracked creator reviews each count ~2x a player review and share one cap against player evidence (creator buy/skip calls pool into an approval rate, calibrated like Steam approval); all-time sentiment is capped and halved (it's context, not verdict); reviews of the current build carry the most weight when a fresh patch anchors the window; and a 'typical game' prior keeps small samples from pegging the scale. Because press reviews and Metacritic user aggregates describe the launch build, their weight decays as the game ages (3-year half-life after a 1-year grace). That's how a game that launched rough can outgrow its old reception once updates win players over. Reviews under 2h playtime (the refund window), non-Steam activations, and free copies are downweighted.

Component	Positive	Quality (0-100)	Weight (pseudo-reviews)
Press reviews (OpenCritic)	–	89	57
Creator reviews (7 tracked)	–	87	4
All-time Steam reviews	91%	86	1337
Metacritic user ratings	–	90	213
Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted)	90%	84	3000
Calibration prior (typical game)	–	72	50

Scoring window: since the last significant patch (Aug 8, 2024) · 300 reviews sampled · 28216 total reviews in window · weighted 221.4 up / 19.4 down · computed 1h ago · full methodology →

Press & Creators reviews (233)

Individual verdicts from outlets we track: scored reviews first, most trusted outlets first among them. The small badge is each outlet's trust score: how well its scoring history aligns with players.

50
Stryftek
trust 70CreatorFeb 8, 2021
read full review ↗
90
TheReviewGeek
trust 69Apr 2, 2020
“Doom Eternal is a bloody good game. It’s a violent, gory, adrenaline-soaked descent into the hellish depths of your nightmare but it does so with such finesse and style that it’s easy to forget how well-designed and complex this game actually is. Between the 12 hour campaign, the plethora of collectables and the evolving combat that organically adds layers of challenge over time, Doom Eternal is hands down one of the best first person shooters of 2020 and, dare I say, a top contender for game of the year.”
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100
INDIANTVCZ
trust 69Mar 23, 2020
“DOOM Eternal is the culmination the 20 years of FPS shooting game design. It offers an intense and mainly original action experience. It is also a game that is not unnecessarily massive and offers a comprehensive package of challenges for which everyone will find time and have a pleasant time during playing. It offers even more difficulty options for those who are willing to pass through more than one hell gate. In addition, it offers rewarding gameplay, excellent audio-visual and perfect optimization. This is a masterpiece in the field of FPS games.”
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90
GameMAG
trust 69Mar 17, 2020
“Doom Eternal is all about luxury fights, incredible graphics, gorgeous landscapes, interesting levels, a powerful soundtrack and a complex lore that will really surprise the fans. id Software reminded us of what a proper single-player shooter is. The project only lacks an interconnected world and a variety of real bosses. May be we can get this in the next game?”
read full review ↗
80
3DNews
trust 69Mar 17, 2020
“DOOM Eternal is, probably, the fastest and most brutal shooter on the market. But reworked combat system, a lot of (not so fluent) platforming elements and some other small issues here and there are keeping the sequel from beating the almost perfect DOOM 2016.”
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70
Slant Magazine
trust 68Mar 19, 2020
“There's something primal and thrilling to id Software's further embrace of video-gamey conventions.”
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90
Gaming Professors
trust 68Apr 10, 2021
“It's not for nothing that Doom Eternal is one of the best shooters of recent years. In addition to a perfect story campaign, it also offers a fast-paced, fast-paced gameplay, which is enhanced by a beautiful graphic coat and a synthetic, predatory and musically charged soundtrack by Mick Gordon. You'll equally appreciate the excellent firearms arsenal, in which every weapon has its use on the battlefield, the elaborate locations, and the plethora of diverse, perfectly designed monsters whose elimination through the brutal but playful and occasionally humorous Glory Killy you'll truly enjoy. This is a modern shooter, as it should be.”
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90
Jump Dash Roll
trust 68Mar 19, 2020
“Gory and gorgeous, Doom Eternal has upped the ante with a more thoughtful approach to its fast-paced combat.”
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90
PLAY Zine
trust 67Mar 22, 2020
“After the successful entry to the DOOM franchise with DOOM (2016) id Software just couldn't surprise us that much. And they probably didn't want (or need) to - they just upgraded every aspect of the game for a little bit, making it that much fun, entertaining and brutal. The gameplay is probably one of the best we have played in a while - fluid and engaging, forcing the player to continuously fight the hordes of evil (with the new batch of demons from the original DOOM from the '90s of course). The story is, on the other hand, a complete mess and platforming elements not the strongest point for id Software.”
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80
FourFaceButtons
trust 67CreatorApr 13, 2020
“While Doom Eternal feels like one step forward and two steps back, it still sets a high bar and remains a gold standard for first person shooters.”
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80
Paste Magazine
trust 67Mar 17, 2020
“I ran, I jumped, I killed. And I died. A lot. And these days, that's enough.”
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90
Fun Factor
trust 67Mar 26, 2020
“DOOM Eternal is an upgrade of its predecessor in every aspect. The violent and energetic combat encounters at the sound of Mick Gordon's tracks are as fun as they are satisfying. Few games have left me this exhausted (in a good way) as DOOM Eternal. And after I finished it, I asked for more. It's without a doubt in my mind one of the best first person shooters of this generation, and a strong candidate for game of the year.”
read full review ↗

…and 221 more tracked reviews.

Patch history

PC Mods Update
Aug 7, 2025
DOOM Eternal: PC Mod Preview
Aug 8, 2024significant · resets scoring window
Update 6.66 Rev 3 Release Notes
Aug 8, 2024
Update 6.66 Rev 2.2 Release Notes
Sep 5, 2023
Update 6.66 Rev 2 Release Notes
Apr 26, 2022significant · resets scoring window
Update 6.66 Rev 1.1 Release Notes
Jan 25, 2022
Update 6.66 Rev 1 Release Notes
Nov 18, 2021significant · resets scoring window
Update 6.66 Release Notes
Oct 26, 2021significant · resets scoring window
Update 6.4 Release Notes
Sep 14, 2021significant · resets scoring window
Update 6.3 Release Notes
Aug 18, 2021
Update 6.2 Release Notes
Aug 3, 2021significant · resets scoring window
Update 6.1 Release Notes
Jul 14, 2021significant · resets scoring window
DOOM Eternal - Update 6 Release Notes
Jun 29, 2021significant · resets scoring window
June 1 Cosmetic-only Update
Jun 1, 2021significant · resets scoring window
DOOM Eternal: The Ancient Gods - Part Two & Update 5 Release Notes
Mar 18, 2021significant · resets scoring window
DOOM Eternal Update 4.1 Patch Notes
Dec 9, 2020significant · resets scoring window
DOOM Eternal Update 4 Patch Notes
Dec 1, 2020significant · resets scoring window
DOOM Eternal: The Ancient Gods - Part One - Update 3.1
Oct 23, 2020
DOOM Eternal: The Ancient Gods - Part One & Update 3 Release Notes
Oct 20, 2020significant · resets scoring window
Update 2.1 Patch Notes
Aug 4, 2020significant · resets scoring window
DOOM Eternal Update 2
Jun 25, 2020significant · resets scoring window
DOOM Eternal Update 1.1 Patch Notes
May 27, 2020significant · resets scoring window
BATTLEMODE Party Matchmaking Hotfix
May 15, 2020
DOOM Eternal Update 1
May 14, 2020significant · resets scoring window
DOOM Eternal - Day 5 PC Patch
Mar 25, 2020
New Small Game Patch - 3/22
Mar 22, 2020
DOOM Eternal - Day 2 PC patch release notes
Mar 21, 2020
DOOM Eternal - FAQ and Known Issues Version 2.13
Mar 18, 2020significant · resets scoring window