Last weekend’s QuakeCon hosted our first epic look at Doom Eternal, with around 20 minutes of gameplay footage. The video showed new enemies such as the Arachnotron and Arch-Vile, new weapons such as a double-barreled shotgun with a grappling hook attachment, and new locations such as Phobos (the setting for Doom 1 and Doom 3), Hell on Earth, and a different dimension that may or may not be the Doom version of Heaven.
There were many surprises, but something that caught many by surprise was a pick-up item Doom Guy finds in the video, a yellow orb that, when taken, showed the words “Extra Life.” This is a rather retro concept in videogames, which even Mario finally did away with in Super Mario Odyssey. This was also a shock because the Doom series has never had extra lives, not even the classic games. The last id Software shooter to have them was Doom‘s predecessor Wolfenstein 3D. So, why are they in Doom Eternal?
VG247 spoke to Executive Producer Marty Stratton, and he told them that these extra lives are, “just like our checkpoint system.” The game does still have regular checkpoints like in Doom 2016, but now you don’t have to go all the way back to the checkpoint if you have an extra life.
So, essentially, an extra life allows players to return to life in the same encounter rather than have it reset. It seems unusual to have these in a game like Doom Eternal which thrives on intense combat, but they’re designed to help with the game’s new Dark Souls-like player invasions.
Creative Director Hugo Martin says, “It still counts as a death, but yeah, you don’t get penalized by going back, you can continue where you left off. It’s a fun gameplay loop and it’s a proven gameplay loop – it’s a safety net you’ve provided for yourself.”
