As a kid, I would sometimes play a little game with myself. I grew up in the suburbs, where nothing was ever particularly exciting or dangerous, and so to give myself a thrill while walking home, I'd pretend as if I were being chased by a murderer. Despite being a figment of my imagination, the thought of the pursuer nipping at my heels would send me into a frenzied dash for home. My chest would feel tight, my palms would sweat. I wouldn't dare turn around, because to do so would be to confront certain death.
This is precisely what it's like to play Doom Eternal on higher difficulties, only this frightening experience eventually leads to a different type of relief. It's not that of escape as you safely make it inside your front door, but the type of relief you get by eviscerating a ton of demons in the most brutal way possible.
I loved 2016's Doom, but I would always make a plea to anyone I recommended it to: Give it a real chance on a harder difficulty, specifically Ultra-Violence. I'm not the sort of person who thinks you never really played Halo if you didn't beat it on Legendary, but harder difficulties in Doom emphasized the frantic combat and constant movement that distinguished it from most other shooters. You were never safe and had to keep moving to survive, carefully picking your spots to engage or pull off a Glory Kill to restore your health.
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