Although id Software's Doom Eternal already has several gameplay trailers that show off the game's bloody combat and gorgeous graphics, a new trailer released today puts those other videos to shame. Running on a GeForce RTX 3080 Ti graphics card, the trailer's PC gameplay shows Doom Eternal in stunning 4K with ray tracing effects.
It's been over a year since Doom Eternal originally released, and although the game has next-gen versions currently in development, its visuals have scarcely been criticized. Considered one of 2020's best games by many critics and gamers, those who have played Doom Eternal typically love its graphics and the faithful visual enhancements it gives to classic enemies in the Doom franchise. But graphics benchmarks are always improving, and Doom Eternal in 4K with ray tracing tops any official gameplay players have seen yet to date.
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At the very beginning of the new Doom Eternal trailer, gamers can see some visual comparisons of the game with and without ray tracing effects. The video is posted by Nvidia and showcases the potential power of the soon-to-be-released GeForce RTX 3080 Ti, which will set gamers back $1200 at retail price if they can get one. After the comparison shots the trailer jumps right into gameplay, showing off a a variety of colorful explosions, slick environments, and brutal kill animations.
The player capturing the footage moves around quite a bit in some sections but the environments always look incredibly crisp. Besides all the blood that's spilled while killing demons, there is an abundance of red lighting that casts great reflections onto metal and glass surfaces with the ray tracing enhancements. But the kill animations are the best part. It's somehow even more satisfying to watch enemies like the Mancubus and Revenant get chainsawed in half in glorious 4K, or see a Dread Knight take a blade through the skull.
With official 4K footage of Doom Eternal now out there, it will probably have next-gen console owners excited. Although this trailer features PC gameplay footage, the PS5 and Xbox Series X are technically capable of playing games at 4K with ray tracing as well. Google originally promised Stadia owners that they would be able to play Doom Eternal at 4K upon its release, but it turned out that Doom Eternal wouldn't hit true 4K. Barring any developmental issues, next-gen console owners may get to experience native 4K gameplay soon.
Doom Eternal fans have even more to look forward to this year. The game already has Ancient Gods Parts 1 and 2 DLC, and executive producer Marty Stratton says there will be more Doom Eternal updates in 2021. Whether this will be additions to the game's multiplayer mode, new DLC, or the announcement of next-gen console release dates, fans will have to wait and see.
Doom Eternal is available now on PC, PlayStation 4, Stadia, and Xbox One with PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series console versions coming later this year.