We all know that both of these games have already been reviewed to the hilt by everyone. You don’t come here to find out if I think your favourite games are the best that ever was, you come here for something a little different. Although I was lucky enough to have the luxury of both from launch I’ve been buried in financial year end turmoil, only enjoying video games as a luxury when the network decided it couldn’t cope. A welcome momentary escape from lock-down as much as is possible just like all of us. Both games are from entirely different genres, developers and aimed at different markets. Lets compare them for kicks then shall we?
The closest to an anesthetic
You might not think it but DOOM has a really cathartic sense to it. The soundtrack shakes loose your muscles and the gameplay keeps you engaged throughout. Doom Eternal is far too annoying for that feeling to take hold for more than a fleeting moment. Balancing ammo and skills on any difficulty is just a faff. The platforming is functional but bloody annoying and results in a lot of level design sending you the wrong way. Animal Crossing on the other hand is so ridiculously chilled out from start to finish. The Switch has been sat next to me most of the week, simply idle with my villager sitting on a bench because it’s so soothing.
Winner – Animal Crossing: New Horizons
The most caffeinated experience
Although running from a wasp in New Horizons is still as terrifying as it always was (and the less said about Spiders the better) the whole experience for Animal Crossing is designed to be a less worrying affair. Try not to think about that one person on social media banging out a recreation of Mordor in a week, you do you and because of that the experience is less intense and more a peaceful walk. Doom Eternal is less about the experience and more the powerful punches it doesn’t hold back at all. The soundtrack packs a massive punch and leaves you spinning. There’s a lot more techno this time around but with enough pounding thrash metal to wake every cell in your mind and when the action heats up you can be sure you’ll be buzzing after.
Winner – Doom Eternal
The most like The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
You can’t ride a horse in Animal Crossing as that might be a little awkward given the animals around you are likely to be horses to. Still you can mix crafting items together at a station, you can explore and get lost in new areas and there’s definitely a dark undercurrent if you want to look into how some of the animals are treated. Don’t get it twisted, you can build a lovely garden full of flowers and wonder. You can also craft barbed wire and cover the ground in horror. Doom Eternal is obviously as brutal as Witcher 3 and the fact you’ll never get tired of glory killing demons really is testiment to how well that mechanic is made. The thing is it also has a ridiculous amount of side quest collectibles, challenges and enough to keep you going for much longer than the main game. The Doom Slayer would probably need a bath to..
Winner – Doom Eternal
The longest time spent staring at nothing questioning existence
To collect star parts for a wand in Animal Crossing New Horizons you need to see a shooting star and press A. This is not only a rare event in the sky that you don’t typically see but it relies on you paying attention. There is a lot to be said about how Animal Crossing makes the waiting and passing of time enjoyable to hide the amount of time used in any task. It’s not just the waiting though, a lot of the drawing and designing is just crafting for the sake of it. You spent 5 hours making that perfect cosplay outfit only to find someone online with a QR code did it better? Ah throw that 5 hour trash away and just chalk it up to experience. Doom Eternal however doesn’t hang around to ask these serious questions. I have however spent an hour circling around in a level just trying to find the next door and only twigged how long I’d wasted when the level finished and I looked at the time surprised. It’s just full of stunningly visceral graphics (even if a lot of them are at a distance) The lack of a DOOM clock probably helps.
Winner – Doom Eternal
The most tempting to cheat at
Doom Eternal is peppered with cheats throughout. A new kind of collectible that appear as retro style items and when you work hard to collect them you feel totally justified to use them. Thing is that’s only the trophies and achievements locked out. It can really open up the experience and make Doom Eternal really feel like DOOM again. The thing is with Doom Eternal it’s out there in the open, with Animal Crossing it’s just there, bubbling under the surface. Everything takes time and it’s just super easy to pop to an island and pick up literally everything you’re missing. When you start factoring the idea of a time skip to your paradise you’ll quickly stop planning on paying off your loan, you’ll be planning out the island layout. Who needs patience? I’ve a whibbly wobbly time machine!
Winner – Animal Crossing: New Horizons
Overall Winner – Doom Eternal
They’re both winners in my book and personally I’m finding myself playing a lot more Animal Crossing but a wins a win! Now enough of this, let’s go play some games! I mean you could punching a demon and ripping it to bits or just simply fishing right now…
If neither take your fancy here’s a nice list of things to get on with when instead.
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