"Doom Eternal" is the first game in the series without an online deathmatch mode, which is notable because "Doom" pioneered the deathmatch mode. But pioneer or not, "Doom 2016" did not set the world on fire with its use of this format, and in an interview with Shacknews, Bethesda VP Pete Hines explained the new game's lack of this mode well.

"The biggest problem we thought we had with 'Doom 2016' was that (the multiplayer) wasn't done in id and felt really disconnected from the base game that everyone loved. 'We want everyone to feel like they're playing the same game, whether they're playing alone or with others. In single-player, you're a badass demon slayer, but when you go to multiplayer, there are no daemons and it's just a death match. I don't know what that has to do with 'Doom,' but that's what it was decades ago, so why not do it again?"

Hines also said that the mode is "decades old" and that Bethesda and id Software did not want to include deathmatch as a matter of course.

The world is awash in popular deathmatch modes, and the pace of modern Doom feels somewhat incompatible with the rigid man-versus-man format. Why lob rockets at a Doom Guy of a different color when you can brutally pull a giant eye out of a pain elemental?"

Doom Eternal's battle mode is an asymetrical 1 vs. 2 format that pits two demons against a Doom Guy, which is far more in keeping with modern Doom's taste match.

Whether it's any good, though, remains to be seen: James' review of Doom Eternal was glowing, but he only focused on the single-player portion. We'll have more thoughts on the battle mode later.