The past few days have been big for Doom Eternal, which is why it may be surprising to see the game is being review-bombed. Not long ago, it revealed images of its upcoming DLC, while a new update added more enemies to Doom Eternal, among other things. And therein lies the reason many PC gamers have taken to the Steam page to vent about the game.
It's worth describing that review bombing is not necessarily a bad thing, but neither is it a good thing. Doom Eternal players simply know no other way to let how they feel be known than through the bottomline of the game, and many of the review bombs that have cropped up draw attention to this fact. Many say that the game is as fun as ever, but one key change turns them away from the experience.
Specifically, Bethesda snuck in the Denuvo anti-cheat system into the game with the latest update. This anti-cheat system is a kernel mode driver that launches alongside Doom Eternal and closes whenever it is exited. It is GDPR compliant and shouldn't have access to personal information, but gives ring 0 access to someone's OS. This system is always active alongside Doom Eternal as well, even when just enjoying the game's single player mode.
The patch went live on May 14, received 1200 negative reviews on May 15, and has continued this trend throughout the day. There's been enough to drop Doom Eternal's rating from Very Positive to Mixed. Many accuse the Denuvo anti-cheat system of effectively being spyware, which isn't all too different from what's been going on with Valorant. Its anti-cheat system is an invasive, always-on system that did not land well with many in the online community either.
Fans of any game do not have to look far to know cheating has to be put to a stop, as Call of Duty: Warzone has even taken actions against cheaters. However, Warzone specifically targeted cheaters instead of requiring an invasive fix on all players. It is a little different, of course, but many question how wise Doom Eternal's anti-cheat efforts are. Based on this review bombing, it's clear that many fans aren't happy with Bethesda right now.
DOOM Eternal is available now for PC, PS4, Stadia, Switch, and Xbox One.