id Software's Doom Eternal is one of the best-looking shooters ever made. Powered by the id Tech 7 engine, the game delivers even higher resolution textures, more complex environments and a tight lock on its target 60 frames per second. It's also built from the ground up for the Vulkan low-level graphics API, meaning that in theory, it's a match made in heaven for Google's Stadia - a system that focuses on Linux and Vulkan for its technological backbone. However, after putting some time into the game, it's disappointing overall - at the most basic level, lag makes the Doom Eternal experience a good deal worse than any other platform.
There are advantages though, of course. Taking Xbox One X as an example, you have a 41GB download to get through before you can pick up your controllers. Stadia's cloud-based set-up means that the process of getting your hands on the game is instantaneous. But in the case of Doom Eternal, that's where the plus points for gaming at Stadia come to an end.
In assessing this port, we're pursuing our usual strategy of running the game with the best quality set-up. That means we're using the Stadia controller connected directly to Google's servers via WiFi, with imagery delivered via Chromecast Ultra to an LG OLED B8, rated for 22ms of lag under Game Mode. A 300mbps Virgin Media fibre connection, with the Chromecast attached via Ethernet removes any home WiFi-related latency that might occur, while our lag measurements were carried out with no other devices sharing the line. Pulling up the Stadia connection tab, our set-up is rated as excellent with 4K enabled. Despite this, there are still some minor, very infrequent stutters in performance.
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