Doom: The Dark Ages Review

If there’s 1 happening that’s kept the sanction Doom up adjacent the apical of the database of first-person shooters, it’s however it’s ever boldly reinventing being a badass, ace powered, one-man service against the armies of Hell. Three decades agone we got the archetypal old-school run-and-guns, past a jumpscare-laden fearfulness shooter, past a modern reimagining of the old-school run-and-gun, and a mobility-focused enactment shooter successful 2020’s Doom Eternal. The signifier that Doom: The Dark Ages takes connected is really 1 that is very different from Eternal, a crippled that I fertile arsenic 1 of my favourite shooters of each time. In fact, it’s truthful antithetic that initially I was turned disconnected by the heavier consciousness of the movement, the deficiency of a treble leap oregon airdash, and the sheer chaos of having wide-open fields with seemingly hundreds of enemies closing successful connected maine from each sides.

But a fewer hours into the 20+ hr campaign, my arsenal had expanded, the ways successful which I could dispatch enemies had diversified, and I’d started to amended recognize and admit what Doom: The Dark Ages was and what it wasn’t. By the extremity of it I was near grinning similar a Doomguy that conscionable picked up a Super Shotgun arsenic I ripped and tore until it was done

Doom: The Dark Ages’s run is each astir mounting up the acheronian sci-fi phantasy vibes. It follows our strong, (mostly) soundless Doom Slayer earlier helium was awoken successful a Sarcophagus successful a UAC abstraction presumption backmost successful Doom 2016. Of course, the Slayer himself isn’t overmuch much than conscionable a conveyance for badassery, truthful it’s not similar we’re seeing a caller broadside of him oregon getting immoderate benignant of deeper look astatine his character’s origins oregon motivations. Instead, The Dark Ages’ communicative is much astir filling successful the blanks successful the Doom universe, diving into the past of the struggle betwixt humans and demons, and further fleshing retired some the faction of humanity defending Sentinels and the deity-like Maykrs. And successful that way, it’s not lone serviceable, but it besides does a bully occupation of astatine slightest taking america to some a wide assortment of hellish landscapes that includes sci-fi themed medieval castles, and a precise invited travel to the Lovecraftian-inspired Cosmic Realm, which features a ton of truly chill caput bending puzzles and creepy settings that are antithetic from what we’ve seen before.

Perhaps the champion happening astir the communicative is that it nary longer feels similar it's conscionable the Slayer against the nameless forces of Hell. There are quality companions that are cardinal to the plot: it regularly feels similar you’re warring alongside humanity successful this elephantine all-out warfare against the demons, and there’s existent intrigue involving the mysterious Maykrs and their relation successful this full conflict. This is the strongest a Doom communicative has ever been, adjacent if that’s not a barroom you’d person to double-jump over.

Captain Doom Slayer

Besides the setting, the large happening that separates Doom: The Dark Ages from anterior entries successful the bid is the summation of the Slayer’s Shield, and each of the abilities that travel with it. Now, alternatively than being forced to debar taking harm by perpetually staying connected the determination and jumping astir similar a madman, you’re often encouraged to complaint consecutive guardant into information with your shield astatine the acceptable to either artifact oregon deflect force attacks. Any onslaught that is reddish tin beryllium blocked until your shield’s depleted, and thing that’s greenish tin beryllium reflected with a well-timed defender to not lone woody important damage, but besides stun astir monsters it hits. Even connected Nightmare difficulty, which is what I did my playthrough on, the parry timing is very generous, but fortunately you tin good tune it nevertheless you similar successful the menus, on with a ton of different useful trouble modifiers.

The different cardinal shield method is simply a charging bash onslaught that tin beryllium utilized to rapidly adjacent the region betwixt you and the enemy. Think the Super Shotgun’s grapple successful Doom Eternal, lone faster, you tin usage it with immoderate weapon, and it’s connected a comparatively speedy cooldown. This operation of being capable to usage the shield some defensively to artifact and stun, and past offensively to rapidly zip successful oregon out, is what truly elevates The Dark Ages’ combat to the stratosphere by making it inactive consciousness precise accelerated and breathtaking adjacent with the removal of things similar treble jumps, speedy dashes, and accelerated limb swaps. We get the champion of some worlds, successful that this Slayer is inactive highly mobile, but besides feels similar a heavy armored vessel acknowledgment to large footsteps and a shockwave erstwhile you onshore from a precocious jump.

The shield’s inferior doesn’t extremity there, either. Eventually, you’ll besides get the quality to flip the shield out, Captain America style, to instantly decapitate tons of fodder enemies astatine once. Or, if you usage it against larger enemies, it volition continuously buzzsaw into them, keeping them incapacitated for a abbreviated while. This is an highly utile skill, but I recovered this to beryllium particularly potent against the Arachnotron enemies that similar to capsicum maine with a changeless watercourse of non-refelctable bullets. If they’re unarmored, I tin conscionable flip my shield to halt them from shooting, dash in, and each it takes is simply a azygous ace shotgun blast to acceptable them for an execution.

Those abilities are cardinal to surviving pugnacious fights due to the fact that astir each force successful Doom: The Dark Ages has immoderate benignant of weakness similar this – and dissimilar Doom Eternal, they are seldom weapon-specific. There’s nary much switching to the combat shotgun specifically to popular a grenade into a Cacodemon’s mouth, past swapping to the firearm to snipe the guns disconnected a Revenant, past swapping betwixt shots of your ace shotgun and ballistae to rapidly burst down a Marauder oregon different large and beefy enemy, etc. That’s amusive successful its ain way, and I'm definite determination volition beryllium those retired determination similar myself who volition inactive similar it overall, but The Dark Ages inactive manages to find a mode to beryllium an implicit blast without requiring a StarCraft pro’s level of APM (Actions Per Minute) connected the harder difficulties.

The enemies are mostly the accustomed suspects that person been successful astir of the different Dooms, You’ve got your Imps, Hell Knights, the aforementioned Mancubi and Arachnotron, and adjacent the Cyberdemon, each of whom behave arsenic you’d expect. Others person gotten caller facelifts to amended lucifer with the caller setting, similar the Pinkie who’s present a equine with a demon archer riding him, and the caller Cacodemon that hails from the Cosmic Realm. The Dark Ages adjacent brings backmost the Vagary arsenic a mini-boss, who hasn’t been seen since Doom 3. Overall, there’s a bully assortment successful the enemies, and adjacent those you’ve fought a cardinal times earlier person a fewer caller tricks to marque them acceptable amended successful The Dark Ages’ combat.

Speaking of enemies, It’s worthy mentioning arsenic good that Id has exponentially jacked up the fig of on-screen nasties comparative to Doom oregon Eternal. When you get a bird’s-eye presumption of a battlefield, it genuinely looks similar all-out warfare against the minions of Hell. This did pb to a spot of vexation for maine aboriginal connected due to the fact that I was often getting attacked from down by enemies that would spawn successful without warning, but each it took was immoderate accommodation successful however I approached definite combat encounters. I had to marque definite that I utilized my shield basq2sh to disengage successful summation to engaging to support them disconnected my back.

One noteworthy omission from The Dark Ages is the iconic Chainsaw that has been utilized since Doom 2016 arsenic a mode to instantly termination a azygous force and regain ammo successful the process. That has been replaced by an each caller melee strategy that lets you get up adjacent and idiosyncratic and prosecute successful melee brawls that besides reconstruct your ammo. I bash miss the restitution of conscionable sawing an Imp oregon different tiny force successful half, but this strategy works amended for what Doom the Dark Ages is trying to execute by again making you unreserved towards the combat alternatively than distant from it. The “ammo” prime ups for your melee onslaught are besides overmuch much plentiful than the state for the Chainsaw was successful either Doom 2016 oregon Eternal, making maine tally retired of ammo acold less, which was thing I precise overmuch appreciated.

The Tools of Doom

As acold arsenic the existent weapons go, The Dark Ages plays astir a batch with the look of each limb to springiness it an old-timey flavor, but the functions are mostly each the aforesaid arsenic what we’ve travel to cognize and emotion from this series. All the satisfyingly punchy stalwarts are accounted for: The combat and ace shotguns, an battle firearm that shoots retired railspikes alternatively of bullets (but don’t telephone it a railgun), a plasma rifle, and a single-shot sniper rifle-like limb successful the signifier of a satisfying alloy shot launcher, conscionable to sanction a handful. The lone unsocial limb of the clump is the Skullcrusher Pulverizer, which benignant of behaves similar the chaingun but has a ridiculous dispersed that tin conscionable perfectly shred a shot field’s worthy of fodder enemies. It’s a amusive limb that goes large with The Dark Age’s perfectly insane magnitude of on-screen enemies astatine once, adjacent though I typically opted to usage the shield propulsion to mow down the hordes of fodder since there’s an upgrade that powers up the shield complaint erstwhile you bash so.

One absorbing twist for however The Dark Ages handles its arsenal is that each weapon has a sister limb that uses the aforesaid ammo benignant and tin beryllium hotswapped betwixt with the property of a button. So for example, on with a rocket launcher, there’s a grenade launcher; successful summation to the aforementioned Pulverizer that does a small spot of harm dispersed retired implicit a wide area, there’s a Ravager that concentrates the occurrence to deed azygous enemies. It each adds up to a ton of assortment successful the gunplay, and portion I was ne'er forced to swap betwixt my weapons successful the aforesaid mode that I was successful Doom Eternal, I inactive recovered myself jumping astir from weapon to weapon simply due to the fact that it’s fun.

But the implicit champion portion astir the toolbox successful The Dark Ages is – and this is simply a recognition to the limb designers astatine Id, due to the fact that this is existent for conscionable astir each Doom crippled – that each weapon retains its usefulness passim the full game. Sure, I mightiness person my favorites and gravitate much towards the Super Shotgun, Rocket Launcher, and Steelshot, but adjacent the aboriginal weapons enactment applicable erstwhile you get immoderate upgrades into them. If I’m debased connected armor, I tin swap to the combat shotgun that I upgraded to ignite enemies and marque them driblet armor shards; if I request health, I tin swap to the Ravager to marque them bleed h ealth pickups; and if I request to incapacitate an force portion besides dealing harm to others adjacent I tin propulsion my shield into a baddie, sprout the shield, and ticker arsenic my bullets ricochet and deed everyone other around.

To sweeten the pot, each of these abilities and weapons are sprinkled astatine a measured gait passim the campaign. There was ne'er adjacent a accidental for the gunplay to get stale due to the fact that each level would springiness maine a caller gun, oregon a caller quality for my shield, oregon a caller melee weapon, oregon I’d find capable golden to spend a caller upgrade astatine the store that would change thing I already had successful a mode that made maine privation to usage it more.

And it’s this request to upgrade that fed into my tendency to research and find some upgrade currencies and much accepted Doom collectibles similar figurines, limb skins, and lore prime ups. Appropriately, the levels of The Dark Ages invited that exploration with unfastened arms. While they each alteration successful size, the smaller stages are inactive large by the bid standards, and the large levels are gigantic. They’re huge, unfastened battlefields with tons of secrets, challenging force encounters, and much than a fewer breathtaking vistas.

Doomazord Power

Breaking up each of the moving and gunning are elephantine mecha battles and flying sections wherever you aviator the Slayer’s dragon. Yes, the Doom Slayer has a dragon, due to the fact that wherefore not. These sections are shallow compared to the remainder of The Dark Ages, with the mecha sections amounting to small much than a elemental crippled of dodge, punch, punch, dodge, punch, punch, etc. And the dragon bits are small much than dodge, shoot, shoot, dodge, shoot, shoot. That said, they’re benignant of similar a turret series successful that they’re infrequent and little capable to ne'er resistance the pacing down, and they astatine slightest supply immoderate chill moments successful the cutscenes that precede and travel them.

And past there’s the soundtrack: beatified hell. If you’ve played a Doom crippled earlier you astir apt cognize what to expect going in, but adjacent truthful I was gleefully into it. It’s different banger of a dense metallic soundtrack that had maine coming backmost to definite levels aft beating the run and conscionable turning down each the measurement but for the euphony truthful I could perceive without it being overpowered by each the sounds of shotgun blasts, explosions, and dying demons.