Where does a Slayer go after he’s murdered the freaking Devil?
Good question.
Rather than continuing on from the climax of Doom Eternal’s DLC, for his next mission id Software has sent the Slayer back in time to a techno-medieval hellscape to fill in some of the blanks in the saga of his never-ending war against the legions of the damned.
There’s definitely more of a considered narrative in The Dark Ages compared to previous entries, but unless you’re a Doom lore fanatic don’t expect it to resonate much if at all.
This FPS is all about the action.
Serious kudos to id, though. They keep successfully reinventing the granddaddy of all FPSs with astonishing confidence, taking what’s a pretty simple gameplay loop – shoot monsters, grab ammo and keycard, unlock door, shoot more monsters; repeat – to, frankly, undreamed of places.
Eternal Darkness
The Dark Ages is their strongest case-in-point yet. It’s quite clearly Doom, while also being a seismic departure from Eternal (which itself looked and played very differently from the 2016 reboot). Gone are Eternal’s riotous colours, replaced by a drab grey and khaki palette that definitely helps convey a mecha-medieval vibe. Gone also (initially, at least) is the arcade-y, platform-heavy gameplay – swapped out for more expansive, sprawling environments, less verticality, and more strategy.
Don’t be fooled into thinking that The Dark Ages is in any way slow-paced, measured, or considered though. If anything, by the time you’re mid-game it’s more hyper kinetic than any id title to-date. Naturally, tactics are important – frankly, you’d be dead in no time flat without them – but they’re executed almost without conscious thought as the game’s combat often barely gives you time to breathe.
Encounters fly by in seeming milliseconds as you shield charge into a mob of Imps, clear out a battalion of shield-bearers with a shield toss, parry a Hell Knight’s jump attack with the skin of your teeth before stoving its grotesque maw in with your flail.
(The above para all takes place in approx. 5 seconds, btw.)
The Dark Ages cleverley moshes blasting and melee in ways never quite before seen. As befitting the Slayer, you’ve provided with an astonishing arsenal of demon-murdering weaponry. While the trusty super shottie’s insane up-close carnage never gets tiresome, the standout new boomstick is the Pulveriser, which grinds up human skulls and creates bone flechette ammo from the razor-sharp shards.
You can just imagine what it does to the poor demons you’re pointing it at.
What a Doomguy
Just as often though, you’ll reach for your shield, which can either be used to parry enemy fire (the timing window is tweakable, which makes this either the easiest or hardest Doom game yet depending on your preference) or be launched as a stunning projectile. Get up-close with your dash and the Slayer goes to work gibbing Imps, Revenants, Cyberdemons and co. with his gauntlets, flail, and dreadmace while the thrash metal soundtrack pummels your ears.
Satisfying doesn’t come close to capturing it.
The Dark Ages medieval environments are noticeably roomier than any previous Doom episode, but they never feel empty of scores of killable baddies or other things to do. True to id form, they’re packed with secrets for players keen to maximise their Slayer’s attributes or score an adorable Mancubus collectible.
The on-foot fighting is also broken up with a few Atlan Mech (FPS) and third-person, dragon-flying missions which flexes the game’s impressive 3D engine while allowing the Slayer to take on some truly titanic demons. However, juxtaposed against the almost-infinite nuance of the core gunplay, they feel a little underdeveloped.
It’s wonderful to see Doom still casting an awesome shadow over the gaming landscape over thirty years since it originally revolutionised videogames… and The Dark Ages proves there’s plenty of life left in the Slayer yet.
The good
- Seamless meshing of gunplay and melee re-tools Doom’s gameplay all over again
- Impressive selection of customisable weaponry to suit individual playing styles
- Solid level design with satisfyingly hard-to-reach secret areas
The bad
- Mech and dragon forays are amusing, but feel grossly underdeveloped
- Visually arresting, while not breaking as many technical barriers as past Dooms
- Demon designs – and executions – surprisingly lack id’s usual imagination