DOOM’S BACK BABY! After killing the devil himself in DOOM: Eternal, we take a peek back into the past of the Doom Guy. Seeing the heavy metal medieval-inspired war against hell he took part in, and it RIPS.
Slowing things down from Eternal, running at Mach 1 here instead of 2, DOOM: The Dark Ages focuses more on dodging projectiles and parrying melee attacks. Leaning into a heavier, darker vibe than the previous two entries.
DOOM: The Dark Ages
Developer: id Software
Price: $70
Platform: PS5, Xbox Series X, PC (reviewed)
MonsterVine was provided with a PC code for review
Seasoned DOOM players coming off of Eternal might feel like things are much slower, not just in movement but how the game unfolds. Dark Ages takes more time to slowly build up the combat encounters, slowly familiarizing you with the mechanics instead of simply throwing you into the deep end and forcing you to fight. In ways, this is probably better, but part of me misses the intensity that Eternal brought from right out of the gate. It takes a while for the game to ramp up to the jam-packed encounters that you want, but by the end of the game, they are bigger and crazier than anything Eternal offered. It’s almost overwhelming how many enemies are on screen, pushing the very limits of your attention.
There’s a lot of visual information happening on screen, and it’s hard to keep track of what’s going on, especially when you’re focusing on parrying melee attacks. A lot of deaths are coming from one of the 40 enemies that managed to escape your carnage, getting a good shot in when your back is turned. This feels frustrating, but eventually you start to sync up with what’s happening as you adjust to your new tools and weapons.
The most notable new addition to your arsenal is the chain shield. No longer are you expected to simply dodge out of the way of enemy fire; no, you’re blocking it, and sometimes sending it right back at them. It functions as a block, meant to protect you from the fire being sent your way, and a parry, to brutally punish the foolish demon that tried to strike you. It’s fundamental to the gameplay loop, parrying becoming one of your primary ways of stunning enemies and even damaging them. It also opens a window to brutally whack at demons with the new melee weapons.
Melee in previous DOOMs was more or less regulated to the glory kill system. Here, it’s a purposeful damage dealer. A way to punish demons that you’ve parried or a way to quickly kill stragglers without wasting ammo. It feels great smashing a Hell Knight’s face in with a flail after parrying his ground slam, or punching an imp in its mangled face just because you feel like it. The melee system adds to the overwhelming power fantasy that DOOM: The Dark Ages strives for, amping up how personal the fights feel, as you literally run up in demons’ faces before punching holes in them.
Guns are as amazing as usual. With a whopping 13 to choose from at any given moment. There are some returning favorites: the Super Shotgun and Rocket Launcher. Some fun new ones like: The Skullcrusher Pulverizer, which is a fast-firing gun that shoots out in a wide area and uses SKULLS for ammo.
Each gun has upgrades that change how it functions. Like making armor drop when you hit a demon, or causing them to explode when killed. Each has a purpose and niche in the overall loop, but there is no rock, paper, scissors mechanic to them like Eternal. So, no one gun is better at killing a specific demon type than any other. Allowing for more freedom in how you approach each combat encounter. While this means you’re freer to use what feels right, it does mean that if you don’t like a gun you almost never use it, or you’re more likely to just stick to something like the Super Shotgun over trying something new.
The upgrade system is different from the previous DOOMs as well. No longer using weapon upgrade chips, now using gold and gems that can be found around the levels. Gold is usually just placed on the map or hidden in corridors. While the gems usually require a bit more puzzle-solving to get.
Like weapons, the enemy variety in DOOM: The Dark Ages has been greatly expanded. All the classics are here, with new dark medieval style looks, but there are a lot of new faces that really stand out. Taller roided out Imps are the most common, rolling out alongside their smaller cousins, but there are also new huge demons like the massive spider-like monstrosity Vagary that feel more like boss fights than normal DOOM enemies. Another great addition is the Komodo, fast, nimble, and mean demons that really test your new parrying skills. All of them feel great to rip and tear apart as you make your way through each level.
Arguably, one of the biggest changes is level design. While the hallway styled levels are still present, there are now massive open area ones. These usually have objectives that you can complete in any order and are encouraged to explore. These also have fun and creative puzzles to unlock secrets and currency to upgrade your weapons. Some of which are very inspired and mind-bending, especially towards the end of the game. The larger level size does have downsides, however. Darting back and forth across the map to find secrets gets old fast, and the combat encounters tend to be pretty one-note compared to some of the more interesting setups you see in the more traditional levels.
Another massive change to the level layout is the Mech and Dragon levels. Finally delivering on the giant mech shown in Eternal, you can now live out your fantasies of clocking kaiju-sized demons in the face. Which is fine. They’re short and one-note, and frankly boring once the novelty wears off. The dragon levels, on the other hand, are much more exciting. They are massive levels where you fly through the air atop a dragon, shooting down demon airships, before landing and clearing out zones of waves of enemies, then hopping back on your dragon to clear out the rest. It’s simple, but the spectacle really sells it and adds some spice to the campaign.
The campaign itself is fantastic, while the story is simply okay. The vibes are great, id Software really nailed the heavy metal album cover aesthetic. It’s just the plot feels very generic and beat for beat, there’s none of the slight tongue in cheek, fuck this, attitude that made DOOM 2016’s so iconic. It gets lost in the lore of the world, much like Eternal did, never delivering anything but pure spectacle.
Now for the important stuff. As someone whose favorite song is The Actual Ultimate Heaviest Doom Mix, the score is disappointing to say the least. It’s slower, muddier, and less in your face. A lot of that feels purposeful, to separate it from the previous two entries and match the vibe The Dark Ages is trying to convey, but it’s missing something. All of it blends together, no songs stand out. There is no The Only Thing They Fear Is You or BFG Division. Previous DOOM entries did a phenomenal job of tying the music to the level, creating motifs around gameplay and setpieces, hell, there was a song in Eternal literally named after a gameplay mechanic. In the previous games, when you were in a rough encounter, pushing through and the hook kicked it, you felt like you were IN the fight, it’s part of what made those games special, and none of that care is here. It’s fine, it works, but in comparison to what came before, it lacks personality, and it’s a letdown.
DOOM: The Dark Ages, however, is not just the music. It’s so much more. Like a great combat encounter, it’s slow to start, but crazy by the end. The new mechanics take some time to get used to, but like DOOM Eternal, after it’ll be hard to go back to what it was before. It’s amazing how every entry of this trilogy feels so unique, and id should be commended for what they’ve done. They could’ve easily rested on the laurels of the previous entries, but taking the time to break the gameplay back down to its fundamentals and rebuild it as something new is nothing short of amazing. In a few words: This shit RIPS.
The Final Word
DOOM: The Dark Ages is another fantastic entry in possibly the greatest FPS franchise of all time. Brutal, hardcore, and metal as hell.
MonsterVine Rating: 4.5 out of 5 – Great
