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With DOOM The Dark Ages, id Software explicitly set out to deliver an experience that channels the spirit of classic 90s DOOM – a grounded, strategic FPS. In terms of the moment-to-moment action, that vision is certainly there. The Dark Ages, while less acrobatic than its reboot siblings, feels incredible to play, the DOOM Slayer power fantasy conserved and elevated by a lean towards a stiffer and heavier but an equally fast and impactful feel in the hands of the player.
You play as the DOOM Slayer sometime between DOOM 64 and DOOM (2016). Under the charge of Kreed Maykr, a freshly-appointed Bishop of the Ministry, you’re drafted in to help defend the techno-medieval dimensional realm of Argent D’Nur against an invasion from the forces of Hell. It’s as good a DOOM premise as any, but also serves to fill in a DOOM lore blind spot that long time fans and lore heads will appreciate. As is customary for the series, it’s a grand old story that covers a lot of ground quickly, flirting with being rushed without ever quite falling into the trap of detail-omitting expediency.
Through 22 chapters, you’ll skewer through guts and gristle, downing a decently-varied menagerie of enemy types from easily-dispatched fodder to hulking, armored demons that spit barrages of singeing projectiles. There’s more enemies on screen than ever before and it gets delightfully hectic. Each of these chapters sticks to the fairly linear DOOM template, but allow for a degree of exploration as you hunt down secrets, some of which are very well concealed in the environment or behind and require venturing off the beaten path or solving simple puzzles. The illusion of freedom is done well with larger, open levels, but you’re always herded in a defined direction.
At your disposal is a stacked arsenal of weaponry that balloons the further you get. You’ll see series regulars such as the Combat Shotgun make a welcome return and more exotic options like the shredded skull-spitting Pulverizer. A trio of satisfyingly crunchy melee weapons rounds things off, adding another option for close-quarters combat. id Software has done well to make each weapon feel unique and integrate situational suitability that encourages you to swap weapons depending on the threat. An upgrade tree for each weapon lets you further enhance their demon-slaughtering capabilities, instilling a pleasing sense of progression as you unearth gold, rubies, and wraithstones to unlock enhancements.
New for DOOM The Dark Ages is the Shield Saw that allows you to block, parry, and stun enemies while also interacting with certain environmental elements to unlock paths and reach ledges perched up high. Much of The Dark Ages tactical flavour comes from the Saw Shield as it promotes a more measured approach to combat where you’ll parry projectiles, temporarily stun demons with eviscerating shield throws, and deal impact damage with shield charges, while, naturally, pummeling lead, plasma, and skulls into demons. Mechanical twists to an established formula are always risky, but with the Shield Saw id Software has introduced novelty that feels fresh without sacrificing the core tenets of what makes DOOM so uniquely DOOM.
Despite all these weapons and some clever level design, DOOM The Dark Ages suffers from a bit of predictable repetition. This is chiefly in the way levels play out: clear a horde of glowering demons in a combat arena, hunt for resources, secrets, and collectibles, advance forward, duke it out with the next cluster of snarling flesh bags, and so on to the next outburst of violence. While the combat is inspired by old school DOOM, The Dark Ages’ levels and world have none of its suggestive and startling eerieness. Everything is to be taken at face value, leashed to a formula devoid of subtlety. This loop is punctuated by sequences where you fly a cyber-dragon and command a towering Atlan mech. The latter is particularly well executed as you fight equally large demons above miniature cities reminiscent of model railways for lack of a better comparison. But, by about halfway through the game, that sense of repetition starts to grate somewhat.
Solid performance, a chugging soundtrack, crunchy and brazen sound design, and explosive visuals at every turn does soften the blow, though. It’s hard not to get swept up in the sheer thrill of chewing through squirming demon flesh. In the thick of the anarchic action, it’s difficult to focus on much else, let alone let any meaningful sense of boredom creep in, such is the attention-grabbing nature of DOOM The Dark Ages’ finely-combat. It’s a hard game to put down as midnight ticks by and drag yourself off to bed.
Series veterans will find their fill here and there’s a real sense id Software had them in mind throughout development. On the highest difficulties settings, combat is a tense, anxiety-inducing thing that requires genuine skill and twitchy calculation. But, conversely, newcomers intrigued by DOOM’s refreshing take on the FPS amid a sea of grave-faced extraction shooters and artificially-absorbing battle royales, should see DOOM The Dark Ages as a viable entry point. Such are the onboarding and accessibility options.
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Captured by VideoGamer
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Captured by VideoGamer
As endorsements go, the best compliment I can chuck at The Dark Ages is that I’m not the target audience and FPS isn’t usually my bag, but my time as the DOOM Slayer was well spent. DOOM The Dark Ages is an unrelenting barrage of visceral hyperviolence that comes at your thick and fast, leaving you overstimulated and exhausted but thrilled and gratified.
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DOOM: The Dark Ages
- Platform(s): PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S/X
- Genre(s): Action, First-Person Shooter
