DOOM: The Dark Ages Review
Pros
- Exceptional, aggressive gunplay with harmonic systems
- Cool as hell visuals and scenarios that amp up the ridiculous action you expect from the series
- Amazing arsenal of weapons available to the player to define their own gameplay
- The Shield Saw adds an emphasized rhythm to combat that elevates the already great flow
Cons
- The narrative is simple yet also barely explained, making it confusing to understand the full context of what’s going on.
- Dragon and Atlan missions are a neat distraction but a step down from the ground play.
In a hypothetical pitch meeting for Doom Eternal, a creative lead on the next game in the franchise walked into the room. They loaded up a picture of Doomguy that they had someone in the art department draw up. They then said, “Everyone, I give you the next Doom game.” They clicked a button on their laptop, and Doomguy suddenly had a Medieval/Viking vibe, and a shield with a chainsaw. The room lost its mind, and everyone was unanimously onboard immediately.
That’s a completely made-up scenario, and I’m sure a lot of world-class developers at Id Software had a lot of thoughtful and nuanced meetings about the future of the franchise, but Doom: The Dark Ages exudes this pure enthusiasm for a ‘cool’ idea, and a developer committing to it completely.
Where to take Doom after Doom: Eternal wasn’t a straightforward proposition, as that game’s DLC shut the book on Doomguy. However, while some thought id might move onto Quake, they decided they weren’t done, instead heading backwards to fill in blanks between Doom 64 and Doom (2016). Doom: The Dark Ages is a testament to that decision and the studio’s mastery over this IP, showing that not only is it far from done, but it’s firing on all cylinders with possibly the best game in this arc - and one of the most blisteringly fun FPS campaigns in years.
DOOM returns with a prequel for the 2016 reboot.
Welcome back to Hell
Doom: The Dark Ages is a prequel to the 2016 reboot. That game starts with Doomguy in a coffin, with no real explanation as to how he got there or what happened to him previously. That’s where The Dark Ages steps in. Set in a fantasy sci-fi setting, it’s important to establish that everything still feels suitably Doom-y. There are still ships, guns, and lasers, except now there’s also a lot more knights, maces, and dragons. This isn’t prehistory; it’s just a vibe the game clings to because it looks cool as hell.
That sentiment carries over to the story, too. I’m going to be honest: in terms of the plot, I barely was able to keep the connective tissue together. To some, this story might expand the lore in new and exciting ways, but for a Doom philistine, it was hard to keep what was going on coherent. However, if there is a franchise that can get away with that, it’s this one. Despite not being invested in the story it was telling, or why these characters were doing what they were doing, it still acts as a great vehicle. Doom: The Dark Ages feels like an exercise in an improv session where one person comes up with the most ludicrous, ultraviolent, over-the-top action sequence they can fathom, and the next person has to one-up them. Id Software excels here at coming up with visually wild scenarios they think would be sick, and committing to the idea fully.
This is easily the longest of these new Doom games, too, almost combining the length of both 2016 and Eternal. There are 22 chapters here, and most of the levels can be around 40 minutes to an hour if you want to be thorough and get all the collectables. Thanks to upgrades for guns, there are plenty of reasons here to go for those collectables too, as they will be imperative for enhancing your favorite weapons later on.
The story and world are largely afterthoughts but let’s be honest, we’re here for other things.
While the plot is somewhat incidental to the experience, the franchise’s protagonist is in excellent form here. He seems nearly as indifferent to the plot as me, as things happen around him, but all he really cares about is enacting his anger on the hordes of hell and those who have wronged him with as much pulpy violence as possible. This is illustrated amazingly in the world when he’s forced to walk the halls of normal human beings, and you can hear their hushed conversations about avoiding eye contact and just letting him go by without noticing him. It’s like Master Chief in Halo, when regular soldiers acknowledge you, except instead of respect and reverence, it’s replaced with this pure fear of the psychotic ball of destructive hatred that stomps around them.
The Flow of Carnage
Of course, what makes or breaks a good Doom game is how it plays. Even from 2016 to Eternal, the gameplay loop felt pretty different, and The Dark Ages follows that trend. There are a lot of changes to the flow of play here, but the main word I’d use is relentless. You are going to be constantly up close and personal with the minions of hell here, breaking armor, using melee weapons, and blowing off bits of demon meat with shotguns.
Since the reboot, Doom has always felt, in some ways, like a rhythm shooter. Not literally, but that feeling of starting to hit shots in time with the roaring soundtrack and getting the adrenaline going has always felt magical. So much so, Metal Hellsinger made a game to capture that feel. However, I’ll say that flow state was almost constant in The Dark Ages arenas. That’s in no small part due to the game’s main new item - the Shield Saw.
You might say, “Why would Doomguy need a shield? It should be all offense.” You’d be wrong, though. This shield is all about enabling more aggression, more damage, more blood and more gore. You can use it to jump huge distances to reach new packs of enemies, giving you wild mobility on the battlefield. It also comes with a Chainsaw, which is excellent for throwing at stronger enemies to hold them in place or mow down tens of minor enemies like a frisbee of death. Thankfully, Doom: The Dark Ages remembers the lesson Gears of War taught us nearly 15 years ago - everything is better with a chainsaw in it.
(1 of 2) The flow of pure gameplay is as solid as it’s ever been
The flow of pure gameplay is as solid as it’s ever been (left), The sheer number of creative ways to slaughter hordes of demons is wonderful (right)
On top of that, the shield is used in a parry system, which enables you to block and reengage using specific powerful attacks. This also adds to that sense of rhythm, almost acting as a drum to the carnage, pacing combat in an inventive way. While technically it might be slower than the fastest levels in Doom Eternal, The Dark Ages feels more intense. Due to the proximity with enemies, you’re going to be parrying multiple huge demons at once, and trying to use your weaponry to get you to the next bit of life. Combat often feels like a dance on the edge of the blade, with you going critically low on health, while trying to push forward to kill demons to replenish your health. You’ll never be retreating to a health pack, but instead charting your path to survivability through the hole you just blew out of the Mancubus’s stomach. Thankfully, that’s all propped up by good performance, meaning the action is never hampered by technical issues, at least in our experience.
Arsenal of Devastation
Now, what would a Doom game be without its arsenal? The Dark Ages pulls no punches here, with an exceptional armory of devastation. Everything feels as crunchy as it has since Doom (2016), especially with the emphasis on close-quarters combat. The entire loadout of weapons is revealed at a nice pace, making sure you have enough variety to have fun, while also not overloading you.
If you want to feel something powerful and Doom-esque, a Super Shotgun at close range is as Doom as it gets. However, there are some fun options here across the board - and upgrading them with all the collectables you find exploring the maps really supercharges them. For example, you might think a Rocket Launcher in a game where you are fighting as close to demons as possible might kill you, but with upgrades, it can turn that splash damage into healing after a parry. That is such a smart design choice that evolves a gun past just getting it, and feeds into the loop of gameplay. This isn’t unique to this weapon either. Across the board, there is a symbiosis with the tools at your disposal and having them work in the service of the combat flow.
Weapon upgrades encourage you to learn each weapon as you get it.
Other highlights include a cannonball on a chain that you can use if you do need a little range or to break armor, as well as an Impaler that is great when you want a little precision. Even upgrades to your shield, such as getting an auto-turret on a parry really help you mow down the forces of hell. Still, nothing comes close to the Ravager or Pulverisers. These guns use the skulls of demons, passing them through a grinder and shooting out the pellets to create insane heavy machine guns. These guns are so Doom-coded, and are a real testament to that gleeful brutality that flows through the game. Why shouldn’t there be a gun that crushes demon skulls and fires the remains? It turns out, Id Software never found a compelling answer to the contrary, and instead made one of the coolest weapons in a video game in a while.
The Dark Ages also does a great job of not forcing you, but encouraging you to rotate your arsenal by unlocking new rewards. Through my playthrough, I’d complete buying every upgrade for a gun I liked, then I would get a mastery quest. Completing that gives a Gold skin, but by the time I completed that, I’d finished upgrading another weapon that I’d inevitably chase the gold skin for. It means throughout the playthrough, I’d go through phases with a gun. Super Shotgun was my early game weapon, then the Pulveriser and Ravager in the mid-game, followed by the Rocket Launcher in the late game. I also dabbled in others, but it meant by the end of the game, I had a good understanding of my full arsenal, and I was flipping between them fluidly in the final missions. Of course, if you love one gun, you can make it work all the way through the campaign, but there is a real delight in switching between all the weapons, all with gold skins you’ve earned because of mastery, and using them to decimate entire battlefields.
Unfortunately some of the new mechanics don’t quite work such as the dragon section.
It’s worth noting, though, that there are some sections of Doom: The Dark Ages that don’t quite work. Two big gimmicks the game utilizes are the use of an Atlan, an enormous Pacific Rim-like Mech, and a Dragon. Both are great spectacles and provide some variety to gameplay, but their execution is never quite as adrenaline-inducing as you’d hope. What should be big, fun moments end up being a bit clunky and awkward. That goes especially for the Atlan combat, which is very rudimentary. The Dragon sections are a bit more fun, but the snapping to targets and dodging make these sections feel uneven. Thankfully, these are used sparingly and never tip over to bad, but when there is such a strong through-line in the moment-to-moment of on-foot combat, it always feels like a bit of a step down when jumping into these spectacle moments.
Masters of Doom
This prequel may not have worked. For all of the fun destruction, this formula has been going on since 2016. This could have been Id returning to a tired well on a franchise they seemingly ended with their previous game. However, it’s not.
Doom: The Dark Ages is an absolute joy. It’s ultra-violence and relentless identity are preserved and evolved in equal measure, forcing you to play aggressively and up close with the foes of Hell. The arsenal of weapons here is ridiculously fun, and the shield adds a needed sense of rhythm to combat. Plus, you can launch it at a demon and hold it in place while you blast it apart, bit by bloody bit. It’s a game of gnarly ideas, and a developer committing to that spirit completely. While the story is barely held together, it is a great vehicle to push Doomguy toward radical moments and visuals that are a delight of excess. Its surface layer isn’t built on high-brow ideas, but there’s something beautiful about taking a simple but ridiculously cool idea and then executing it at a world-class level.
That’s something that ultimately ends up defining this game. For all of the chaos and destruction and a dragon breathing fire down a 50-foot-tall demon’s throat, what actually makes Doom: The Dark Age sing is harmony. This is a game put together by exceptional developers who understand that Doom, as much as it is about demons and violence, is about flow. The weapons you swap between, their upgrades to fit this close-quarters combat, as well as things like the shield and the parry system, providing a rhythm to your play, are what move this from dumb fun to exceptional action gaming.
In lesser hands, this would be fun but forgettable. In Id’s hands, this is a deep action experience solely focused on a relentless, but brilliantly controlled flow state. It’s a game that takes the simplest, yet coolest ideas and commits completely to them with peerless execution, making sure above else, sick as hell.
Pulverizing
In lesser hands, The Dark Ages would be fun but forgettable. In Id’s hands, this is a deep action experience solely focused on a relentless, but brilliantly controlled flow state. It’s a game that takes the simplest, yet coolest ideas and commits completely to them with peerless execution, making sure above else, it’s sick as hell.
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