Review: ‘Doom: The Dark Ages’ again reinvents the run-and-gun formula

The rebooted Doom series has been a masterclass in reinvention Bucking the trend of military shooters the id System organization crafted a brilliant gameplay loop that s the spiritual successor to the run-and-gun action the developers pioneered in It relied on movement herding enemies and landing satisfying combo-based combat while introducing exploratory elements The sequel Doom Eternal refined that formula emphasizing vertical gameplay that made the Doom Slayer protagonist feel like a fighter jet according to event director Hugo Martin The third entry for the reboot goes in a different direction A VISION THAT WORKS Doom The Dark Ages is a prequel to the first two games and lets players discover the events leading up to the original reboot It finds the Doom Slayer as a tool of the Maykrs as he s deployed to help the Sentinels in their battle against the minions of hell Over the lesson of levels players will be in the heart of the Argenta Unholy Wars politics and drama as the villain Prince Ahzrak searches for the Heart of Argent a power capable of making him a god He and his hell minions attack the Sentinels who are hiding that power and trying to keep it out of his hands The beauty of The Dark Ages is that players don t need to know much about the past games They can jump into this chapter and enjoy the spectacle of seeing the Doom Slayer become the ultimate demon-fighting machine When playing The Dark Ages veterans will notice that this version of the Doom Slayer is a different beast from the past games Developers at id Program revamped the combat to emphasize a more ground-based approach If Doom Eternal made players feel like a jet pilot The Dark Ages will make them think they re controlling a zippy modern tank Greater part of the combat revolves around a shield that can deflect attacks and protect against projectiles while also dicing fodder with a Captain America-like throw Further in the campaign the shield is imbued with runes that give it other strategies to attack Aside from offense the shield also has a role in exploration with players using it almost like a grappling hook at certain nodes They can also crash through weakened walls or destroy pulleys that hold doors shut It s a simple tool that s controlled with two buttons but id Tool does a remarkable job of giving it versatility so that it can do much more especially when combined with weapons The Doom Slayer battles several types of monsters in Doom The Dark Ages including particular enormous bosses Bethesda Softworks WEAPON VERSATILITY The Dark Ages has an arsenal with enough versatility that players won t be leaning on two weapons The fan favorite Super Shotgun can handle a wide range of encounters but the Doom Slayer will encounter enemies that move too fleetly for it or have attacks that take advantage of its limited range That s when players will have to rely on other weapons and their properties which emerge when they re powered up at the Sentinel Shrine The group at id smartly crafted weapons to encourage players to switch them up depending on the circumstances If players need to stun enemies the Cycler can shock swarming adversaries giving players the opportunity to thin the herd The Rocket Launcher has the ability to regain wellbeing when players parry an attack and enter the splash damage zone Combine this with the melee weapon and shield rune upgrades and players have several strategies to survive the demon horde onslaught The weapons and shield forge a fascinating offshoot from the combat of the first two games It s ground-based but manages to feel fast while satisfying players desire to combo attacks showing off the Doom Slayer s maneuverability The gameplay echoes the original Doom titles that reward players who can circle strafe around attacks and dodge the shower of projectiles that flash across the screen In The Dark Ages series veterans do the same thing albeit with a bigger arsenal and solid defensive moves that make dodging unnecessary In fact the campaign has moments where it feels as though the Doom Slayer is slugging it out with Cyber Demons trading blows while blocking the enemy s melee attacks At times combat is essentially a heavyweight prize fight in mid-fisticuffs Players will fly around and fight inside a Sentinel Command Station in Doom The Dark Ages Bethesda Softworks A FLOW STATE The developers mix up the main gameplay with levels in which players control an enormous mech called an Atlan and pilot a dragon named Serrat The giant robot action gives players a sense of scale in these battles where they fight enormous demons mainly with melee attacks The simple fighting mechanics work as the behemoths don t have much in terms of subtlety of movement Meanwhile the dragon levels are less flourishing but still exhilarating Flying Serrat is more complicated than controlling the mech and requires a different set of skills Players have to locate aircraft and shoot them down while also locking in on other adversaries while dodging attacks in order to blast them away The developers do a notable job of mixing these elements of play through the campaign For example players fly their dragon and take down a massive enemy hell-icarrier for lack of a better word and they can land Serrat atop the motorcycle enter it and wipe out the enemies inside All of this flows remarkably well and that s the driving force behind the gameplay Amid the whirlwind of extreme violence The Dark Ages builds a momentum in its level design and pushes players along And though it has secrets and rewards exploration the organization lays out these secrets in way that keeps propelling the Doom Slayer forward In other words it s a match that keeps the resource going forward and doesn t stop until its epic conclusion Doom The Dark Ages stars out of Platform PC Xbox Series X and Series S Rating Mature