PLATFORM: PC, PS5, XBOX SERIES (REVIEWED) | RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
When the rebooted Doom arrived in 2016, it quickly proved to be one of the most exquisite shooters that anyone could possibly wish for. Its 2020 sequel, Doom Eternal, went bigger and bolder, ramping up the size of its levels and the speed at which the demonic enemies and the Doom Slayer himself hurtled around the screen. As fantastic as that game was, it had a tendency to become so chaotic that at times it could feel almost unmanageable, ultimately not quite managing to live up to its predecessor’s acclaim. The Dark Ages slows things back down to 2016 levels, introducing a gameplay element – melee combat – that hasn’t been utilised in the series to this extent before, challenging players to “stand and fight” against the legions of Hell once again.
Immediately equipped with a fancy shield, the difference in gameplay between The Dark Ages and previous instalments is apparent right from the start. The shield can be used to absorb or deflect enemy projectiles, or it can be thrown like a buzzsaw blade that embeds itself into enemies and holds them in place for a few seconds, while also coming in handy when hunting for secret areas. A handful of different runes can be equipped to give the shield different abilities that are activated when you parry an attack, like stunning or electrocuting packs of enemies, and both these runes and the shield itself are upgradeable to make them more effective. Further to this, you’re also given a few melee weapons to choose from, again all with their own upgrades. These weapons work on a cooldown so you won’t be spamming them relentlessly, but using them at the right time can turn the odds in your favour as well as replenishing vital health and ammo.
That’s not to say that melee combat is now the focus – The Dark Ages is still very much a shooter, and it still very much feels like Doom. During the course of the game, you’ll pick up a monstrous selection of weaponry to shred your enemies with, from the now-standard shotgun and plasma gun to grenade / rocket launchers and the more unusual Pulverizer that grinds up skulls and fires out the shards and Chainshot, which fires out a hefty ball attached to a chain. As you’d expect from Doom, the action can get quite relentless and you’ll be causing an ungodly amount of carnage throughout the 22 missions, but the introduction of melee combat has brought a slight change to enemy attacks – projectiles are slightly slower than before, allowing you to weave your way through bullets and fireballs almost in a bullet hell sort of fashion to reach any projectiles that can be deflected back towards where they came from, stunning the enemy and leaving them open to follow up attacks.
This focus on dodging and weaving through enemy fire has also lead to the series’ beloved glory kills being toned down – in the past, weakened enemies could be executed in brutal fashion, briefly zooming in on gory close-up shots of demonic flesh being ripped and shredded to pieces. But throwing the camera around to do that sort of thing here would break up players’ sense of what was happening around them, which is the last thing you’d want in a game as slick and fluid as this. Enemies can still be executed, and similarly violent attacks can be pulled off in some specific situations, but they’re a lot faster and much less visceral than before.
A handful of levels give you a couple of other new toys to play with – a massive Atlan Mech, and a Mech Dragon. The Atlan Mech is a towering mechanical creation that the player pilots across the terrain (think the guardian of the Goblin City in Labyrinth, or the Jaeger in Pacific Rim). This lumbering hunk of metal is mostly used to take down gigantic Titans, which are dealt with by punching – or, later, blasting – them to pieces. The Dragon, meanwhile, makes its appearances in the game’s larger levels, where it can be flown around to reach your destination and also used for air combat thanks to its high-speed guns. The mechs’ appearances are fairly brief, and their abilities are slightly limited, but taking down a Titan by tearing out its windpipe or breathing fire down its throat is truly a sight to behold, and both mechs do provide a welcome change from the on-foot demon slaying.
Each of the game’s levels are well-paced, with some funnelling you towards your destination while others give you the opportunity to tackle objectives in whatever order you like while also allowing time for exploration. There are plenty of secrets to find, but these are now marked on your map rather than being truly hidden, which takes away some of the allure of scouring every nook and cranny to see what you might discover. The dark fantasy world looks fantastic, and the brief sojourn to the Cosmic Realm – where the Slayer confronts the Old Ones of Lovecraftian lore – is a real treat, but it does seem like the soundtrack has taken a slight step back from previous entries in the series, often being a little quieter and less in your face than before. While it could be argued that the certain special “something” that makes a game truly remarkable might not quite be present, The Dark Ages is an undeniably excellent Doom game with some fantastic new mechanics that add a welcome twist to the series’ winning formula.
