Guns, Gore, and Giant Mechs… THIS, is Doom: The Dark Ages
There’s something to be said for simplicity. Personally I think few characters in video games are as streamlined as Doom Guy. Wind him up, point in in a direction and off he goes. Doom Guy looks at the armies of hell like a 5yr old looks at presents under a Christmas tree. Determination in his eye and only one goal in mind. Ripping and tearing their way through the waiting horde until their little hearts are full.
This isn’t a holiday though, this is work, and like a canonically 5ft 3″ tall Canadian, he’s the best at what he does. Which is great because there’s always more hordes of hell. Infernal demons never stop coming, if they did we wouldn’t still be making Doom games 32 years after the original Doom came out. He’d have one and done it. Emptied Hell on the first go through and retired to a small town in southern Italy.
And besides, even if the job was done, there’s ways corporate can get around that… This here’s a prequel! DOOM: The Dark Ages, takes place before DOOM (2016) and DOOM: Eternal, and this time we’re rocking a techno-medieval styling. Boots with the fur, shield with the spikes. What more do you need when it comes to handing out indiscriminate justice to demons pouring forth on to the land. Doomish Guybino looks at those open portals and you might be remise to think that he’s the angriest man alive. Stoic, not saying a word, built like a tank and that mood appropriate music in the background just rounding out the scene but honestly, I don’t see it.
What’s that expression, love what you do and you’ll never work a day in your life? And I feel Doomithee Guylemet loves what he does with a passion. I see him grin under that helmet every time he bisects a Mancubus. He’s the only man in hell with a smile on his face and a song in his heart, only growing happier with every demon he decapitates and every projectile he parries.
I’m not going to spend too long talking about the story of DOOM: The Dark Ages for two reasons. One I’m not a DOOM Lore savant, so I can’t talk to you about the way that this weaves itself in to the overall narrative and adds to the story of DOOM (2016) and DOOM: Eternal. The second being… It’s stupid. Not in a bad way, I laughed heartily at several moments during it, I exclaimed the word “Metal” at several others. End of the day it can be summed up in 6 words. Rip and Tear… Until it’s done.
That’s what you want from DOOM though. Rip and Tear. It’s a different beast than DOOM(2016) or DOOM: Eternal. Each one tries to bring a different approach to the same concept and DOOM: The Dark Ages is no different. There’s aspects of bullet hell here, which gives the perfect playground to showcase the shield you’ll be using a lot throughout your work trip to perdition. Some attacks are colour coded, dodge the mean red ones, and time a parry on the shiny green to send them back towards the enemy. Progress further in to your slaughter safari and you’ll unlock bonus abilities you can trigger with your parries, from ground tremors to shoulder mounted turrets. DOOM: The Dark Ages gives you the right tools for the right job.
And these are some fun tools. 12 ranged weapons, and 3 melee weapons give you a cornucopia of choice when it comes to the aforementioned ripping and tearing. Each weapon felt weightily and impactful, sounded great and some of them are exceptionally metal. Yes you could use the impaler and throw massive spikes at your enemies. Or, Orrrr, hear me out on this… You could carry a hand sized woodchipper you feed skulls in to that fires bone shrapnel instead. You’re free to pick whichever weapon you choose, even if it’s the wrong one.
Credit should also be given to the animation team, watching the firing animations on some of these weapons there’s nice little details that you’re not going to notice while you’re mowing down minions, but if you stop and play with them, they’re neat. As you fire the combat shotgun and run low on ammo, you can see the integrated magazine through a window on the side that the gun runs empty. The impaler has runes carved on the bottom of the spikes, and a great rolling reload animation when resetting to fire the next one. When you’re moving at high speed and focusing on not dying, you’re not going to be watching those details sure, but the fact they’re included. It adds to the feel of the guns, it rounds them out, and in a game like DOOM: The Dark Ages, the guns need to be done right.
This game is built around the shield though, the newest addition to Doomboute Guylliman’s arsenal doesn’t feel tacked on or an afterthought. It’s enjoyable to use, weighty, sounds fantastic using it and has upgrades via Runes that enable you to customise the parry system to be your flavour of retaliation and pairs nicely with the melee options. The open space areas and bullet hell stylings of DOOM: The Dark Ages give you a worthy battleground to play in. Throw your shield and cut down swathes of minions, embed it in a larger demon to stun them while you unload your firearm. Alternatively shield charge in and take them down with melee. Either option feels satisfying to use, and when everything lines up and you enter this flow state of being an untouchable vengeance delivery system. Dodging between projectiles, parrying and executing demons left and right. DOOM: The Dark Ages shows why others try to claim the crown the DOOM franchise has worn for generations.
Sadly while the shield doesn’t feel tacked on, the same cannot be said for the Atlan mech or the Mecha Dragon. Thankfully they are used sparingly throughout the 22 levels in the campaign, and they have moments of fun, but they just feel like a gimmick to include in the features section on the store page. The Atlan mech is towering, and impressive. You can’t help but feel powerful while you just stomp your way over tanks and buildings with impunity and explode titans with your rocket punch. That sounds cool, it sounds like it would fit right at home in a DOOM game. I just wish there was more going on than walking up to the next titan in your path and engaging in a pacific rim skinned version of Mike Tysons Punchout.
Combat with the Mecha Dragon and the Atlan both work the same way. you press one attack button, then dodge the colour coded attacks, which powers you up and then finish them off. When you hold that up against the rest of the combat that DOOM: The Dark Ages provides, it can’t help but fall short. I hope they don’t just scrap the idea of mech based and aerial combat though. There’s the start of an idea here, it just needs refinement. The Mecha Dragon is at its best when you’re flying around the map exploring or chasing down enemy ships gunning them down, but the moment you engage in combat with any other enemy and have to engage with the dodging minigame it just comes up short.
Exploration is strong regardless of whether you’ve taken to the air with your trusty Mecha Dragon or you’re hoofing it on foot through swamps, castles and other assorted environments. Some of these levels are big. There’s a lot to explore and find in each level, from toys, and skins, to gold and gems. The levels and environments in DOOM: The Dark Ages vary in size, it doesn’t feel like any of them are large for the sake of it. Restrained when they need to be and open when they choose to, it builds upon the combat to create an experience that never feels formulaic or samey. You’re not just running forward in a straight
line screaming while firing your shotgun. Sometimes you’re in wide open battlefields throwing shields, others you’re dancing down narrow castle corridors dodging projectiles.
It keeps combat enjoyable, and given the replayability baked in to DOOM: The Dark Ages that’s something you want. The campaign is built up of 22 missions, each can be replayed after completion and each has it’s own set of secrets, collectables, and challenges listed out so you can see what you missed. You can work on efficiency, aiming to get through each as fast as possible with minimal damage. Or take your time, discover all the secrets held within each level and get those little progress bars to 100%. Of course if you’re someone who enjoys suffering you could also just throw the difficulty up to Ultra Nightmare and slam, against that wall until you break through it like the Kool-Aid man.
DOOM: The Dark Ages carries a weighty price tag of £70, 80 Euros, or $70. There is of course a premium version with some skins and a campaign DLC included at a later date, which we’re mentioning because it also comes with the latest gimmick in gaming of 2 days advanced access. As always, don’t do that, you’re strong enough to wait. I believe in you.
Our Playthrough of DOOM: The Dark Ages took 19 hours to roll credits on the campaign. During which time we unlocked 18 out of the total 28 available achievements. None are tied to specific difficulties, just collectables. As mentioned there’s replayability galore, so use our time as a gauge if you’re only interested in seeing the campaign through.
Bringing new ideas to an old concept Doom: The Dark Ages replaces the verticality and speed of Eternal with old school projectile dodging and a more grounded methodical approach making you feel like an unstoppable juggernaut. The shield is a welcome addition to the franchise, sadly the same can’t be said for the Atlan or the Mecha-Dragon. Hopefully they get improved upon and we see them in another entry. DOOM: The Dark Ages sits neatly on the shelf next to DOOM (2016) and DOOM: Eternal. Each one trying something a little different and becoming someone’s favourite. Showing that even after 32 years of slaying, Doom Guy still has reason to smile.
