BIlled as a prequel to Id software’s 2016 revival of doom, the dark ages is about as different as it could be from its predacers who remains, while recognisably part of the series. Where 2020’s Doom Eternal Was About Speed and Evation, The Dark Ages Emphasis Standing Your Ground. Where eternal involved picking off enemies one by one, the dark ages Empowers you to obliterate dozens of demons simultaneously. Where eternal Saw You Jugging Rapid-Fire Weapons in a Finger-Cramping Frenzy, The Dark Ages Lets You Solve Most Problems by Hitting Things Ferocious Hard. Ripping and tearing are out. Blunt force trauma is in.
The Kernel of the Dark Ages’ Combat Stretches Back to the 1993 Original, Inspired by the Slow-Moving Projects Fired by Enemies The Dark Ages Empowers Most of Its Enemies to Shoot Such Projections, Making Its Interdimensional Battlefields Glow With Drifting Fireballs, SCUDDING ORBS and Floating Energy Barriers.
You must navigate these obstacles as a slower, Heavier doom Slayer, one so physically dense he triggers a thunderclap when landing from a height. Indeed, it feels like It can be used simply to block oncoming missiles, but certain attends can also be deflected, returning them to sender. Successfully countering a projection can stun its shooter, opening them up for a Finishing “Glory Kill”. Who Bone-Crunchingly vicious, these executions are generally less elaborate than in previous games, often (but not always) Reduced to a Straightforward punch or kick.
Many Demons Attack Hand-to-Hand in Patterns IT’s Beneficial to Memorise, while the largest and toughest faes are nearly all close-range duelists. These face-offs tend to take place withan Much Larger Battlefields, Where Smaller Enemies Provel in his dozens and rows of Undead Shield-Bearers Goard Their Larger Leaders. Id software has devised Several New Weapons to Deal With these Infernal Legions, Such as a demon-immaling Rail-spike launcher, or a gun that shreds enemies with the shrapnel of crushed skulls.
It’s a fascinating reformulation of the core ideas of doom, and learning the rhythm of its shooting is as fun as witnessing its devastating effect. It is an Easier Riff to Master Than Eternal, However, While The Slower Pace and Less Stringent ToolSet mean that that that, at its highhest level, it does not produce the same adrenaline rush.
It does not help that system is stretched over the flabbiest game id software has made. The Dark Ages’ 22 Levels are all vast in scope, and many are open-ened, letting you pick your battles and unpick their secrets in whitever order you choose. Yet although the scale is impressive, the levels can be weed to travel, and it doesn’T always always feel as if the game makes the game makes the most of this real estate from
Id software tries to counterbalance the slower pacing by mixing up how you explore. Some maps see you piloting an enormous mech called an atlan, punching mountain-sized demons in Slow-Motion Combat. Others involve flying Around on the back of a dragon. There’s novelty value here, but the game does not really know how to make eather a meaningful experience. These parts are reminiscent of the obligatory vehicle sections that plagued shooters in the nouties, and the best I can say for them is they do not crop up too often.
That said, I admire how much more experimental doom: the dark ages is than it needed to be. Far from resting on its Laurels, Id Software Seems Possessed by a Nintendo-Like Urge to Innovate. It was doom to be the shooter that rewires how you think about the geenre with each new entry. The Dark ages isnys as successful at doing so as id software’s earlier fare, but it is nontheless a highly accounted, smartly designed shooter that, at its like a truck
