Doom: The Dark Ages is the third game of the new “Doom” era since the franchise was restarted in 2016 and was followed by a second game, Doom Eternal, in 2020. Although this last title brings a little changes to the game that made me despite each time I saw the sentence “.
For this last rest, the developer’s ID software has changed the form formula to go beyond simply drawing enemies and is far from the platform found in Doom Eternal. The result is a mixture of action that really sings when everything is timed but also falls flat outside the action. There is just a lack of areas where my adrenaline is starting to pump compared to the previous doom games.
Set the foundations for Doom: dark agesThe game takes place before the events of the 2016 restart. Doomguy, called Slayer throughout, was transported to hell following the events of Doom 64 in order to fight the hordes of monsters. A certain point after having fought demons for billions of years, he is transported to silver of Nur, a different kingdom inhabited by humans who fight against the hordes of hell in this epic war with futuristic weapons with a medieval motive. As a Slayer, he is there to help humans win and the following is a very dramatic story, almost Game of Thrones, but it seems superficial.
And I understand. Doom was never really part of the story, but this has been the case since restarting. What I like in the restart is that I play the same character as me 20 years earlier in my Lycée computer laboratory. A character who had returned from the depths of hell and was used as a living weapon to defeat the army of hell once again. Then, in Doom Eternal, we learn how Doomguy was a mythical hero in this other kingdom and traveling in this kingdom was this satisfactory experience which resembled the equivalent of a Heavy Metal album cover.
Look at this: Practical: Doom the Dark Ages
In Doom: The Dark Ages, I did not feel the same excitement to find out more about Doomguy’s past. The intrigue attempt simply did not work, so making my way through the chapters was sometimes a slog. Do not get me wrong: the action was exciting, most of the time, but it takes a while to reach this top of the place where all the new elements of the game are set up.
Doomguy’s new toys (and tricks)
Among these new elements, the most important is the addition of a shield. It’s weird to play a Doom game with a shield, but it’s part of the ID attempt to redefine the gameplay by adding depth. The shield provides four types of actions that are important while playing, including the most obvious defense.
Some enemies have particularly large cannons that can tear you away if you don’t use your shield. As you can expect, there is a shield throw, at Captain America, you can use it as a weapon. This launch can be an instakill for weaker enemies or dizzy for the hardest because it is tearing itself apart in their body.
Doomguy also has a bash of shield that does damage but acts as a way to quickly rush on enemies as well as breaking open barriers throughout the levels. Finally, there is the Parry shield. Some enemies shoot green projectiles that can be struck off, which is necessary to overcome certain enemies. I appreciated that there is an option to make the parry window more generous or tighter, depending on what works for you.
Another change is the arsenal available for Doomguy. Doom Eternal has introduced some new weapons with the pillars of the franchise such as the Chaingun and the BFG 9000. But in Doom: The Dark Ages, these are all the new weapons except for the hunting rifle with which you start. The new cannons are quite intense, but they have a sensation similar to other weapons such as the accelerator compared to the plasma rifle.
Each pistol has another fire which makes it act like a new weapon. For example, shredders resemble a standard machine gun that pulls bolts in enemies. Later in the game, you can unlock the alternative version, called Impaleur, which draws large points and acts almost like a non -base elite rifle because it inflicts enormous damage with head shots. Another weapon, the pulverizer, is the most notable for its design, which crushes the skulls and draws parts of bone in a spread to eliminate several enemies at the same time. Weapons were not the only new weapons for Doomguy, because there are also new melee weapons, the most notable being the scourge.
The shield and each weapon can be improved via gold, rubies and steriles of swaiths found throughout the levels. This is where the action can have fun, because the upgrading of weapons in a certain way can have different effects on enemies, to do damage to enemies nearby to longer dizzy or to drop more ammunition or armor. There is a combination of upgrades that creates this fantastic harmony between the shield and the weapons. There is a lot of experimentation available for players to make their weapon preferred even more fun to use.
Large cards, bigger fights
No doubt, the most remarkable change in fate: the age of darkness is open levels. The previous games were more forced, the players had to eliminate the rooms. In this game, there are large cards with several areas that must be deleted to finish the chapter. This allows a lot of exploration because there are a lot of secrets to find. The enemies are dispersed everywhere, but there are areas where a barrier will appear and you will have to face hordes of demons in a closed space similar to previous doom games. Like the rest of Doom: the dark ages, these levels have a medieval look with futuristic accents here and there. This style, which is also shown in Doom Eternal, creates a remarkable presentation on the Xbox Xbox series when combined with Heavy Metal music.
The Mech Atlan
Speaking of presentation, the two “big” adds to the Doom franchise are the Dragon and the Mech Atlan, which are available at certain levels. The action changes the same way when you run one or the other. Whether you are on the dragon or the mechanism, you progress through the levels and make a combination of attacking and dodging enemies’ attacks. Traveling on the two is fun but where the dragon flies through the levels and can drive out certain enemies, the Atlan breaks the buildings while it fights giant demons. Although pleasant, I must admit it, I didn’t mind being limited to certain levels; There was not much to do with them.
All new additions to the addition of additions introduced in Doom: The Dark Ages are welcome changes to keep a franchise that has existed for more than three decades by feeling fresh. But I still can’t shake the feeling that something is missing. He just doesn’t have the same traction as the last two doom games. Because of this, it never gave me the same haste by playing. There were stretching where it seemed to be honestly boring, which is wild to say about a game of destiny. He definitely resumes in places and offers superb moments, but I continued to wish that there is more meat on the bones – just something that made me more attention to this adventure.
Doom: The Dark Ages is released on May 15 for Xbox, PlayStation and PC, and it will be available on Game Pass at launch. Players who buy the premium edition of Doom: The Dark Ages will have access to the game on May 13.
