After id Software’s brilliant reboot of Doom in 2016 and its even stronger sequel Doom Eternal in 2020, it will be hard for Doom to rise any higher. So that’s not the case. Instead, it keeps its feet on the ground and brings the fast-paced, high-skill first-person shooter even closer to Hell’s dozens of minions in the medieval-tinged prequel, Doom: The Dark Ages.
Yes, the recent Doom is derived from the platformer Eternal and instead literally bases its combat on intense gameplay with an emphasis on strength. Sure, the great guns are still there – it’s Doom after all! – and that largely includes the recent Skull Crusher, which stood out in the trailer. You know, the one that eats the skulls of fallen enemies as ammunition and spits them back at the still-living villains in smaller pieces at higher speeds. But the Dark Ages also puts a huge emphasis on your three melee weapons: the default electrified gauntlet, which can be charged; flail; and the star of last summer’s trailer, Circular Saw, which can be thrown or used to block, parry, or deflect. “You will stand and fight,” said game director Hugo Martin after my demo of the recent Doom.
So you might not be surprised to hear Martin say that The Dark Ages is primarily inspired by three other seminal works of pop culture: the legendary original Doom, Frank Miller’s graphic novel Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, and Zack Snyder’s classic 2006 film. 300 – perhaps not coincidentally based on Miller’s graphic novel.
Further evidence of this is the contemporary series’ signature Glory Kill finishing move system, which is not synchronized, meaning fatalities can be performed from any angle on the battlefield and will vary accordingly. This is to account for the hordes of enemies that will be around you at all times. Yes, like 300 (and the original Doom), you’ll be surrounded by bad guys in fighting bowls, which were greatly expanded in the Dark Ages. You can complete the goals in any order and wander through the levels wherever you feel like (which, by the way, according to Martin, were shortened slightly where necessary to stick closer to his favorite spot, each lasting about an hour). .
Furthermore, to address the criticism I cited in my Doom Eternal review, The Dark Ages will no longer force you to read the story included in the Codex. Instead, the story will unfold in cutscenes. And the story “will take you to the furthest reaches of the Doom universe,” says id, with the gigantic story described as a “summer blockbuster where everything is on the line” because your power as the Slayer is coveted by your enemies.
Martin also emphasized that the development team was focusing on simplifying the control scheme, believing that in retrospect Doom Eternal made the controls too complicated. Martin said that the team wanted something that would be intuitive, so that when putting pressure on the player, they wouldn’t reach for buttons they didn’t know. For example, the above-mentioned melee options will be equipped like gear (i.e. one at a time). In the meantime, not only will there be more secrets and treasures hidden, but the economy has been simplified to a single currency (gold), and these secrets will focus on further skill development. Meaningful, concrete, game-changing rewards, not a deep dive into lore.
One thing you can definitely delve deeper into is difficulty. Custom sliders now let you customize the challenge as you see fit, and changes like game speed and enemy aggression (and much more) are at your fingertips in the UI.
I also learned a bit more about two unique gameplay sequences from the trailer: the giant, 30-story demon mech (called Atlan) and the cybernetic dragon ride. From the sound of it, these won’t be one-off meetings, but you can’t just call any of them whenever you want. Each of them has a full set of skills and even mini-bosses to fight. Oh, and one more key note: there won’t be any multiplayer mode this time, as the team wanted to focus all of their resources on creating the best single-player campaign possible. Not that Eternal’s battle mode is bad, but I don’t think most players will complain.
Hearing this made me more excited than ever. May 15th can’t come soon enough.
Ryan McCaffrey is the Editor-in-Chief of IGN’s Previews and host of IGN’s weekly shows on Xbox, Podcast unlockedas well as our monthly interview program, IGN without filter. It’s from North Jersey, so it’s a “Taylor ham,” not a “pork roll.” Chat with him on Twitter at @DMC_Ryan.
