With the ambiguous ending of 2020's Doom Eternal and its DLC, The Ancient Gods, the protagonist Doomslayer's future was uncertain. How would he come back for a third game? Well, we got our answer with Doom: The Dark Ages. It's a prequel to Doom 2016 as Doomslayer fights his way through a medieval setting and becomes the hope for humanity.
Doom: The Dark Ages features frenetic first-person shooting, similar to its predecessors, which makes the minute-to-minute gory combat a highlight. However, it's bogged down by bloat. While the gameplay loop is explosive and exciting, it can't sustain itself through its massive 22-mission campaign. There's still a lot to love about the game, though. The Dark Ages' impressive visuals and level design still make it a bloody joyride.
Story and Gameplay
The game leads up to the events of Doom (2016), and depicts Doomslayer as solely a weapon to be used by his captors. The story in the first game was quite simple, with him going up against an evil megacorporation wanting to siphon Hell's energy. In comparison, the story in The Dark Ages is like Eternal's, which tries to add lore and context to his existence. As a result, the story is overcomplicated, and I just ended up tuning out by the last quarter of the campaign.
There's nothing wrong with expanding on the protagonist's background, but Doom is one of those franchises where the story is just a pretext to the gameplay. Fortunately, The Dark Ages shines bright here. Compared to Doom (2016) and Eternal, The Dark Ages has much more grounded combat. There's no grappling hook like in Eternal, so verticality doesn't play nearly as big of a role this time around.
Instead, you get a fancy new shield, and the gameplay emphasizes parrying, which can activate counterattacks such as launching magical spears that home in on enemies or sending an electric shock to ones nearby, incapacitating them for a bit. Combat strikes a satisfying balance between offensive play and defensive options.
The gameplay is much more like a puzzle than in previous games. You'll want to take care of the smaller enemies first, as they can pack on damage over time, then focus on the large demons, as they can be taken down easier without distractions. While that can make combat encounters play out too similarly sometimes, it's always satisfying when the final demon slumps to the ground.
In end-game encounters, the game introduces leaders, which are buffed-up versions of large demons, and they can't be hurt unless their moral meter depletes by destroying all of the smaller demons around them. This approach reinforces the strategic nature of each encounter and makes for a fun challenge as they drop permanent HP, armor, and ammo upgrades. Sometimes, the game flips the script by adding a large demon that needs to be taken out first, as they provide buffs to the smaller ones. The switch-up keeps encounters feeling fresh.
There are plenty of weapons to cycle between, from the good old-fashioned Shotgun to a Ravager that grinds up skulls and launches its bits at demons. The former is effective at close-range dealing, especially against larger demons, while the latter excels at mowing down hordes of enemies at the expense of movement. Picking which weapon to use in an encounter fits the game's puzzle-like approach to its combat.
One issue that The Dark Ages fixes over Eternal is the previous game's lack of ammo. You can gain melee charges whenever you parry attacks, allowing him to smack enemies at close range. Not only does this do damage, but it also replenishes ammo. You're also rewarded with more ammo to go on the offensive by playing well defensively. It's another way the game balances between defensive and offensive options.
Level Design and performance
The biggest issue with The Dark Ages, however, is that the gameplay loop starts to feel stale towards the last few missions. The game has 22 missions, compared to Doom (2016) and Eternal's 13 missions.
There are a few shorter levels where Doomslayer rides a dragon or a giant mech, which helps show off the game's impressive graphics in cinematic moments. A few missions could have been cut from the total amount, especially since the story starts to meander toward the halfway point. The drawn-out pacing invites fatigue.
The Dark Ages also has a few semi-open-world levels reminiscent of Halo games. These open areas are fun to explore, and there are plenty of collectibles and hidden challenges to find. Gold and jewels can be used to enhance weapons and unlock new gun upgrades. The way progression is handled feels organic, and Doomslayer becomes stronger with every completed mission.
One helpful quality-of-life mechanic is that the map will mark where collectibles are once you get close to them and how many of each kind of collectible are on a mission. This removes the anxiety of wondering whether you've missed a collectible. Additionally, the map also lets you know whether the next area you're heading to is a point of no return. This ensures you can look back at your map to see if you've discovered everything before moving on.
Lastly, the performance on the Xbox Series X was nearly flawless. The game ran without a hitch, even during heavy combat encounters. Loading times are incredibly fast, too. However, there were a few instances where the game froze for no reason, resulting in me having to exit to the dashboard, quit the game, and reboot it.
Doom: The Dark Ages feels both familiar and different. The fundamental gunplay and demon slaying will welcome veteran players back in, but the more grounded gameplay loop differentiates itself from its predecessors enough to make it feel like a new experience. While the campaign overstays its welcome, the variety in level design does help alleviate some of the sluggish pacing. Doom still rips and tears, but this third entry shows that the series is starting to run out of a little steam.
