‘Doom: The Dark Ages’ Is My First Game in the Series—and It Absolutely Rips (and Tears)

I ’d always knownDoomwas a highly see video plot dealership . Still , up until now I ’d only watched from the sidelines — seeing an merger of furious Let ’s Plays of its helter-skelter run - and - accelerator fight in my poor college days , witness folksplay it on unconventional computer gismo , and blasting composer Mick Gordon ’s hard alloy original soundtrack in my leisure without full grasping the context to why its gnarly Sung went so unbelievably hard onDoom(2016 ) .

Now , with i d Software and Bethesda Softworks ’ latest accounting entry in the 32 - year - old first - person - shooter serial , Doom : The DarkAges , serving as a prequel to its newly christened trilogy — while get married two action mechanism writing style I have a high affinity for and am come around to , sci - fi and phantasy — I’ve finally jumped into the deep terminal on the serial with its newly released secret plan on my PlayStation 5 .

I went intoDoom : The Dark Agesexpecting its signature FPS chaos mixed with the diabolical , elan - switching combat I love in theDevil May holler — a series I utilise as my metric for action games . I got something far more wild : aDoomgame that somehow also channel other great likeHaloandGears of Warand yet remains strictly , unapologeticallyDoom , tamp down with inexorable action and unholy lunacy unlike anything I ’ve play before .

Doom The Dark Ages Review

© id Software/Bethesda Softworks

After sleeping on the series for too long , I ’m wide awake now — Doomabsolutely fucking careen .

A delectable pastiche of sci-fi and dark fantasy

As a prequel , Doom : The Dark Ageseases players into its mayhem , setting the stage for an all - out warfare between noncitizen master , mediaeval warriors , and hell ’s monster . The game sees Doom Slayer under some judgment control , caught in a battle where Tonka - toy - built knight ( equip with high - tech comms like the Avengers ) present off against a horde lead by a warlord rockingDracula ’s heftiness armor . Early on , Doom Slayer is treated with the same lordliness as aFinal Fantasysummon , given a simple directive : eliminate everything in his path with the same insensate efficiency as a walking atomic weapon .

The Dark Ages ‘ taradiddle ? It ’s there . Granted , it mainly serves as an epic backcloth , blend glum phantasy with a touch of sci - fi , all while ferrying player from one bonkers WatchMojo “ Top 10 Insane Doom Slayer Kills ” video moment to the next . Among the standout sequences that had me sit down forrader in my chair were Doom Slayer piloting a gargantuan mech like aPacific Rimveteran — and riding the back of a cybernetic tartar armed with a matching accelerator that looked like it was lifted flat off a metal album cover .

Even beyondDark Age‘s monumental place - piece glasses , its moment - to - here and now gameplay is pure honest-to-god - school gaming bliss . Throughout the game ’s 22 levels , frenzied players lam and accelerator pedal through an trap of daemon , grabbing shields , ammo , and health potions litter around the field of honor or offered as an bonus for ripping and tearing through demons with their bare hand .

Doom The Dark Ages Control

© id Software/Bethesda Softworks

Combat and platforming that’ll light every neuron in your brain

Despite the gossamer chaos of theDark Ages ‘ mark , its armed combat is where it unfeignedly shines , offer a wealth of strategy beneath the madness . As its killer box art intimate , Doom Slayer fights off demons with piece that overleap from the sky like orbital supply capsules , ensuring each battle palpate like an escalating arms race where hell is on the back foot . newfangled weapons enter your arsenal at every level , admit customization and fluid switching via the arm wheel . After adapting to the speed and ferocity required to pull round as the Doomslayer , I regain myself favoring the watch weapons :

Another pleasantly surprising part ofDark Age‘s fighting that felt as rewarding to solve as its combat encounters was platforming its environmental puzzles . I foundDark Ages’emphasis on stopping and smelling the roses by heavily encouraging geographic expedition to be just as much of a brain teaser as its experimental oblation of combat combinations . Exploration is heavily advance , andDark Agescontinuing the series ’ implementation of a single-valued function that smartly furcate tough progression from side content with icons and marker for where secret item like atomic number 79 and gems to kick upstairs equipment was a gravy , make it well-to-do to double back and trace down upgrades , codex first appearance , or skin without losing impulse . I found it the perfect blend of activeness and curiosity - driven exploration for a secret plan about killing demon .

And then there ’s the Shield Saw — a new weapon system usher in inDark Agesthat I doubted would fitDoom ’s FPS combat . But once I mastered it , it became my pet weapon in its inventory .

Doom The Dark Ages Metal Dragon

© id Software/Bethesda Softworks

Shield Saw is my new best friend

While I was ab initio apprehensive over whether or not the secret plan ’s effectuation of a shield would bog down its lightning - fast armed combat , it quickly became my favourite arm in the game . Not just because it save my fucking a long ton in muggy situations , but for how much more texture its added to its gameplay . The Shield Saw is n’t just for blocking oncoming brand solidus and fireballs ; it also doubles as a Mjolnir - like tool , letting you make do to secret areas to unveil treasure , fulfil enemies with a cuticle bash , or ricochet into a line of overheated foe cuticle from a hail of the Doom Slayer ’s gunshot for explosive crowd control . By far , my favorite use subject for the shell saw was with its stark parries .

Like in Sandfall Interactive’sClair Obscur : Expedition 33,Dark Ages ‘ Shield see transforms sidestep into a high-pitched - bet beat game , rewarding players who seek out oncoming green fire clod and sword slashes and post them fly back at foe . Even if I was underleveled in a brutal boss fight , or fighting uphill in a handicap battle , a perfectly time parry could turn the lunar time period in my favour and eke out a gratifyingly primal win in an otherwise unwinnable conflict . TheDMCsicko in me loved the right-down Royal Guard - flair power the Shield Saw empowered me with , lease me stunlock foe in the most disrespectful way potential .

While melee battle in some games takes a backseat , here it ’s everything , not just for style , but for selection . set ashore brutal in - your - expression punches ( or mace flail ) funnels wellness - rectify orbs , buckler , and ammunition into Doom Slayer like a vacuum . The game rewards ruthless aggression , encouraging participant to embrace the chaos , range Glory Kill whenever possible , and dominate the field of battle or else of hiding behind cover and play it safe .

Doom The Dark Ages Mech Charging (1)

© id Software/Bethesda Softworks

The music doesn’t quite live up to the moment

curiously enough , my biggest gripe with the game is its soundtrack . It never hit as hard as I desire it to . While it does an okay job of underscoring the secret plan ’s bedlam , it never quite hyperbolize the shootout , shield throws , and eyebrow - raising boss reveals the way I sense it should . If anything , it go unnoticed the more I played ; even to a newbie , that strike me as a sacrilegious takeout from the biz .

A few hours in , I scarcely point out the euphony ramping up before fights , like it was scramble to punch above its weight unit ( more than I was in a boss fighting ) to mate the sheer insanity on screen . Finishing Move ( get laid forBorderlands 3,Halo war 2 , andThe Callisto Protocol ) compose the soundtrack , but for a plot likeDark Ages , euphony needed to be a driving force , not just screen background noise . Eventually , IturnedDark Ages ‘ music volume down and blastedGordon ’s sometime trail insteadto make up for what the biz lack sonically .

Overall , Doom : The Dark Agesis an electrifying genre mash - up and an incredible entry point into the dealership that experience up to the hype it ’s garner over the past 30 years , and I ’m beaming I stop kip on it .

Doom The Dark Ages Demon Nuke

Doom : The Dark Agesis available now on PlayStation 5 , Xbox Series X / S , and PC .

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