If there’s one thing Doom: The Dark Ages excels at, it’s following the rule of cool above all else. An even more brutal and hard-hitting demonic mash-em-up than its predecessors, its pacing may not always be consistent, but donning the Doom Slayer’s iconic visor is never dull.
For those unfamiliar, the rule of cool refers to the concept of enabling something to happen, purely because it’s too damn cool to pass up. It’s commonly used in the tabletop roleplaying scene, where dungeon masters bend the rules in favour of players who come up with harebrained ideas that ramp up the fun factor.
I mentioned the rule of cool when I reviewed Avowed earlier in the year, and it equally applies to Doom: The Dark Ages. Perhaps even more so. Why does Doom Slayer wield a shield bordered by chainsaw blades? Why does he ride a cybernetic dragon, pilot a kaiju-like mech, and punish demons with a medieval flail?
Because it’s sick as hell, in the best possible way.
Not everything attempted by Doom: The Dark Ages lands evenly. Some moments are weaker than others. But that’s okay; when you swing for the fences, you’re gonna make some whiffs along the way.
Hit hard and often
Doom: The Dark Ages harkens back to an older design philosophy. It’s less about constantly staying on the move – although this is still important – and more about standing and delivering.
Parrying is one of your greatest weapons, embodying the classic sports philosophy that defence wins championships. Doom Slayer gets a chainsaw shield not long into proceedings, capable of deflecting melee attacks and projectiles from whence they came.
Creating openings in relentless waves of enemies requires timing parries with attacks telegraphed by a bright green glow. Successfully parrying an attack rewards the senses with an echoing clang followed by a window of opportunity to drive home your point. The point is that of beating demons into a bloody pulp unrecognisable from their original form.
It’s a great system and one that rewards methodical strategies. There’s a lot happening on the battlefield at any given moment, but identifying these parry opportunities is the crux of The Dark Ages’ combat. The game’s projectiles aren’t as lightning-quick or numerous as Returnal’s, for instance, but the wide enemy variety certainly keeps you on your toes.
Doom: The Dark Ages’ semi-open level design encourages finding your own angles to combat. Some of the levels are a bit too open, creating slightly excessive breathing gaps between combat. The upside is that it gives you time to absorb the darkly beautiful visuals, with plenty of stunning vistas to gawk at.
There’s a story going on at the same time, predominantly told through cutscenes. They’re grand in nature, but act as a distant secondary motivator to the primary goal of grinding demons into paste with Doom Slayer’s comprehensive suite of weapons. Some have more utility than others, like the new spiked flail, but all are a blast to use.
Every in-game action is punctuated by a gratifying boom or deep rumble, making everything feel considerably weighty. Full props to the sound design team who clearly had a lot of fun making everything as loud and multilayered as possible. I can still clearly hear the squelching of an enemy being torn asunder.
Slowly taking to the skies
Doom Slayer’s on-foot carnage is occasionally interspersed with scale-defying intermissions involving a gargantuan mech and a cybernetic dragon. Both are awe-inspiring changes of pace that undoubtedly look cool. But neither holds a demonic candle to getting up close and personal with unholy abominations on the ground.
Riding a death harbinger of a dragon is undeniably wish fulfilment power fantasy of the highest level. These gameplay sections take you to the skies to rain literal hellfire on any monstrosity bold enough to get in your way. Once the thrill of dragon flight washes over you, however, slightly awkward controls clip the wings of the experience.
Ascending and descending are mapped to the shoulder buttons, instead of being a natural part of flight. It causes an uncomfortable friction and sluggishness, slowing down what should feel like the ultimate power fantasy of swift demonic destruction.
Similarly, pursuing flying enemies is hindered thanks to the dragon’s stiff movement. Trying to chase a runaway foe takes longer than desired, as your steed of the skies struggles to weave between cavernous obstacles with any fluidity.
Some dragon sections task you with taking down demon airships to then commence a ground-based assault. These sections fare better than the open-flying parts, mainly because they’re predominantly static. Instead of threading the needle of tight spaces, you instead hover on the spot, dodging enemy attacks before responding with a salvo of your own.
The sheer spectacle of such moments carries these levels; violently grounding an airship, clearing out its occupants on foot, and then skydiving back atop your awaiting dragon elicits a giddy rush.
Brevity is on the side of these airborne missions. As much as I grumble about the act of flying, these moments never last long enough to grind The Dark Ages’ pacing to an unsatisfying halt. Fortunately, they instead act as a brief reprieve, preventing a sense of monotony from setting in.
The same goes for occupying a giant mech. Doom: The Dark Ages does such a good job at portraying a hulking sense of scale, it’s easy to look past the comparatively slower gameplay. Skyscraper-tall enemies fall with a resounding crash, and stomping through crumbling buildings feels like reigning terror on a toy model village.
While the mech has its own loadout to inflict pain on opponents, the main strategy is to wait for parry opportunities before responding with a ferocious counterattack. It’s almost as if Doom: The Dark Ages has its own Punch-Out!! mode. Except instead of two boxers duking it out, it’s a massive robot throwing hands against an equally large flesh monster.
Like the dragon sections, the mech gameplay doesn’t linger long enough to grate. A brief sideshow to the main event, Doom Slayer is out of the mech before you can say “rip and tear”.
Doom: The Dark Ages is a slay
Doom: The Dark Ages acts as the next evolution of demon hunting, one that’s deliberately slower and more considered. At times, the inconsistent pacing grates, getting in the way of boots-on-the-ground action.
Most of the time, however, it’s an adrenaline rush of an escapade. Accompanied by otherworldly heavy metal music and a thunderous sound design, Doom: The Dark Ages is the video game embodiment of the dudes rock philosophy.
Hell yeah.
The post Doom: The Dark Ages review – dudes rock, the video game appeared first on GadgetGuy.
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