Stand and Fight! DOOM: The Dark Ages review

Not every game has to be like Dark Souls, that's what I thought when I saw the first gameplay trailer for id Software's new game. The developers announced a change of pace from the very beginning and added parry mechanics, shields and an emphasis on precise timing. Some people were happy that this legendary franchise had finally received some changes, but most players were more likely to freeze in anticipation, wondering what the new DOOM: The Dark Ages would actually be. Let's see what happened as a result.

More plot this time

Slayer saves the world from demons in another war of hell against people. The angels direct him to the order of the guards, and it seems that this is the first time that the silent hero helps people in the war with hell. The plot is concise and corresponds to the spirit of the series: universal evil breaks out into the world, and the hero saves it. However, as the developers promised, this is perhaps the biggest story that has ever appeared in DOOM. Straightforward, like a blow with a new shield Doom Slayer, the plot with great pathos and epicness introduces the heroic messenger of heaven, adds a lot of other characters and a simple motivation - to wet the demons, because they are evil. The narrative of DOOM: The Dark Ages tries to pay attention to additional characters and their motivations. There are cutscenes with staging and intrigue in the plot. Although all this is still DOOM, so you should not expect much drama.

All this takes place in a gloomy dark fantasy setting with medieval motifs (id has finally made the fantasy that we've been yearning for since the first Quake!). Unlike previous games, there aren't many bright colors here. Only important bonuses, such as health or ammo, and interactive elements are highlighted. The maps follow a common style, but have their own characteristics. Among the locations are dark forests, open meadows, a scorching hell, and even Lovecraftian spaces with their crazy mysteries. Visually, this is the darkest game in the series, and this is not a metaphor.

Face the enemy, shield forward

DOOM: The Dark Ages takes the familiar rhythm of the series to a new level – weapons have become noticeably more massive, heavier. Slayer moves like a light tank: maneuverable, but with a noticeable weight. Avoiding an attack with the usual "dash" will no longer work – now it is important not only to move, but also to block or repel blows, as well as choose an advantageous position in a dynamic arena. It is obvious that this entire system is now based on timing. The parry and evasion window play a decisive role and the skillful use of all the new mechanics makes battles in the arenas quite dynamic and spectacular. It is important to read the enemy here: something needs to be repelled, something - just block, and somewhere - retreat in time. Fortunately, the game has a flexible difficulty system, where you can adjust the parry window to suit yourself.

Each weapon in the arsenal is better used against certain enemies, because you can heat up the enemy's armor, break the energy shield or hit a distant enemy with different types of weapons. And the higher the difficulty level chosen, the more skillfully you have to juggle weapons. Compared to DOOM (2016) and DOOM Eternal (2020), the new game significantly slows down the rhythm, but compensates for this with defense and tactics: now not everything is decided by speed, positioning, waiting, and counterattacks have become important. Combinations dominate in battle: with a melee blow of a power gauntlet, he scattered small things, started shooting at larger enemies, managed to react to an Imp's long-range attack and repelled it, and in the meantime he heated up the soldiers' armor and broke them with a shield throw, and so on.

The main thing is not to abuse positionalism, but to constantly move around the arena. Yes, there is no double jump and dash for dodging, but there is parrying and a swift melee attack with a shield has been added. It can be used for quick movement around the location when the player is cornered by large opponents like Baron Hell or Mancubus. In this case, you can aim at a bunch of ordinary soldiers or zombies to the side and jump over them, destroying them on your way.

Such attacks, simple blows with a power gauntlet or covering with a shield from bullets, have their price. All actions consume certain charges, so you can't endlessly jump between piles of enemies or swing at them with a melee, and the shield can be knocked down for a while if you hide behind it for a long time. This is where the balance lies between slow positional combat and tactical movement to recharge skills and collect health, armor and ammunition. The shield's defense and attacks are restored over time, but the return of the ability to punch or use a mace, which will appear later, can be accelerated by searching the arena for the appropriate ammunition. Health and ammo drop from enemies when you finish them off, this system is similar to the one in DOOM Eternal.

Shield, steel fist and super shotgun

As mentioned above, the basis of the new combat system is the balance between attack and defense. At the very beginning of DOOM: The Dark Ages, the player is presented with a new killing tool - a shield, and a melee weapon helps him in this. Behind the shield, you can hide from bullets and other long-range attacks from enemies, and it holds back all damage for a while. However, when the scale runs out, the player will be defenseless for a while. Here, parrying comes to the rescue, it does not waste the shield scale, and also reflects charges back at enemies. However, you can't parry everything, only "green" attacks. These can be bullets/rays or melee attacks from fast enemies. And you need to constantly balance between these two states in order to stay in line and not lose momentum.

After successful blocking and parrying, you should use all your strength to attack enemies with a melee weapon. The first such weapon is the power gauntlet. It is fast and deals good damage. However, it will soon become insufficient and a battle flail is added to the arsenal (this is a flail for threshing grain at maximum speed, a favorite weapon of the Hussites). The flail not only deals considerable damage, but also has a large area of effect, which allows you to control groups of enemies. Its attacks take longer to charge, but can even penetrate armored opponents. And for lovers of even stronger blows, other weapons will be added later in the story, completing the picture: fast weak blows, medium blows, or slow and super powerful ones.

Well, what would DOOM be without a wide arsenal of long-range weapons? The equation of balancing between attacks and defense adds the usual weapons for the series, but in a style appropriate to the medieval setting. All this variety looks and sounds just great. Instead of a heavy cannon (machine gun), there is a nail gun (hello, Quake and NiN). There is also a plasma gun, although this is the Dark Ages, but such technologies are everywhere in this world. The skull crusher enhances the grotesque atmosphere of the already gothic and dark mood of DOOM: The Dark Ages. And some types of weapons will seem very familiar to the player, although presented here in a very unusual performance. Well, what would DOOM be without a super shotgun - it is in place and as powerful as ever.

Almost all small arms come in two variants, such as the regular shotgun and the super shotgun. Over time, most weapons unlock more powerful or more accurate variants. They share the same ammo type, but each has its own purpose and effects that are added after leveling up.

In DOOM: The Dark Ages, you can level up all of the player's weapons. With each skill, new effects are added to the shield, melee weapons, and cannons. This is a somewhat familiar system from previous games in the revived series. For example, the plasma gun has an overload effect, and when it is fully charged, the energy is released in a wave and blows away small enemies next to the hero. The shield, gauntlet, and battle flail also have their own skills that add different effects. Some weapon skills have two variations, which you can switch between in the leveling menu. This adds another layer of variability and flexibility in customizing your arsenal to your own playstyle and tactics.

By combining the effects of different weapons, you can build your own style of hunting demons, getting ammo, health or shields from them, and charging up attacks for larger and more tenacious opponents. And the variety of effects encourages you to constantly juggle your arsenal depending on the situations, enemies and the amount of health left in the fighter.

Even more epicness and scale

For the first time in the series, the player gains control over large-scale equipment. In DOOM: The Dark Ages, the player is placed inside a giant robot "Atlan" and sent to fight with demon titans. Such scenes were previously only in the background, but here you can take a direct part in them. Atlan is heavy and slow, but destructive. The player is given a melee attack and a dodge, which charges a powerful attack. At some point, you can shoot from a cannon. In terms of gameplay, such sections are very simple and take place in linear locations.

Dragon is the complete opposite. Here we have air battles, maneuverability and the illusion of freedom. The locations seem large, which adds to the epicness. However, in addition to duels in the air with dodging various types of turrets, here you can get off the dragon and into small arenas with demons to solve typical tasks - kill everyone and activate a switch or destroy a portal.

These segments don't offer complex mechanics, but they enrich the game emotionally. After many arenas with demonic hordes, the player gets a kind of respite to demonstrate his strength.

From threats to habits

Enemies in DOOM traditionally don't just "disappear", they degrade in status. What was a boss at the beginning later becomes an ordinary opponent. DOOM: The Dark Ages only emphasizes this trend: "bosses" in the classical sense appear only at the end, and before that the game is led by the escalation of opponents. It's not about increasing the character's characteristics, but about the gradual habituation to horror, which becomes the norm with each level, and the mastered new means of destroying the unclean simplify this acceptance.

Additionally, the game features challenges – specific gameplay situations that test the player’s skills and reward exploration. They are a way to go beyond the main combat, learn new weapon features, or improve abilities.

Under the weight of Slayer

DOOM: The Dark Ages adapts level design to the new pace of the game. Where DOOM Eternal’s levels were multi-level, gym-like arenas with grappling hooks, parkour walls, and long jumps, this is a different story. The game still leaves room for exploration and traditional secret-hunting with collectibles, upgrades, and now weapon skins.

The Slayer in The Dark Ages armor is not an acrobat, but an inert fighting machine, and the levels reflect that. The platforming is present, but it is noticeably less, and it does not dominate. The player still has to move, overcome heights, sometimes jump over chasms, but it all has a down-to-earth, heavy rhythm that suits the armored hero behind the shield.

Arenas are designed to support strategic play: cover, narrow corridors, high points for firing, traps - all this forces you not to jump around the location, but to read it, find advantageous positions and move there with caution, not impulsively.

All of this reinforces the philosophy of the game: you're not fast and accurate, you're invincible. And the world recognizes this with its forms, pace, and rhythm.

Conclusion

DOOM: The Dark Ages doesn't just add new mechanics to a classic game. It radically reimagines the core of the series. This is no longer a game about a super-fast hunter who tears apart demons on the fly. This is a game about an iron avenger who doesn't chase, but walks confidently, and the arenas tremble under his weight.

The Slayer is no longer a "jet" marine, but a crusader in armor. His armor is heavy, his strikes are deliberate, his movements are tactical. Blocks, parries, punches, and shield throws create a combat system where the player becomes the commander of a steel machine, leading the fight not through speed, but through control and positioning.

It's still DOOM, slowed down but added depth, putting style, strength and tactics above reflexes. Some may find the new form unfamiliar or even off-putting, but it's DOOM with its signature bone-crunching ultra-violence, interesting weapons and a million ways to destroy hordes of enemies, only now more thoughtfully and tactically. This game becomes a full-fledged third pillar of the modern DOOM trilogy, where each part has its own style and character.

PS If you are interested in learning how the DOOM franchise began and why the plot was always an optional part, we recommend reading David Kushner's book Masters of Doom, as there is finally a good Ukrainian translation of it.