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The Star
29-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Star
Review: 'Doom: The Dark Ages' reinvents run-and-gun formula … again
LOS ANGELES: The rebooted Doom series has been a masterclass in reinvention. Bucking the trend of military shooters, the id Software team crafted a brilliant gameplay loop that's the spiritual successor to the run-and-gun action the developers pioneered in 1993. It relied on movement, herding enemies and creating satisfying combo-based combat while introducing exploratory elements. The sequel Doom Eternal refined that formula, emphasising vertical gameplay that made the Doom Slayer protagonist feel like a fighter jet, according to game director Hugo Martin. The third entry for the reboot goes in a different direction. A vision that works Doom: The Dark Ages is a prequel to the first two games and lets players discover the events leading up to the original reboot. It finds the Doom Slayer as a tool of the Maykrs as he's deployed to help the Sentinels in their battle against the minions of hell. Over the course of 22 levels, players will be in the heart of the Argenta Unholy Wars' politics and drama as the villain Prince Ahzrak searches for the Heart of Argent, a power capable of making him a god. He and his hell minions attack the Sentinels, who are hiding that power and trying to keep it out of his hands. The beauty of The Dark Ages is that players don't need to know much about the past games. They can jump into this chapter and enjoy the spectacle of seeing the Doom Slayer become the ultimate demon-fighting machine. When playing The Dark Ages , veterans will notice that this version of the Doom Slayer is a different beast from the past games. Developers at id Software revamped the combat to emphasise a more ground-based approach. If Doom Eternal made players feel like a jet pilot, The Dark Ages will make them think they're controlling a zippy modern tank. Most of the combat revolves around a shield that can deflect attacks and protect against projectiles while dicing fodder with a Captain America-like throw. Further in the campaign, the shield is imbued with runes that give it other ways to attack. Aside from offence, the shield also has a role in exploration, with players using it almost like a grappling hook at certain nodes. They can also crash through weakened walls or destroy pulleys that hold doors shut. It's a simple tool that's controlled by two buttons, but id Software does a remarkable job of giving it versatility, so that it can do much more, especially when combined with weapons. Weapon versatility The Dark Ages has an arsenal with enough versatility that players won't be leaning on two weapons. The fan favourite Super Shotgun can handle a wide range of encounters, but the Doom Slayer will encounter enemies that move too quickly or have attacks that take advantage of its limited range. That's when players will have to rely on other weapons and their properties, which emerge when they're powered up at the Sentinel Shrine. The team at id smartly crafted weapons to encourage players to switch them up, depending on the circumstances. If players need to stun enemies, the Cycler can shock swarming adversaries, giving players the opportunity to thin the herd. The Rocket Launcher has the ability to regain health when players parry an attack and enter the splash damage zone. Combine this with the melee weapon and shield rune upgrades, and players have several strategies to survive the demon horde onslaught. The weapons and shield forge a fascinating offshoot from the combat of the first two games. It's ground-based but manages to feel fast while satisfying players' desire to combo attacks, showing off the Doom Slayer's maneuverability. The gameplay echoes the original Doom titles that reward players who can circle strafe around attacks and dodge the shower of projectiles that flash across the screen. In The Dark Ages , series veterans do the same thing, albeit with a bigger arsenal and solid defensive moves that make dodging unnecessary. In fact, the campaign has moments where it feels as though the Doom Slayer is slugging it out with Cyber Demons, trading blows while blocking the enemy's melee attacks. At times, combat is essentially a heavyweight prize fight in mid-fisticuffs. A flow state The developers mix up the main gameplay with levels, in which players control an enormous mech called an Atlan and pilot a dragon named Serrat. The giant robot action gives players a sense of scale in these battles where they fight enormous demons mainly with melee attacks. The simple fighting mechanics work as the behemoths don't have much in terms of subtlety of movement. Meanwhile, the dragon levels are less successful but still exhilarating. Flying Serrat is more complicated than controlling the mech and requires a different set of skills. Players have to locate aircraft and shoot them down while also locking in on other adversaries, while dodging attacks, in order to blast them away. The developers do a notable job of mixing these elements of play through the campaign. For example, players fly their dragon and take down a massive enemy hell-icarrier (for lack of a better word) and they can land Serrat atop the vehicle, enter it and wipe out the enemies inside. All of this flows remarkably well, and that's the driving force behind the gameplay. Amid the whirlwind of extreme violence, The Dark Ages builds a momentum in its level design and pushes players along. And though it has secrets and rewards exploration, the team lays out these secrets in way that keeps propelling the Doom Slayer forward. In other words, it's a game that keeps the energy going forward and doesn't stop until its epic conclusion. – The Mercury News/Tribune News Service
Forbes
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
‘DOOM: The Dark Ages' Review: A Slower, Smarter, Old-School Romp
'DOOM: The Dark Ages' is a must-play for Game Pass members, and anyone else who wants a fantastic ... More action-FPS experience. DOOM: The Dark Ages hits differently, and for good reason: id Software has gone back in time in more ways than one, drawing on the past to make this throwback prequel more like old-school DOOMs. It takes time to seal the deal, but you can't put it down when it finally clicks. The Dark Ages' medieval-inspired experience offers a more grounded combat style with slower projectiles, demanding a tactical approach — far from the seat-of-your-pants, parkour-infused sprintfests of 2020's superb DOOM Eternal — and in doing so, carves itself a distinct, self-contained, and fresh identity as part of the canon, even if it's not without its drawbacks. As someone who loved DOOM Eternal, it took me a long time to appreciate The Dark Ages for what it is. Between its change of pace, countless tutorials, barrage of new ideas, an underused soundtrack, and a surprisingly dreary art style, your heart rate stays pretty relaxed for the first few hours. It's far from what you expect after a five-year wait. From its opening cinematic, DOOM: The Dark Ages tells a story it seemingly expects you to forget, which is fine — bring me someone who can remember, or cares about, the other DOOM narratives — but it focuses on central villain Prince Ahzrak, who looks like the unloved brother of Lilith from Diablo IV; the Slayer conveys more with his iconic scowl than Ahzrak and the wider cast of undeveloped characters combined. While DOOM: TDA's 15-to-20-hour campaign mode eventually finds its footing in the final third, this lackluster story only adds drabness to the relatively uninspiring art direction and set dressing. FEATURED | Frase ByForbes™ Unscramble The Anagram To Reveal The Phrase Pinpoint By Linkedin Guess The Category Queens By Linkedin Crown Each Region Crossclimb By Linkedin Unlock A Trivia Ladder Prince Ahzrak is so boring, I've had to check the spelling of his name six times because it makes ... More absolutely zero mark. On a technical level, The Dark Ages is one of the smoothest and effortlessly accessible action-FPS games to land on the Xbox Series X, especially given Bethesda's reputation for day-one performance. It opts for motion blur as standard, but doesn't need it — it's sharper and much less stomach-churning to play without it, and you'll probably want to widen your field of vision while you're there. Despite this excellent framerate, the palette is overwhelmingly brown, reminiscent of Fallout 4 or Gears of War. It also lacks blockbuster scenery — those jaw-dropping vistas that made Eternal so breathtaking. Much like the OG DOOM games, The Dark Ages is incredibly utilitarian, focusing on substance over style. Admittedly, it nails enemy designs, blending the feudal aesthetic with its most recognizable monsters in a way reminiscent of DOOM 3. Between series favorites and newcomers, it surprises you with new approaches to stalwart demons, particularly the Revenant and Pinky. Across the first four of its 22 chapters, DOOM: The Dark Ages gradually builds its challenge, allowing you to adjust difficulty as you see fit with a class-leading accessibility suite that gives you every tool you need to scale it to your terms. It's just as well, because while TDA runs at a more pedestrian pace when compared to Eternal, timing is everything. The heavily promoted Shield Saw isn't a gimmick — The Dark Ages is built around it, and all the better for it. From the very start, your shield serves plenty of crucial purposes: simple defense; clearing out fodder; holding bigger baddies in place and interrupting their attacks; helping you close enemy gaps as a fast-travel device; interacting with puzzles and switches; and battering the occasional enemy to death. OK, its settings aren't *always* boring. Top of the pile is parrying. Any green projectiles that come your way can be returned to sender, stunning or hurting enemies in customizable ways, thanks to upgrades and unlock runes. It's the most satisfying thing in the game, particularly when you deflect an attack from a hyper-aggressive and hulking baddie on the front foot, rewarded with a satisfying THONNNGGGG sound. You remain steadfast, making you feel like an immovable, unstoppable machine. Even at its most unforgiving setting, the parry timing is never as demanding as Metal Hellsinger's beat-based shooting, quickly becoming second nature. Learning the game's flow is key to success and genuine enjoyment, and more or less dictated by green attacks. Between slower projectiles and grouped enemies, you learn to analyze each battle area and pick your targets. You might have to avoid one for a while ('morale' challenges), or prioritize another (as it's supercharging its compadres), but the rest more or less hinges on what feels most satisfying. You have time to plan your weapons; chaining shield and weapon attacks together delivers some truly gratifying moments as you effectively tear a major brute limb from limb without so much as a threat of retaliation. DOOM: The Dark Ages' extensive, medieval-inspired weapons are delightfully archaic — notably the time-warping Impaler, skull-fragment-spitting Pulverizer and Ravager, hilarious Chainshot, and spectacularly OP Super Shotgun. Upgrade opportunities are frequent but also customizable, with some offering two changeable options for personalized finesse. The Skullcrusher Pulverizer is DOOM: The Dark Ages at its most metal. Still, weapon damage lacks spice — the over-the-top comic sadism and gore that made DOOM Eternal a constant joy is muted. Finishing moves are pared down to stiff boots; gibs are rarely ludicrous; the gloomy color scheme dulls the gruesome elements of injured enemies. While The Dark Ages has been created to stand alone from the two modern DOOM games that preceded it, some of the silly viciousness could, and should, have stayed. Earlier this year, two new additions to the DOOM mix — the Atlan Mech and Mecha Dragon — were hyped as game-changers. Sadly, they're the most boring parts of The Dark Ages. Pictured: The most exciting part of the Atlan mech sections, seeing it from outside, rather than ... More using it from inside. Like your shield, the mech and dragon are built around the parry system, but in simpler, more formulaic terms. When piloting the Atlan, you build up your special ability by dodging attacks from Titans, then deliver fatal blows. You occasionally get a big ol' weapon to add a bit of drama, but that's about it. These sections are low-skill side quests that don't add anything, and even undermine the lore, as your Atlan's deft movement contradicts the incredibly slow motion of mechs fighting elsewhere on the battlefield. Then there's the dragon. Flight controls are tight and responsive, but your quest to defeat Hell Ships and other creatures is repetitive and dull. You lock on to targets, awkwardly line up with them, avoid attacks in uninspired rhythm-action segments, and keep shooting them until they explode or die. Even at the highest difficulty, there's no real risk or reward. Imagine Panzer Dragoon Saga, but with zero purpose. Between them, these new mechanics never feel exciting; you're always waiting to jump out and start shooting. Sure, the dragon helps link huge maps together, but these massive, semi-open-world chapters can fall a bit flat. Multi-point missions are a nice change, but the fun starts to wane when you've cleared out a few infestation points, especially if the final one is on the other side of the map. Collectibles are regularly unlocked via late-stage key discoveries, and you can expect long trudges across often uninspiring maps, even if the Slayer thankfully outpaces an Olympic sprinter. Speaking of collectibles, DOOM: The Dark Ages litters them throughout levels, and adds even more. Weapon points have been swapped for gold, which you use to buy most upgrades to your arsenal, melee weapon, and shield. There's anywhere between 150 and 400+ gold per level, ranging from individual bars to chests containing 50. Rubies and Wraithstones, which are rarer and harder to find, unlock higher-tier abilities. Some of the levels are, dare it be said, too big? You'll regularly miss an early pickup because you forgot to check your automap, which isn't the clearest thing in the world, especially as you can't set personal waypoints. Then there are mission challenges you nearly always forget to check at the start of each level. A handful are luck-based, specifically the dragon-based ones that hinge on shooting down enemy spacecraft that have a habit of disappearing into the ether when you both fly into a dead end. As someone who 100%ed DOOM Eternal immediately after completing the main story, I don't have the same desire to grab what I missed — the sheer size of some levels alone is enough to put me off, especially for 5/346 missing gold bars, but I'm sure die-hards will rinse it for all it's worth. DOOM: The Dark Ages takes its time to reach its potential, but once it sinks its fangs into you, it's irresistible. It's also incredibly polished; aside from an intermittent sound issue that surfaces during cinematics (which is easily fixed by jumping back to the menu), everything just works. It says a lot that one of my biggest gripes was seeing the word 'acquired' spelled 'aquired' for one set of collectibles. The only way to enjoy The Dark Ages from the very start is to expect its new combat style. It might not be to everyone's tastes, but it delivers on id's promises, across a sliding scale that makes it one of the most playable action-FPS games for all comers. For Game Pass owners, it's a no-brainer.
