DOOM: The Dark Ages

When they anounced Dark Ages i was a bit worried of how ID could even get close to the master piece that is Eternal, well here i am telling every one i know how this game not only manages to feel fresh and fun but also (With the DLC) manages to be even better than Eternal. The base game manages to feel fresh and new while also mantaining the doom style, levels are fun and you get a great tool kit the only problem is that you don't really have to use it all, most of the time i used the same 4 guns and made it all the way to the end on Nightmare and some tuned up dificulty... BUT OMG THE DLC ELEVATES EVERYTHING THAT DOOM IS, giving the player the option to be ultra fast, be the tank of the base game or both gives the game a whole new way to see the game, OG levels feelt like a love letter but also knowing what happend to ID feels like a goodbye and makes me appreciate even more this Game and DLC. Base game 9/10. DLC: 11/10.

If You're looking for a similar experience to Doom 2016 or Doom Eternal, This is one of the last places you'll want to look. It is a far departure from the frenetic and engaging gunplay of those games and dive headfirst into the Rock-Paper-Scissors Rythm genre. if that sounds boring to you, That's because it is! Im honestly a little disappointed i ever picked this game up on sale. could have done without the bad taste in my mouth after experiencing some of the most engaging PvE gunplay ever from the first 2 entries. oh and there's apparently some sort of story im supposed to care about in the background... i dont remember a single name from the Gears-of-War-looking-ass cast. Didnt bother finishing it, wont bother

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id Software famously said that, while DOOM Eternal was intended to feel like you're piloting a fighter jet, DOOM: The Dark Ages would be more akin to manning an Abrams Tank. While The Dark Ages is a competent and objectively fun game, I don't think id quite fully realized this vision with the game. My thoughts on DOOM: The Dark Ages as well as its ambitious expansion, Revelations, are incredibly complex and possibly very scattered. I will do my best to organize and articulate these thoughts in this review. I will also attempt to minimize referencing DOOM Eternal as much as possible, but know that I believe Eternal to be the absolute pinnacle of FPS and game design as a whole. The criticisms you will read in this review come from a place of great passion and reverence for id Software's work and may come across as needlessly sensationalist as a result. I also play exclusively on Nightmare difficulty. This is complete conjecture, but I like to believe that after the genre-defining DOOM Eternal and its equally outstanding expansions, id went to the drawing board and realized that it simply wasn't possible to top what they had achieved with Eternal. Thus, the idea to completely revamp the combat system was born in an attempt to deliver a fun experience through another means. This is a noble pursuit and I'm quite content with the idea that every DOOM game will feel different and deliver somewhat unique gameplay. After all, Eternal will always exist and has a fierce modding scene. [h3] DOOM: The Dark Ages [/h3] I don't dislike TDA because it's different, I dislike it because what's different about it is not very good. As strange as it may sound, DOOM does not benefit from build variety or multiple playstyles. There is a right way to play DOOM and every system in the game needs to unabashedly lean into that. Several systems in TDA allow for too much freedom in playstyle and the resulting game does not have a focused gameplay experience. Take the shield for example, you're able to take a defensive stance by blocking, parrying, and shield throws. This runs counter to the offensive, push-forward stance that the shield charge presents wherein you're rushed headfirst into battle. Similarly, there are 3 melee weapons that can be chosen but they all fulfill the same grand purpose of refilling ammo, as well as 4 rotatable shield runes that have little reason to be swapped. The gunplay is a seriously saddening aspect of this game. The entire game can be comfortably beaten with a single gun with little incentive to swap. I used the super shotgun but likely any gun is capable. Again, this goes back to my argument of freedom of playstyle being a bad thing. There is no reason for other guns to exist and be used when one does the job and ammo can so easily be replenished. Mysteriously, id has altogether removed the ability to quickswap between weapons, decimating an entire stratum of gameplay. Secondary mods for guns are equally dull and, for the most part, serve the same purpose as the base mod. The lack of purpose in guns goes hand in hand with enemy design and variety, aside from metal and energy shields, gone are enemy weak points. Players will still find preferred ways to deal with particular enemies and each demon still does have a role to play on the chessboard of battle, but the flowchart of swapping to a certain weapon or mod when a certain demon appears is lost. Likewise, health and resource management is streamlined to the point where you rarely ever have to think about it. All this is to say that I didn't have a very fun time playing The Dark Ages' base campaign. I will never play it again and the sheer thought of having to toil through the mech and dragons sections almost makes my soul recoil in despair. Thankfully, over a year later, id delivered us Revelations... [h3] DOOM: The Dark Ages | Revelations [/h3] To me, Revelations is an abject admission by id that many of the systems in the base game were a failure. Right off the bat, your Shield is destroyed and you're given the highly mobile and versatile Chain Spear. Symbolically, the lousy Abrams Tank that you spent 20+ missions slogging through muddy terrain is blown up by id themselves and repurposed into, you guessed it, an aircraft. Not one as capable as the one you helm in Eternal, but still one with the ability to fly over rugged terrain to make occasional attack runs and provide close air support. It has often been described as an attack helicopter, which is a fitting analogy. Furthermore, level design is greatly improved. Each level in Revelations has identity and vastly differ from each other. Due to the fact that no secrets or collectibles are highlighted on the map, id now forces you to engage with the environments; a stark contrast to the set of middling arenas in the base game where all collectibles were highlighted on the map, likely because id realized that the levels were no fun to explore. Many people contend that the Chain Spear is what makes Revelations so good. This is absolutely true, but the only reason it works is because you're also given the dash (and double dash). How id managed to neglect the dash in TDA is beyond me. The shield is still there and continues to not only be unfun, but is simply unviable in almost every combat scenario in Revelations, primarily due to the baffling decision of not being able to dash while it's equipped. The dash also brings with it the perfect dodge system in addition to the parry system - a natural addition to the flow of combat. The spear brings with it a whopping five new keybinds finally culminating in a rewarding and satisfying combat system. Enemy weak points are also back in a small way through the spear's stab and throw mechanics. The new and modified enemy types assist in bolstering this system as well. Having just completed all achievements, I am also extremely impressed by how id have handled the endgame and postgame. There's quite a lot of stuff to do after beating the golden path and it's all a lot of fun. I hope this is greatly expanded on with their next game and bodes very well for the future of DOOM. If you're anything like me, labor through the base game and I'm positive that you'll manage to find the fun in Revelations.