Doom The Dark Ages Hands On: Every Bit As Satisfying As The Last Two

Earlier last week, we were invited by Bethesda and id Software to an early hands on of Doom The Dark Ages. Given that I am a massive fan of the series of the original Doom, as well as the reboot and its sequel, I said yes and took a plane up to Hong Kong for the opportunity to beat, bludgeon, rip, and tear demons with a zeal I’d only find in this franchise.

During the session, Bethesda gave me a chance to not only play several levels, but also briefly experience a couple of sessions with the 30-foot Atlan mecha, as well as the fire-breathing Cyberdragon. Believe me when I say: there is nothing more metal than riding a robotic, Gatling gun-toting, cybernetic dragon that blows fire directly into the mouth of a cyberdemon, and making it explode in the process.

Some Real 300 Vibes Happening Here

In the 2016 reboot, you play a revived Doom Slayer whose anger issues were clearly never resolved before he was sealed away. This was also when the Glory-Kill mechanic was introduced, in all its glory (pun intended), and we’re given a taste of his blinding hatred, fury, and anger. He’s fast, he’s mean, and he’s got no f&%#s to give to the demons.

In Doom Eternal, the Slayer is a whole lot faster and more agile. Thanks to the addition of a dashing mechanic, he’s able to flit and flutter effortlessly across the hellscape, offing the demons either with your infernal arsenal or even more curt Glory-Kills sequences. That, and a lot of running and gunning.

As for The Dark Ages, I’m going to use Hugo Martin’s analogy to describe the game: Basically, you’re King Leonidas as portrayed in the 2006 film adaptation of Frank Miller’s 300. As the prequel to the reboot, the Doom Slayer feels less agile and more of a one-man army, literally. id Software literally designed him to be a goddamn tank, in every respect of the word – his every step feels and sounds heavy, and just jumping over any elevation results in a heavy, thunderous, and purposeful landing. I am talking shaking and sundering.

To that end, the Glory-Kill mechanic is also different from the previous titles. Executing such a kill in The Dark Ages is no longer isolated to individual kills. Think of the Arkham series’ Free Flow Fighting combat system: every melee attack is designed to connect in a fluid state, without ever breaking the chain. It’s more or less the same concept, where the Doom Slayer’s one-shot hits are just a hard “F#$& you” punch to a demon’s face, one after the other. On top of that, you’re given a different melee options, the Shield Bash being the permanent option, the Gauntlet, and the Flail. The latter two are interchangeable but only one option can be active at any given time, although using the flail feels immensely satisfying.

Sadly, the one thing I want to show but can’t is the slider options that Doom the Dark Ages has. As per the reveal trailer, the tab lets you adjust the game’s difficulty based on multiple elements. From the amount of damage the Doom Slayer can take, to how hard demons hit, to how much damage they take before they can be Glory Killed, or even how fast their movement speed is in-game, it’s all tweakable. At the publication of this review, though, Bethesda and id Software says that they’re still ironing out the kinks and should be ready by the time the game officially launches.

Bash, Bash, Bash (And Pew Pews Too)

The Dark Ages introduces a new weapon: the Shield Saw. The weapon is a reimagination of the chainsaw that’s been a staple of the reboot and Eternal, and it serves a multitude of purposes. The first purpose is the most obvious: defense. Basically, raise the shield to mitigate the damage from demons if you feel you’re taking a bit too much but there is a limit to the amount of damage it can take before needing a cooldown. The second purpose of the shield is to perform perfect counters – throughout the hands on, I came across enemies that would perform special attacks that can be parried. These attacks, also called Hell Surges, are highlighted in bright, blighted green and, when countered at the right moment, can cause them to stagger.

The third purpose is that of a flying chainsaw. Throw it at smaller demons, and it rips right through them, while with bigger demons, it stays lodged inside, keeping them staggered through constant spinning. The fourth and final purpose of the Shield Saw is to close the distance. By locking on to a target, The Doom Slayer instantly closes the gap and slams into the demon with so much forces, every other demon within the radius of the bash is instantly gibbed or staggered for a couple of seconds.

The Doom Slayer’s arsenal is still as potent. Well, somewhat. As with all Doom titles, you start off with a shotgun. Of course, the double-barrelled Super Shotgun makes a return and this time, it looks meaner and more wicked than ever.

Several other classic weapons are also making a comeback with Doom The Dark Ages. There’s the plasma rifle that starts off in life as a rapid fire, single-barrelled shooter but can later be upgraded to a double-barrelled weapon. The assault rifle is sort of back, in the form of the Shredder that either fires off short bones or, as I played in the preview, can be upgraded into a railgun that blasts bone spikes.

Then there’s the Pulveriser. If you’ve watched the launch trailer, it’s a literal skullcrusher that shreds the craniums of what I can only make out to be human and spits out bits of it through at the other end, at high velocity, and it gets faster as you hold down the trigger. This feels a lot like the Gatling gun from previous games, albeit with a bigger cone of destruction now. Another weapon that I got to play with – I can’t remember the name of it off the top of my head – is a rifle that fires a ball that is attached to a long chain. The mechanics of it are simple: the longer you hold down the trigger button on it, the harder it hits and farther it flies. This is quite possibly one of the many joke weapons that Doom The Dark Ages has implemented, but by the Makyr, I found this both hilarious and satisfying. Seriously, it is a literal ball-and-chain gag.

Big Ass Robot, Wicked Cyberdragon

Once again, my playtime with the giant 30-foot Atlan robot, and the Gatling gun-toting Cyberdragon was limited, but they were most definitely fun. One element that is prevalent in both their gameplay mechanic is the Hell Surge dodging mechanic. Whether you’re traipsing through besieged ground or flying through the air, you gain perks and increasingly powerful attacks with every Hell Surge you perfectly dodge in Doom The Dark Ages.

With the Atlan, you accumulate your attacks in two tiers: sunder the ground around the equally-sized demons and in the process stun them, or build up all that energy and release a single one-shot kill move on the demon. There’s a moment where you get a double-barrelled Gatling gun too, and if you dodge at the right time, you double its rate of fire.

The Cyberdragon playthrough in my Doom The Dark Ages previes is just as fun, save for some relatively clunky Hell Surge dodging mechanics. At multiple points in the mission, you’re required to engage and lock-on to targets, shooting at them with the guns mounted on top of your dragon. Like the Atlan, dodging Hell Surges at the right time provides a boon which, in this case, allows the guns to fire off heavier ammunition that just decimates guns. This is actually vital when taking on demon ships, because you can’t progress without bombarding the crud out of them. On another note, this is perhaps one of the only times so far that you’ll see stylish animations of the Cyberdragon an assault stomp, ripping out throats, or as mentioned earlier, breathing fire down the throat of a Baron of Hell.

As for the soundtrack, I know that Finishing Move makes it, but at this point, I can’t really say that I’m particularly drawn to it. Throughout my playthrough, the Dark Ages had just one particular track playing, and that’s the same fast-paced guitar rift I heard from when the game from the reveal trailer. It’s early impressions at this stage but it doesn’t hit me as hard as when Mick Gordon was lead composer, drama and controversies notwithstanding. I really will need to hear the entire score before I can draw any conclusions about it.