Doom: The Dark Ages review – A gloriously gory prequel

Whenever I think about Doom, I imagine running through corpse-filled wastelands, shoving a shotgun into demons' foreheads, and finding some fun toy collectibles between the chaos. It's gruesome, gory, and gratifying, especially when you're going in expecting brutality and are still shocked by how much there is.

I expected much of the same going into Doom: The Dark Ages, knowing it's a prequel to Doom 2016 and Eternal. Although I'm not intimately familiar with the franchise, having only briefly played the 2016 title before skipping straight to The Dark Ages, I was still eager to jump back into Hell and feel like an overpowered war machine.

Hell is where it all started

Doom: The Dark Ages is a prequel to Doom 2016 and Eternal, taking us back to medieval times when demonic hordes first started invading Argent D'Nur. Shortly after The Dark Ages' introduction, you're already met with bloodshed as the demons of Hell rip apart corpses, fire spreads across Argent D'Nur, and the Maykr observe, anticipating the Doom Slayer's arrival to come soon.

There's no beating around the bush when it comes to displaying the mayhem and violence spreading across the planet. It took less than a minute for me to be drawn into the events unfolding in front of me as I eagerly awaited our protagonist's appearance.

The Dark Ages is dark, gritty, and full of viscera everywhere you look. You're given no time to relax as you set foot on the battlefield, shotgun and shield in hand, and watch the world fall around you. It's already abundantly clear you're the only one who can stop these rampaging demons, and you'll only continue proving that as you point your gun at their heads and paint the planet red.

We're punching and sawing through enemies now

If you played previous Doom games, you'll be more than familiar with their brutal nature as you rip enemies apart, break their limbs, and blast them into millions of pieces with your guns. Even with my limited time playing Doom 2016, I became accustomed to this without batting an eye. Don't worry—there's still plenty of this to go around in this title.

Something about seeing it in The Dark Ages' modern, detailed appearance makes it all the more graphic in a shocking yet satisfying way. Introducing mechanics like the Shield Saw and massive mech battles into the mix makes for an even more fascinating experience that I enjoyed more than I expected. If you're looking for guns you used in previous games, don't worry, several of those are returning, too. The Super Shotgun is still my favorite weapon, but oh boy, are the others just as fun.

For a game requiring you to annihilate foes using any and every weapon at your disposal, including the most powerful fists and legs someone could ever ask for, combat still feels relatively simple and easy to pick up. Rather than questioning if there's a way you can grow an extra hand to get better at swapping between weapons, everything is clustered in a few keys, making it easy to switch guns, parry, and jump around without getting overwhelmed. After all, what's the fun in watching a Shield Saw cut through a dozen demons if you're too focused on figuring out controls from two chapters ago?

Where The Dark Ages starts to stray away is in its slower movement than previous titles. You can still run around quickly, but you'll naturally feel more like a powerful, armored tank character than a nimble assassin. If you like speed, you could see this as a downside, but I was quite a fan of this change.

Having the Doom Slayer be a big, brawny dude with punches strong enough to break anything and some of the most brutal glory kills in gaming history, rather than someone who can fly across the map with his speed, is something I've learned to appreciate. While it's easy to want faster boots if a mission is linear, The Dark Ages goes for a much more open-world structure with its chapters, letting you freely explore and learn more about your surroundings.

The sheer volume of enemies in every level is another matter entirely. For some, this can get overwhelming and difficult to manage. At first, it was the same for me. After getting used to the hell that is, well, Hell, it turned into a thrilling adventure that tested my survival and shooting skills. These overwhelming feelings quickly turned into satisfaction and awe as I learned the strengths and weaknesses of my weapons and dove into their upgrade options to make an already overpowered protagonist even stronger.

Doom: The Dark Ages is the first game in years to get my adrenaline pumping with its exhilarating gunplay and detailed visuals. This sentiment only increased with each passing chapter as I experienced different gameplay mechanics, from controlling a massive mech to flying around on a dragon. Having metal music play as you're blasting enemies out of existence makes you feel extra overpowered, especially when you're playing as Doomguy himself. There's a ton of demon variety throughout each mission, with more appearing in every chapter as regular enemies and bosses, making the challenge even more prominent and enjoyable.

There's more to this than shooting guns

I'll come out and say it: secrets are among my favorite features of any games. I'm all for picking up a double-barrel shotgun and blasting a demon's face off, but sometimes, I like to stray from the beaten path to find out what else is in the world aside from bloodshed and chaos. In the first mission alone, you'll quickly discover there's more to this world than monsters invading the planet.

The Dark Ages is full of secrets. From small, hidden rooms that house treasure to the return of toy figurines throughout your missions, there's more to this hellscape than fighting enemies endlessly. Sure, battling monster hordes makes up most of your playthrough in true Doom spirit, but you'll have a chance to relax and detour during each level if you wish. If you're more of a run-and-gun player, then at least you have that as an option, too. Otherwise, The Dark Ages will reward you with lore and other surprises for your efforts.

My other favorite part of games is strategy. I initially didn't anticipate needing much strategy for The Dark Ages and mostly planned on just shooting a shotgun until I finished my playthrough, only to realize just how much strategy potential there is on higher difficulties. Every weapon type has pros and cons that work in certain circumstances, and learning to master them all is the key to survival. You can absolutely get away with favoring one or two weapon types if you're good enough at staying alive, but if you want to master this game, you'll need to learn them all. This level of strategy wasn't something I was expecting, but it's something I've been enjoying since I unlocked my first few guns.

Doom: The Dark Ages has wholly succeeded in reminding me just how fun it is to run around, blast enemies, and try out weapons you'd never see in other games. It puts the hell in bullet hell, except you're the one spewing bullets, and the demons are the ones who're struggling to survive as you continue your onslaught. Being the most powerful Slayer on the planet has never felt so good.

The post Doom: The Dark Ages review – A gloriously gory prequel appeared first on Destructoid.