From Rip and Tear to Zoom and Boom | Doom: The Dark Ages Review

WACO, Texas (KWTX) -

In the beginning, there was only Doom. A pioneering first-person shooter that boldly asked, “what if a guy was so mad not even Satan could kill him?”. What has always kept the blood pumping in this series is the brilliant ways it reinvents being the only thing every demon fears. Slayer isn’t just a one-man army of primordial proportions but he is the most badass demon killer there is. In 2016 Doom brought old school shooters back with a boom. Then Doom Eternal violently ripped into that boomer-shooter style by making a game centered entirely on mobility. So, first we had shoot and slay, then Move and Tear and Now Zoom and Boom. Doom the Dark Doom is not just a new doom that actually is an old Doom, but it’s a rhythm game wearing a legacy DOOM’s face dressed as a medieval knight. Doom: The Dark Ages offers one of the most drastic shake ups to the established Doom gameplay, ditching the double jump and dashes and instead featuring melee combat that incorporates a Captain America-esq shield fitted with a metal as hell chainsaw blade. This takes the Slayer from being a “the best defense is a good offense” kind of killer ‚to being a “the best offense is just defense with a chainsaw”. That visceral ripping blunt-force combat turns up the heat alongside the already exhilarating run-and-gun Doom fighting I’m used to. It’s story is more fleshed out than ever and while I was a little unimpressed with the narrative I have to say this is one hell of a ride from brutal start to finish.

I imagine the pitch meeting for this Doom 2016 prequel was just 80′s metal albums with Doom Guy photoshopped in. Dark Ages drops the Slayer, literally at times, into the middle of a war between the buff guy humans and the 4K slicked up demons of Hell. Sounds like your usual Slayer Monday, but this Doom is set in a techno-medieval world full of chainmail armor, flaming flails but also full auto laser cannons and double-barrel flintlock shotguns. A confusing time of space travel and full-on Arthurian castles. Confusing as it is, it’s also perfect. Thrashing through fields of hell spawns the heavy metal soundtrack while wielding a chainmail gauntlet and nail throwing machine gun is beyond metal. This influence of well...dark ages styled armor, and weaponry carries into every aspect of the Slayer. Draped in a fur cloak, Slayer is absolutely dripping ancient knight demon slayer poise. His armor has been redone in the style of a black knight, still infusing those classic Doom Guy elements like shotgun shells along his leather belt. But most importantly these ideas carry through to his arsenal.

Captain Slayer over here, has been blessed with a shield-wrapped with a chainsaw circle that he can throw and recall, parry, block and shreds enemies to pieces with. This thing rules man, easily turning a lumbering group of red-eyed zombies into splattered chunks on the ground with one tap of a button. It blocks incoming damage, you can use it like a battering ram one upgrade lets you shred a man while bouncing bullets off the shield in what is possibly the coolest shield related thing I’ve ever seen. The shield adds a layer of squaring up with enemies rather than running them down. It’s initially awkward to go from the frantic shooting and evading of Doom’s past to Dark Age’s block and retaliate styles but once you get the hang of it you’ll feel the combat click. This of course, means the Slayer is canonically a Beyblade fan.That’s part of what makes Dark Ages stand out amongst the Doomiverse of Doom Games™, the idea of “stand and fight”. No longer is the goal just avoid damage and kill quickly. Glowing green attacks come flying in amongst the lasers and fire blasts and parrying them helps throw armored enemies off and stun tougher foes allowing you to close the distance and finish them guns blazing. Parrying, whether you like it or not, is a great time adding a layer of challenge to a game that usually only wants you to fire the most bullets to kill something. I knew from the moment I leapt onto the blood-soaked battlefield that this game was going to be good. But I wasn’t ready for how incredible the FEEL of this game was going to be. When the Slayer works up a frenzy and leaps down on an unsuspecting horde of demons, he lands with a hefty slam. I zip across the arena with a shield bash saying in my most metal voice “WHEEEEE” as I decimate a hellish fiend. Zipping around like a tank with booster jets makes the shield feel like the ultimate side arm.

Bolstering that side arm is a wide range of creative death bringers to load up with in the run and gun gameplay. Some personal favorites are the Ravager, a skull fed bone blaster that shreds marrow filled fragments into any unfortunate soul before it. There is also everyone’s favorite gun, a ball-on-a-chain. Just pull the trigger and the ball fires straight out on a chain, pulverizing your foes before returning to the gun. You don’t have to worry about reloads either because the ball is on a chain and the chain is connected directly to the gun. Weapons come in variants too which means more variety to your carnage. There are old school options like the shotgun twins or the nail guns railroad spike throwing brother. Each of the six core weapon types also has upgrades allowing you to get more bang for your gold-bar buck. The incredible sound design is on full display here as the satisfying auditory feedback makes mowing through enemies with guns and parrying feel amazing. There is nothing quite like that resonates gong that you get perfectly parrying an incoming hell attack.

Slayer has more than just guns and a shield at his disposal though. Refined focus on crunchy melee attacks define the DNA of this new Doom. Slayer Players have access to 3 brutal melee weapons on their crusade against the forces of Hell; A heavy hitting punch attack, a soul shattering hammer or the unholy DOOMBRINGER FLAIL that ignites enemies knocking the armor out them with each violent swing. Each of these tools serves a purpose, rewarding getting in close with health and full clips. Like Henry Cavil in Mission Impossible even your arms need reloading meaning you’ll need to balance those melee hits with pick ups to stay ready throw hands. The demons of this ancient hellscape seem to have also gotten the melee memo as you’ll be parrying and avoiding incoming melee attacks while weaving through beams of energy. Dark Ages seems to have almost a rhythmic dance to it, and after countless bloody battles and hundreds of gory glory kills I started to feel the rhythm by instinct. As the slayer faced down massive armies I could feel myself slipping more and more into the beat. A thrillingly entertaining symphony of carnage.

Dark Ages didn’t want to leave our bloodied hands working only on the ground. From time to time the Slayer will take up the gigantic mech suits of the human armies and tango with titans for control of a larger battlefield. These gargantuan dust-ups are more akin to a super sized version of Punch Out, but they are few and far between and never overstay their welcome. You’ll also find your way to the Doom Dragon, a draconic beast that Doom Guy can ride like Top Gun. Hitting Mach 5 while decimating demon ships is a pretty badass way to change up the gameplay. And the first time you watch your dragon land on the face of a demon and barbecue them from the inside out I guarantee you’ll be saying “HELL YEAH”. That being said the dodging mechanics in these dogfights and the lack of real things to do in the air meant that I was always grateful to return to clobbering demons up close.

Doom: the Dark Ages’ level design has drastically opened up compared to previous entries. That doesn’t mean they aren’t as densely packed with secrets and goodies to find. These can range from adorable action figures to full on lore entries to collect. Along side these are optional boss showdowns with more intense versions of standard demons that allowed you to grow your health, stamina or ammo pools respectively. I found myself kind of drawn to finding all the secrets but ultimately these side bars aren’t so interesting as to improve the experience overall. Though the rewards do heavily make them worthwhile.

The story of Doom: the Dark Ages is straightforward Doom tale. But much like the Slayer himself I only cared about spilling demon blood, which works out because much of the story happens away from Doom Guy himself. I don’t come to the gun-shooting demon gore fest for the plot. I don’t care if this is a Wendy’s I’m here to rip and or tear. Thank you.

Doom the Dark Ages is a unique blend of what makes modern Doom work and innovative ideas that keep the series regulars on our toes. At it’s peak it’s a tough as nails, blood-soaked, brutal kill fest with buttery smooth gameplay that puts the power of the Slayer on full display. The Chainsaw shield is the coolest idea this franchise has ever had and sewing chaos in the fields of love-craftian ghouls was an absolute delight that kept me giddy with heavy metal glee from that glorious first shotgun round. ID Software continues to show why they are some of the greatest to ever do the first-person thing and Doom the Dark Ages easily earns an 8 from me. For Hardwired I’m Andrew Hamilton.

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