Doom: The Dark Ages

I've only played two other Doom games prior to picking up Doom: The Dark Ages - the first Doom released in 1993 and Doom Eternal from 2020. Those two games are obviously vastly different from one another, sharing very little besides the fact that they are both First-Person Shooters, feature a main character called The Doom Slayer or Doom Guy, and you kill hordes of demons. However, with the release of Doom: The Dark Ages, Id Software found a way to perfectly merge those two games into a seamless Doom experience that has both the fast paced action and resource management of Doom Eternal and the exploration and power fantasy found in the original Doom. In a way, it feels like The Dark Ages is the final evolution of the transition that Id Software started with Doom (2016), as it still has the visceral fast-paced gameplay of the Doom reboots, but it recaptures something that was lost in Doom Eternal. Instead of finding hidden secrets through platforming challenges that seem entirely out of place, The Dark Ages hides secrets behind locked or hidden doors. It's a subtle change, but one that feels more at home considering the secrets found in the original Doom only required that you had the right key or knew where to look - no parkour required.

There are, of course, new things on display in The Dark Ages that we haven't seen in a Doom game before - the Atlan mech, the dragon Serrat, and a few weapons. While the Atlan mech was usable at the end of Doom Eternal, it is used far more and to greater effect in The Dark Ages. There are entire levels devoted to the Atlan mech and its power and destructive force equally match the Doom Slayer. Serrat, the mechanized dragon of the Doom Slayer, is a great addition to the game story-wise, but its gameplay implementation is a tad lacking. Doom is obviously not a flight simulator, so the flying is a bit haphazard, but the levels involving Serrat are short and just a nice break from blowing away demons with your Super Shotgun. The new weapons added to the Doom Slayers arsenal here are all pretty great. The shield is an absolute standout as it basically transforms the Slayer into an immovable unstoppable tank that can go toe to toe with any demon the game throws at you. Some may find this off-putting as it completely changes a lot of the Doom gameplay formula, but I like feeling like an unstoppable badass instead of someone running down health to stay alive.