Forget the aerial ballet ofDoom Eternal.Doom: The Dark Agesthrows you into a different kind of hell. This Slayer isn’t the parkour artist; he’s a hulking behemoth tearing through demons. Imagine an enraged bull on ice-glass – brutal, yet there is an instance of beauty in its swiftness. Grounded and visceral, this feeling is a primal scream made into a game.
Forget nimble and finesse. Doom: The Dark Ages catapults you smack-bang into the brutal core of doom-forged glory. Think less about precision instruments and more about a demolition derby gone mad. After a dozen hours soaked in blood with heavy metal in the background, there is a clarion call from within: the devs meant business. They have resurrected the soul of the original and enhanced the slaughter to an unholy apex. The Slayer is not only strong but unimpressed-putting destruction into his own name, powered with chaos and wrath. This is not a mere return to glory; it is Doom chiseled out from hellfire and cranked to 666.
Bethesda
Even then, classic Doom serves up some reminiscing. Combat’s an almost poetic throbbing in quickbeats; doom metal reverberates through the airwaves; and the Slayer is just having a bad day. However, hold on for a moment! This is not a greatest hits album. Enter: the Shield Saw, spinning demons into showers of crimson death by the minute; a wrathful titan stomped hard beneath the local mech; and if you thought you wouldn’t get to ride a dragon, what a great opportunity to surprise you. Fine-tune difficulty sliders let you dial up or down the mayhem; sprawling sandbox maps urge you to paint them red. I’m twelve chapters deep, weapon wheel bristling at the seams, stats all buffed to the extreme, and believe me, there’s been some godhood sampled and dragon fire breathed. The Dark Ages has bitten deep; the primal rhythm calls for a compulsive barbaric waltz down to my very bones. This is not just Doom. It’s the evolution of Doom; the first mouthful of glorious, gore-laden rebirth.
The Slayer’s shield is not a mere accessory; it is the very heart that pumps through every battle. Block, parry, charge, or unleash it as a whirring buzzsaw of doom. Each demon hears a different tune and the Shield Saw knows every step. Parry one that spits green fire back at it and let them choke on their own medicine! Ghouls think they stand in your way? Hurl the Shield Saw and let the walls run red. Medium-sized monsters feel safe? The Shield Saw screams in their faces as a blood-soaked reminder that no one’s safe. Molten armor? Shield shatters it to pieces. Impish infantry hiding behind their own shields? Toasted. Need to get close? Lock on, Shield Slam, and voila, demons pop-led sugar. Midboss with a ranged weapon? Shield Slam will force them to drop guns and play your parry-or-die game.
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The Shield Saw: a merciless outlet of the Slayer’s will. Slap a gauntlet or flail on it, and it becomes a whirlwind of massacre-the twitch muscle reaction to the demonic horde. Forget ten pistols; envision ten beautified instruments of grotesque destruction, each a symphony of death attuned to your style of play. Want to let loose a hailstorm of lead? Done. How about surgical Headshot Artist? Absolutely. Chaos incarnate? Its right hand is mine.
Launched as a crowd-control dream into the landscape by the skull-bearing Pulverizer of The Dark Ages, I was wrong. Chainshot really rules. Imagine a wrecking ball of pain, hurled unholy speed across an expanse to crush demons with a bone-shattering effect. Yes, the recall is one of death itself, as a sickening encore that drags the dead back to hell.
Weapons upgrade trees? Shield Runes? Loads. The truth is, in The Dark Ages, weakness has no power. Just grab your favorite implement of destruction, and let the mayhem roll.
The Slayer on the other hand does not simply fight the enemy. He manufactures carnage. It is a grisly ballet of parrying, tactical retreats, and launching mortars from his shield to ballistic fury, all set to a breath-taking rhythm. I now think of the battlefields as a feast; brightly illuminated heaps of ammo, health, and overshield that rang with a distinctly nostalgic timbre. Demons, in their dying struggles, litter the floor with these life-giving treasures that keep you gliding on the thin edge of death-even when your foe is an endless horde. Entire landscapes are built around the never paid-for battle, each turn breathing a fresh breath of overwhelming intensity, with thick guttural gargantuan howls from demons filling the air. Now picture a huge muscle-bound tank which moves with almost human-like agility. The Slayer is that impossible grace, capable of dodging strikes and attacking with the savvy speed of a seasoned athlete. A perfect synthesis of power and precision is what he stands for. In flesh, he is a weapon of destruction, and genuinely felt in the Dark Ages.
Feeling less than omnipotent? Fear not, mortal!The Dark Agesgrants you access to divine powers by bringing forth a perfectly balanced difficulty slider, available at a moment’s notice. Away with preset limits. Shape your own challenge through ten different parameters, measuring everything from enemy madness to parry window, from projectile speeds to daze periods. From “Aspiring Slayer” all the way down to utter hell on earth “Nightmare” or just concoct your own personal purgatory – It is your decision, and all the power lies within your grasp.
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“Hurt Me Plenty” was a pathetic warm-up. The entry into the “Ultra-Violence” mode was just like that; I would slaughter demons as though they were a bowl of jelly. And thenithappened: One truly brutal battle stopped me in my tracks, a brick wall of teeth and claws. Thoughts of deflation rushed through me. All I felt was the frustration. I refused to surrender to that adrenaline rush and joy ride, though. Instead of compromising my pain and suffering, I doubled down on my damage and resourcefulness by cranking those sliders to levels previously uncharted. Suddenly, I was unleashed. From one-person apocalypse to bather in demon blood.That Dark Ageis not only about difficulty, but it also stands forchoice. It offers a brilliant customization system that, in my opinion, will be one of the defining features of that genre. Another beauty: it’s a two-way street. You can either choose your method of destruction or crank it so high that your vision of hell on Earth is made very clear. Either way, it’s fun to do.
“Down with dungeons and dragons; Doom: The Dark Ages presents to you a beguiling and blasphemous-aspect medieval hellscape. After about twelve hours, my jaw is still in the wrong place. Think of battle-worn castles holding on to cliffs over blighted kingdoms, and labyrinthine underwater realms whispering forgotten secrets; and such ships-craft so enthralling, made from giant skeletons. And, really, there is Hell-a viscera-slicked wonderland of gothic castles and molten rivers of rage.
Beginning with exploration, it feels very much like one’s BFG. Every level is replete with hidden nooks and crannies, concealed for the curious and rewarding those who find them with wonderful secrets. Shall I now say something about being eye candy? Character design is pure nightmare fuel, gloriously realised. A marshmallow-esque corporate alien presents his tentacled minions; King Novik appears fully clad in battle armour, save for those rippling pecs and abs that are ready to go to war. Prince Ahzrak is an ambitious demon, wrapped in blood-red robes that scream high fashion (seriously Dragula really needs to steal that). And the classic demons? They’re back, more grotesque and glorious than ever, begging to be blasted back to whatever unholy pit spawned them.”
The narrative unfolds on a satisfying grand scale, with threads weaving into a surprisingly well-knit tapestry of perilous quests, all converging into one definitively sinister endgame. The final confrontation is around the corner, and I can tell you the anticipation is already eating me up–truly a testament to the gripping quality of the tale.
Bethesda
Two titanic beasts would barely register in The Dark Ages. Imagine piloting a Slayer-sized mech against hellish giants or flying on an armored dragon that will kill anything in its path. The display is infinitely unforgettable: quick thrills between hordes of demonic enemies. A question is posed in my mind: Should these be in the game? The Dark Ages are engraved into my mind as a ballet of strategies and intense satisfaction, a symphony created from customization in constant conflict with infernal arts. The titan and the dragon become the ephemeral one-second footnotes. Though I’m not raging against these additions, I’m kind of shrugging. A dragon ride would be sweet, yet the brilliance at the core of the game douses their fiery breath.
“The Dark Ages: A symphony of brutality, painted gore and glory. Some of the elements feel a little off, but for the most part, the core experience is a never-ending ballet of destruction. Think razor-sharp combat, obsessive glee over customization, and throwing about shields with shopkeeper chaos. This is not just another game to Destroy; this is a glorious descent into an infernal hell, one of the most memorable chapters engraved in blood and fire.”
Doom: The Dark Ages will hit PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S on May 15.
Doom: The Dark Ages (PS5, Xbox and PC)
$70 at Amazon
Thanks for reading Doom: The Dark Ages review: Goodbye parkour hello Shield Saw
