So, now everyone is nice and excited for the new Doom Trailer that was just released! It looks quite stunning, but with today's gaming graphics, you can go ahead and just expect that. It's coincidental that I actually said, a few months back, that it is about time for a Doom game to come forth and meet our judgement and expectations. Well, here we are, and my, there is a lot of good and not-so-good things to see here.
The Bone Splinter gun is new, and it really looks like they wanted to give the Nail Gun a good makeover. It looks fairly decent, but I need to question the shield on a few fronts. Yes, we all know it could make for a cool chainsaw, if that's where they're going with it, but it really looks like someone on ID was a big Captain America fan. Yeah, I know, I'm not going with this for the snappy title, that's really what it felt like. The shield feels a little gimmicky, but it could also turn out to be a good mechanic, so we'll see where that goes.
There were whispers that this was a medieval setting. Well, yeah, it has the medieval Dark Ages theme to it, obviously, but really, can you really consider this medieval? The first weapon we see is the Super Shotgun (Thankfully WITHOUT the stupid meathook) and then we see him put on his shield and BEAM down into a planet. Yes, he uses a flail and it's obvious they made his armor more medieval, but then we see laser technology and the Plasma Rifle GOING WITH THE SHIELD! Look, let them have their half way, it's fine. The medieval theme has always gone with the Doom games, I just hope they don't try to knight Doomguy and give him some Super Ultra Mega Awesome Steed or something stupid like that. Lean into it a bit, just remember why we're here.
It does look like they remembered their roots, though. There is a great amount of ripping and tearing, but I also couldn't help noticing that the Super Shotgun ripped a Mancubus apart in one shot. If that is just a ripping and tearing part for the trailer, that's fine, but I've never seen a Super Shotgun do that kind of damage, unless they nerfed the Mancubus HP, this is a bit strange. Everything else looks brilliant when it comes to the death and the gore. They're going to play up the shield more, yes, and show off its many functions of cutting through enemies and reflecting shots, but I also noticed a flying section at the end.
Yeah, that flying section at the very end, the one that they barely glanced over. I remember having similar thoughts about the platforming in Doom Eternal in that it looked like a very bad, dull mechanic. I really hope we don't have kite/glider sections of this game. Those sections of games, especially for Doom, don't usually go together at all. It was just one snippet, so I won't rag on it or anything, but let's just hope that's another direction they do NOT lean.
The Mech Suit, again, sounds like an idea that could ruin the game to some degree. Much like the batmobile in Arkham Knight, there are just some things that sound great, but can be executed in a way that undercuts the whole experience. On the other hand, this could be a whole new level of ripping and tearing as you take down TITANS akin to the Icon of Sin. That does sound cool for a boss battle, maybe multiple bosses in one battle, but that is a slippery slope.
Now, one small detail I did notice is that some of the demons seem to be using magic. If you look at the Hell Knight just before the flail scene, it really looks like the Hell Knight is trying to cast a spell on you before you blast it down. You can go bowling with the shield with technology and yet there is still possible magic to be had. Alright, I'm down. Magic in the demons is not unheard of, especially if you consider the Archviles, but giving a Hell Knight Magic is a strange concept in general.
How many gigantic titans and awesomeness you go against, I'm still not going to agree with making this an exclusive. Yes, Microsoft bought Bethesda, which means they bought ID, but this is just a very undercutting bid for victory on Xbox's behalf, and it's a little toothless considering their off-handed comments on the future of their AAA gaming section. We may not even get another Xbox or any Xbox games in the very near future and they're packing the pounds on the exclusives now? At the 11th hour? This seems callous and rather short-sighted, but that's the industry for you.
Doom seems like it's going to get another awesome entry, but Doom Eternal, as I said before, was a step down in many respects from Doom 4. The fattening side mechanics, the over-abundance of gimmicks and one-time-use gameplay has added its toll, and we should really hope that they made The Dark Ages a bit more lean in terms of baggage. If you cut the fat from the game, get back to the mechanics that matter, and satisfy the fanbase first, then you will have a game worth while that can experiment in such a way. Let's hope ID Software leans more towards making a DOOM game.
