Doom has had some very divisive titles in its day. Doom 4, while very well received, had some fans saying it was too easy and repetitive. Doom Eternal, while also amazingly reviewed, had some questionable mechanics added to slight annoyances. Doom 6, however, seeks to fix all of the problems while also giving us what we truly want in a Doom game. Does it succeed? Obviously, that's up to the masses, but I believe it does a lot more good than it does harm. While not every game mechanic is a masterclass, there are some very nice touches. There is a TON to go over, with a small hint of spoilers, so let's strap up our shields and pull the string!!
The shield, since we're on the subject, is one of those mechanics that was surprisingly well implimented. Unlike the chainsaw in Doom Eternal, they don't force you to use it, nor do they force you to obtain fuel for it after constant use. This may make it seem overpowered, but only for what is now referred to as "Fodder" demons. You want to use it, because there are some seriously overpowered shields that these demonic zombies carry. In some cases, you need to shoot the shields in order to make them light up with heat, then the shield basically shreds them apart when you throw it. The shield is also very handy when you come across the green attacks the demons lay on you. With a perfect block on these, you reverse them into the opponent for more damage. There are also constant upgrades that have secondary effects. The mechanics are so well placed, it makes you want to use it, especially when the enemy has chainguns. If you over-use it, though, you need to let your shield recharge, so try your best to balance the action.
The weapons line-up also sees a lot of changes. Of all the new guns you get, honestly, there's not really what would be called a "dud" among them. The new skull shrapnel guns, the "Ravager" and the "Pulverizer" are basically the same, but with different overall effects. The Pulverizer was the one that won the day for me because the upgrades to it are a bit more useful. Then there are the two plasma guns, which also have very similar rapid fire, but the Accelerator is so obviously the plasma gun from Quake 3: Arena, so it won my affections. Call me old fashioned.
While it does lack a chaingun, that's basically nixed in favor of the nailgun. We basically perfected chainguns in Doom 4 and 5, so bringing in a nice taste of Quake is more than welcome. The impaler is your sniper rifle while the Shredder (turtle soup) is the super nailgun. It does what the name implies, especially when you upgrade the ammo to not only do more damage, but also detonate on impact of your shield attack. The chain ball gun is an interesting mix of rocket power without the need for distance, but it is also not among my preferred in the arsenal. It's different, but it's also not all that interesting to use.
As said in the trailer review, I am so glad they removed that awful spike from the super shotgun. They condensed the arsenal so that you don't need to spend all day looking for each gun in your wheel, so they allow you to choose which one comes up when you need to change guns. So, the shotgun takes an immediate backseat while its double barreled big brother blasts through skulls and turns demons into greasy smears. Thank GOD they don't limit your ammo so terribly at the beginning. That whole, "you should use all of the guns instead of choosing favorites" was a horrible idea to begin with.
When it comes to the BFC (Ballistic Force Crossbow), let's go with the fact that it does next to nothing to replace the BFG in terms of iconography. It's a powerful oneshot weapon, for sure, and is limited to three shots in order to be used sparingly. It is, however, quite forgettable. I even wrote a great deal of this review before I even remembered to comment on it in the weapons section of this article. It's not terrible or useless, but it just doesn't replace what has been widely considered one of the most powerful weapons in gaming.
In a genuine show of listening to fans, they stopped the ridiculously implimented platforming sections from Doom Eternal and that is like a kiss of an angel in the midst of bursting demon gore. There are still platforms and puzzles to solve, and they can get a little agitating, but it's not at all to the same degree as to slow the pacing down to a crawl. Instead, you need to look for hot metal and green dead bodies with which to throw your shield. It's pretty straight forward, but sometimes they can be really hard to spot. Again, this is only a moderate nitpick.
One strike against the game is that it can be a little inconsistant with how the mechanics are pulled off. Sometimes, when the zombie shields are hot, you throw the shield and literally nothing happens. Throw it again, and they're mowed down immediately. You might think this is because the metal is now hot, but the shields do not even change the slightest shade. Sometimes, you'll throw your shield at enemies and it will begin to saw into their bodies for a good stunning effect, other times you throw it at them and it merely does damage or doesn't have any effect. This goes for the blocking in general. Sometimes you block a green attack and it does literally nothing, other times it blasts back at the demon full force. Whether this was a glitch or not is up in the air, but it happens enough times to be very noticeable. This is the same for the melee attacks.
The flail, gauntlet and mace are all stellar weapons. Rather than just making his punches so weak they can't take down the lowliest zombie (coughETERNALcough), you have a limited number of times before you need to recharge. At first, I thought I would stick with the flail because it's awesome. Then I picked up the mace and my mind was immediately changed. You can only use the mace once before it needs to spend a while recharging, but it blasts off their armor almost immediately and does ridiculous amounts of damage that spreads to nearby enemies. It's kind of addicting to see their limbs fly everywhere from such a massive blow.
When it comes to the demons, that's when this game gets a little wonky. You recognize some of them, and it's really nice to see big commander imps, but there are some that kind of just... are there. The most awesome thing about Doom 4 and Doom Eternal is that you can immediately look at a demon and see what it is. Here, some of them kind of blend together and just sort of die when you shoot them. They have their unique characteristics, but it's not exactly a one-look scenario of "Oh wow, it's those things!" One very noticeable absence is that of the cacodemon. Instead, they're replaced with giant floating tentacle brains in the vain of Duke Nukem 3D. It's like if arachnotrons were suddenly given flight. Arachnotrons get various weapons as well, so you have one that will blast you with lasers and another that will shoot you with a chaingun. It's all a very mixed bag.
Glory kills are now only for the second tier demons and higher, which is a massive improvement. Rather than spending ridiculous amounts of the game melee killing every demon, it's limited to a much more digestible mechanic. There's also demons in armor that needs to be broken before you can actually do your gory murder kills, so there's a nice little added difficulty along with the fodder. There are also giant spider demons and mancubi to consider. Then there are the empowered demons that not only need to be slowly chopped down, but also ones that require you kill the demons around them before you can do any damage.
Rather than having a boss fight in each level, you need to take down a handful of empowered demons. This is nice but I was lamenting the lack of boss battles as a result. Then you get to the later levels and you get a nice smattering of boss battles to sate that hunger. In a small stroke of genius, it created a need and fulfilled it very, very well. These battles range from the top tier demons to a traitorous Makyr known as The Kreed. Killing that pompous gas bag was a wondrous breath of fresh air with multiple tiers and massive disrespectful smashing of his face. Satisfaction hardly scrapes the surface of that feeling.
The story is also a great upgrade from Eternal. It's not nearly as much, though it is a bit more than Doom 4, which is a nice little blend of moderation. You don't need to go into flashbacks and it doesn't give you the origin stories or anything like that. Instead, it shows you how important the Doom Slayer is to the sentinels and how far they will go to get him back into the fray. You even develop feelings for your commanding officer, who turns out to be very important to the plot, as she is, in herself, a plot device. You want to go after them and you want to see him succeed so that he can help the king and those who protect the realms from Hell's evil.
One element that could have easily broken the game to pieces was both the giant mech suit and the dragon riding. Much like Batman Arkham Knight's Batmobile mechanics, these could have taken up 60% of the game and thrown the ripping and tearing out the window. This would have been a massive blow, but instead it's only for a few small sections of the game. That being said, the dragon was a bit of a lowpoint. The dodging and empowering features it possessed were not among the most stellar and it got to be a small annoyance when the dragon appeared for you to get on its back. Thankfully, it is a far cry from being outright cringeworthy.
The titan battles in the mech suit are fun, and you get plenty of it while, once again, not being overbearing. The dodge mechanics are still weird, but it's still a lot of fun bashing the gargantuan titans in the face. You also get to step on normal demons, as well as mow down a ton of structures, especially in Hell. Given what happens to Earth in Eternal, it's a great feeling to pay them back in kind and bash their realm into oblivian with a swoop of your giant mechanical arm.
Now for the big question: Where does this fall in the Doom Top 10's list? People are going to call me names and tell me I'm wrong, but I'd put this at #5, shoving Doom Eternal down a peg. By all means, the comments button is at the bottom of this article, but I will stand by that comment. In terms of Doom 4, it is a contender for the mantle, but it lacks a very important point: Being a Doom game. When you see the demons in Doom 2016, you know that this it is a Doom game and you recognize almost all of the demons. Doom The Dark Ages does feel like a Doom game, but it is so unsaturated and blandly colored that it can be mistaken for a mix of Doom with the color pallet of Quake. Is this a bad thing? Not especially. It does, however, make it a bit overly dreary.
Another MASSIVE loss is that of the soundtrack. It's not a bad soundtrack, but it lacks the gravitas of Mick Gordan's spark of genius. It's kind of hard to notice the music in this one. The only real time I ever even paid any attention to it was when the Doomguy sails a demon barge through Hell's gates in order to get back to the mortal plane, and yes I know how that sounds. It sounds awesome, but then the knockoff BFG Division plays and that's when Mick Gordan is so sorely missed.
Doom The Dark Ages lacks the identity that Doom 4 had in spades, but that does not, in any way, hinder the game itself. It simply hinders it as a title in the Doom roster. Beyond that, this game is absolutely solid. The graphics are awesome, the glitches do nothing to break the game (in the PS5 version, I've heard different stories from the PC version) and you get the ripping and tearing in full force. It's more of the game that we love and if you're a Doom fan, it's definitely worth giving it a fair chance. It adds to the lore without shoving it all in your face while being a prequel that is its own story and with its own look. The replay value isn't quite as strong as Doom Eternal, for a few reasons that include the lack of cheat codes, but it's still there and you can hop to any level in the new game + to try your full arsenal on any level. I know where I'm going to go back to and Kreed had better be ready for a sadistic amount of deaths in his near future. I will load my super shotgun with malicious intent! Virtua Super Buckshot!
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