Doom The Dark Ages isn’t as strong as the other games since Doom 3 in 2004. but it still stands out for its story, action and design.
This is how we first meet Doomguy in the instruction manual for the original Doom game from 1993. The game has no cutscenes or talking. Instead each episode ends with a short bit of text that explains what just happened and hints at what’s next. That’s it for the story. Still Doomguy has a strong personality. Even when he’s hurt and bleeding he keeps going raising one eyebrow and looking for his next fight. When he picks up a powerful new weapon. he grins with excitement ready to use it right away.
In the 2016 version of Doom the game tries to show more of who Doomguy is. Early on a character named Samuel Hayden tells Doomguy that the UAC's work helps humanity. But Doomguy looks at a dead worker’s body and clearly disagrees. Later when Hayden asks him to carefully shut down some power generators Doomguy ignores him and just smashes them with his fists and boots. This shows that Doomguy is angry doesn't trust the UAC and prefers direct action over following rules.
The Doomguy in the 2016 game is great because he has a fun personality. For example When he needs to use a fingerprint scanner. he just grabs the arm of a dead worker and uses their hand. If you find a hidden toy he gives it a fist bump. If he falls into lava, he sinks while giving a thumbs up just like in Terminator 2. The older Doom games also had this fun wild energy like when picking up a chainsaw the game says find some meat. Doomguy in 2016 still has that same playful and wild spirit. It feels like he’s having just as much fun as you are.
Since 1993 Doom has done something very hard in games. It makes the story and the gameplay work really well together. The main character’s personality helps the way you play and the way you play also changes how you see the character. This isn’t just a small extra detail it’s an important part of the game.
In the game Red Dead Redemption the main character John Marston wants to be with his wife and son. But players can choose to do other things instead like picking flowers or helping strangers. Sometimes they even do silly things like kidnapping nuns and using dynamite. This shows a problem in games called ludonarrative dissonance where the story and what players do don’t always match. People have been talking about this problem for a long time but it still isn’t fixed.
Doom 2016 is a special game because the character you play Doomguy matches the story of who he is. Doomguy is simple: he is good at killing demons and really enjoys it. The game is made to fit this idea. Doomguy hates the monsters and when you kill them in brutal ways you get rewards like more health, armor or ammo. For example using the chainsaw to cut a monster gives you more ammo. So the more angry and fierce Doomguy is the stronger he becomes. Playing the game this way makes the character even more powerful.
Doom Eternal tells more about the story and personality of Doomguy now called the Doom Slayer. The fighting, moving and levels are more detailed. Some enemies can only be hurt by certain guns. Moving around often feels like solving puzzles. There are better upgrade systems and a place to rest during missions. But this causes two problems. First because the game shows more about the Doom Slayer's story the makers have to add that character into the gameplay. It’s no longer just about liking to kill demons quickly and having fun the Slayer’s bigger personality makes it more complicated.
Even if Doom Eternal made the character simpler again the way the player plays would still feel different from how the Slayer usually acts. The Slayer is not picky or careful. He doesn’t think too much. But Doom Eternal’s gameplay needs players to manage many small details and be very precise. For example to get over a wall the Slayer must press a button to move a block push the block to the right place, and then jump perfectly to get three power-ups. In the old Doom games from 1993 and 2016 the Slayer just blew up the wall and moved on.
The first two games show a simple and clear character. Eternal tries too hard to make the character more complicated and the game is too complex. But it still tries a different way to tell the story. Now there’s Doom The Dark Ages which is only partly successful. Its gameplay fits Doomguy’s style better because it’s all about strong tough power. You take damage with a shield. You get ammo and supplies by hitting enemies with a flail. This fits Doomguy’s aggressive style and you don’t even need to do a special move to finish enemies. There is very little jumping around and enemies rarely attack from above or below.
In the first Doom game everything happens on one flat level because the game can’t handle up and down movement. In The Dark Ages the battlefield is flat on purpose to make fighting easier and show off Doomguy’s strong and rough style. The game feels like the best way to play as Doomguy because you are powerful direct and never back down. It may be a bit complicated sometimes but compared to other Doom games it’s simple and shows what Doom and Doomguy are really about.
The colorful and fun look of Eternal keeps the playful spirit of Doom and its main character. But The Dark Ages is very different. It feels dark and serious like a gloomy medieval world. Doom is usually not silly but it’s also not so serious. The Dark Ages looks sad. The characters look serious and talk in a serious way. It is always raining. The Baron of Hell is brown not red and the Cacodemon Hybrid looks like a sad version from Doom 3.
Doomguy is now part of a group called the Knight's Sentinel. He has friends and works with a team. What makes Doomguy and his games exciting is that you feel like you are very powerful and unstoppable. Everyone is afraid of you. Doomguy fights in his own very strong and wild way without anyone holding him back.
At the end of The Ancient Gods when the Dark Lord asks Doomguy if he wants to say anything before being killed Doomguy just says no. This shows he won’t follow anyone’s plan and does things his own way. But in The Dark Ages even after he’s free from control Doomguy spends a lot of time doing what others want working with the Sentinels. He doesn’t act as wild and independent So his character and gameplay don’t feel as strong or exciting.
The Dark Ages is another try by id to make a new version of Doom and its hero. After Doom 2016 the studio could have just made two more games that were very similar. Even though Doom Eternal and The Dark Ages are a bit different from the usual Doom style both are interesting to play. The Dark Ages is the third game in this new series and the seventh Doom game overall. It tries to bring new ideas and sometimes it does well. This is a Good achievement.
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