During my hands-on demo with Doom: The Dark Ages, I found myself unexpectedly drawing parallels to Halo 3. Mid-way through the gothic prequel crafted by id Software, I was perched atop a cyborg dragon, unleashing a torrent of machine gun fire on a demonic battle barge. After neutralizing its defenses, I landed my beast on the ship and charged through its lower decks, reducing the crew to nothing but a crimson mess. In a flash, the warmachine was obliterated, and I burst through its hull, rejoining my dragon to continue my relentless assault on Hell's mechanical legions.
Fans of Bungie's iconic Xbox 360 shooter will recognize the similarity to Master Chief's takedown of the Covenant's scarab tanks. Though the helicopter-like Hornet has been replaced by a dragon with holographic wings and the giant mech by an occult flying boat, the essence of the experience remains: a thrilling aerial attack that transitions into a fierce boarding action. Surprisingly, this wasn't the only Halo-esque moment in the demo. While the combat core of The Dark Ages is unmistakably Doom, the campaign's design seems to echo the late-2000s shooter style, with its penchant for elaborate cutscenes and a push for gameplay novelty.
Over two and a half hours, I played through four levels of Doom: The Dark Ages. Only the first level mirrored the tightly paced, well-designed maps of Doom (2016) and its sequel. The subsequent levels had me piloting a colossal mech, flying the aforementioned dragon, and navigating a wide-open battlefield filled with secrets and formidable minibosses. This represents a significant departure from Doom's usual focus on mechanical purity, instead drawing inspiration from games like Halo, Call of Duty, and even old James Bond titles like Nightfire, known for their scripted setpieces and novel mechanics.
This new direction for Doom is intriguing, especially since the series once shifted away from similar concepts. The cancelled Doom 4 was poised to resemble Call of Duty with its modern military aesthetic and emphasis on characters, cinematic storytelling, and scripted events. Id Software eventually scrapped these ideas, opting for the more focused approach seen in Doom (2016). Yet, here they are again in The Dark Ages, set for release in 2025.
The campaign's brisk pace is punctuated by new gameplay elements reminiscent of Call of Duty's most memorable moments. My demo began with a lengthy cutscene reintroducing the realm of Argent D'Nur, the opulent Maykrs, and the Night Sentinels—the Doom Slayer's knightly comrades. The Doom Slayer himself is portrayed as a legendary, nuclear-level threat. While familiar to those who delved deep into the lore of previous games, this cinematic approach feels novel and distinctly Halo-like. This extends into the levels, where NPC Night Sentinels, similar to UNSC Marines, are scattered throughout the environment, enhancing the sense of being part of a larger force.
The introduction of extensive character development in cutscenes raises questions about whether Doom needs this level of narrative depth. Personally, I preferred the subtle storytelling of the previous games, conveyed through environmental design and codex entries, with cinematics reserved for major reveals, as seen in Doom Eternal. However, the cutscenes in The Dark Ages are strategically placed, setting up missions without interrupting Doom's intense gameplay flow.
Yet, there are other interruptions in the form of new gameplay segments. Following the opening mission, which transitions from shotgun combat to parrying Hell Knights with the Slayer's new shield, I found myself in the cockpit of an Atlan mech, battling demonic kaiju. Then, I was soaring on the cybernetic dragon, attacking battle barges and gun emplacements. These scripted levels introduce significant shifts in gameplay, echoing Call of Duty's standout moments like the AC-130 gunship sequence in Modern Warfare or the dogfighting missions in Infinite Warfare. The Atlan mech feels slow and heavy, giving a Warhammer miniature perspective of Hell's armies, while the dragon is fast and agile, offering a third-person view that feels worlds apart from traditional Doom.
Many top FPS campaigns thrive on such variety, with Half-Life 2 and Titanfall 2 setting the standard. Halo's longevity partly stems from its blend of vehicular and on-foot sequences, adding depth to the gameplay. However, I'm uncertain whether this approach suits Doom. The Dark Ages, like Eternal, is a complex shooter that demands full attention, with players weaving shots, shield tosses, parries, and brutal melee combos. In contrast, the mech and dragon sequences seem simplified and almost on-rails, with combat engagements feeling more like QTEs.
In Call of Duty, switching to a tank or a circling gunship works because the mechanical complexity isn't far removed from on-foot gameplay. But in The Dark Ages, there's a clear divide between styles, akin to a novice musician playing alongside a virtuoso. While Doom's core combat remains the highlight, the thrill of a rocket-powered mech punch shouldn't make me long for a simple double-barrelled shotgun on the ground.
The final hour of my demo shifted to a more familiar ground with the "Siege" level, focusing on id's exceptional gunplay within a vast, open battlefield. The level design alternates between narrow and wide, offering multiple pathways and combat arenas. The objective—to destroy five Gore Portals—echoes Call of Duty's multi-objective missions but also evokes Halo's contrast between indoor and outdoor environments. Here, the core shooting mechanics are given new life in expansive spaces, requiring players to rethink weapon ranges, employ charge attacks to cover vast distances, and use the shield to deflect artillery from tank cannons.
Expanding Doom's playspace can sometimes lead to a loss of focus, with backtracking and empty pathways disrupting the pace. I believe integrating the dragon into this level, similar to Halo's Banshee, would enhance the experience by allowing players to fly across the battlefield, attack from above, and dive into miniboss battles, maintaining the game's momentum.
Despite the mixed feelings, I'm intrigued by the reintroduction of ideas once deemed unsuitable for Doom, reminiscent of the cancelled Doom 4, which was described as more cinematic and story-driven, akin to Call of Duty. The Dark Ages brings back boarding action setpieces, lush cinematics, a broader cast of characters, and significant lore reveals. The question remains: were these concepts always a poor fit for Doom, or were they merely ill-suited when they mimicked Call of Duty too closely?
The core of The Dark Ages is undoubtedly its on-foot combat, which remains the star of the show. Nothing in the demo suggests it won't be central to the experience, and everything I played confirms it's another brilliant evolution of Doom's essence. While I believe this alone could carry an entire campaign, id Software clearly has other plans. Some of the new ideas feel mechanically thin, and I worry they might detract rather than enhance the experience. However, there's still much to uncover, and only time will tell how these fragmented demo missions fit into the larger picture. I eagerly await May 15th to dive back into id's unmatched gunplay and to see if Doom: The Dark Ages will be a cohesive late-2000s FPS campaign or a disjointed one.
