"Doom: The Dark Ages": The end is near!
Almost two months before release, we were able to play "Doom: The Dark Ages". In short: it's going to be intense.
(Image: id Software)
30 years of "Doom" is 30 years of video game history. In 1993, id Software redefined the genre of the first-person shooter. The 2016 reboot and the sequel "Doom Eternal " stepped up the pace considerably and added a few role-playing elements and something of a story to the fast-paced shooter. With the prequel "Doom: The Dark Ages", everything is now set to get even bigger.
Doomsday
And splat! Once again, we strut knee-deep in blood across the battlefield and dismember one monster after another. Sometimes with the mace, sometimes with some kind of shotgun or simply with our chainsaw shield. Perhaps we would have moral qualms about all the carnage if everything wasn't so fast and the bad guys hadn't turned out to be true spawns of hell. We know just a few seconds after playing the game: Where it says "Doom" on it, there's "Doom" in it.
The prequel "The Dark Ages" may not quite be the birth of the Doomguy or later the Doomslayer, but it takes us far into the past. Rabid medieval vibes meet mechs and machine guns. According to Bethesda's PR manager, the carnage should offer more story than its predecessors. However, we hardly noticed any of this during the non-stop action.
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We were able to play four missions at the playthrough event, but they were significantly shorter than the finished version. The first mission mainly served to introduce what is probably the most important new feature in the game: the shield. With it, the Doomslayer can not only block attacks, but also catapult himself directly towards the enemy and ideally finish him off with one of the infamous "glory kills". The shield is later supplemented with a chainsaw, which deals additional damage.
In addition to the usual ranged weapons such as the heavy shotgun and the like, there are also weird guns such as a chain that plows through enemies. A few upgrades provide a bit of a role-playing feel without the need for complex skill trees. It is difficult to say whether this will change by the time the final version is released. Bethesda has kept a low profile. In any case, these are only the superficial facts. Much more important: How does the whole thing play?
Dragons and giant robots
In one mission, we were allowed to swing onto the back of a dragon and take out turrets. A perfect dodge roll created a kind of "bullet time" in which time slowed down briefly. Only when the turrets were destroyed could we land and continue fighting in the usual "Doom" style. Nevertheless, the mix is an unusual game idea for the time-honored series, which brings variety to the usual kill-arena-battle. Good.
Even in the cockpit of a giant robot, the new "Doom" differs from previous games. The problem: it couldn't be simpler. We just stomp through a town, bang around and that's it. That was neither varied nor original. Hopefully this will change by the time of release. Incidentally, we weren't allowed to take any screenshots of this mission or the dragon mission.
The last and biggest mission, which was supposed to be the benchmark for "The Dark Ages", was a completely different story. We sprinted from one battlefield to the next on a large battlefield. Hordes of small enemies, which we burst with our mace, or large enemies, where we first had to destroy the armor – an incredible firework display of action, where there was no time to catch your breath. Catapulting towards the enemy with the shield, countering the melee attack perfectly and then collecting health points. In short, all the things that made the reboot and its sequel an action hit.
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However, there is also something to discover here. Away from the battlefield, there was a small cave where we even had to solve a small puzzle. As with its two predecessors, "The Dark Ages" offers plenty to explore and a few secrets to solve. However, the brain cells are not overstrained. Quite unlike the reflexes on the gamepad or mouse and keyboard. "Doom: The Dark Ages" promises to be fast and stressful.
"Doom: The Dark Ages" in der Vorschau (5 Bilder)
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)We can only say a little about the technical side. We played the game on Windows PCs with an Nvidia RTX 5090 and AMD 7800X3D CPU. No wonder that this setup was able to run the game smoothly in 4K with maximum details. Incidentally, "The Dark Ages" only offers a solo campaign. Once again, fans will have to do without a multiplayer mode.
Interim conclusion
Just over three hours of play from four limited missions still leave some questions unanswered. The duration of the total playing time also remains vague. According to Bethesda, "Eternal" is to be the biggest and longest "Doom". There was hardly anything to be seen of the story, and the section with a giant robot in particular seemed immature in terms of gameplay. Players should not expect any groundbreaking innovations. Despite a few new ideas, "Doom: The Dark Ages" will be an old-school first-person shooter.
Developer studio id Software leaves no doubt about its core competence and offers fast-paced action that ensures speed and excitement by constantly switching between melee and ranged combat. As with its immediate predecessors, there is a pull effect that action fans can hardly escape. Uncompromising, brutal and fast.
"Doom: The Dark Ages" is expected to be released on May 15, 2025 for Windows, PS5 and Xbox Series.
(mack)
