Xbox hosted its Developer_Direct event today to kick off the new year, and one of the highlights of the show was DOOM: The Dark Ages, the next game from id Software in the studios newly rebooted DOOM series.
The part of the presentation focused on The Dark Ages confirmed what had leaked only days before, that DOOM: The Dark Ages is set to release on May 15, 2025 – but at least now we have official confirmation.
What didn’t leak though, that hit about as hard as the Slayer punches, was the deep-dive executive producer Marty Stratton and game director Hugo Martin did on how the gameplay in The Dark Ages has changed from DOOM: Eternal and even DOOM (2016).
“In DOOM: Eternal, you felt like a fighter jet. In DOOM: The Dark Ages, you’ll be an iron tank,” Martin says as he begins to explain that this time around, the combat emphasis is “on power over the acrobatics of DOOM: Eternal, and a balance between enemy projectiles, and player movement speed that makes strafing to aim viable again.”
It seems pretty clear that the id team heard the platforming criticisms that players had with Eternal, and have chosen to bring the game back on the ground, in a lot of ways.
But that’s not to say The Dark Ages won’t feel like a new experience. There’s a much more robust melee system this time around, with players having full control over the glory kills they perform, three melee weapon options available at the press of a button, and a shield in one hand at all times that gives the Slayer the ability to block and parry attacks.
It’s nice that the melee options look more expanded, but if you were worried that meant The Dark Ages wasn’t going to be much of a shooter, you can put those worries to rest. It’s definitely still a shooter first by the look of this gameplay, there’s just a lot more bells and whistles this time around.
Speaking of bells and whistles, players will finally be able to pilot that giant mech we’ve been seeing in the Slayer’s hideout. Oh, and the Slayer has a dragon they can fly around on, with a machine gun on their back.
Beyond the combat, the narrative also looks much more robust this time around. A point that could go either way – many fans loved how DOOM (2016) was so bullet-focused on the combat and gameplay, with the Slayer practically punching the story out of the way because it didn’t matter.
Eternal got a little more into the lore of the Slayer and DOOM universe, and while there’s definitely plenty who like the world of DOOM, those players that felt like Eternal’s story got a bit too much focus are potentially going to be even more upset, by what looks like a full-blown narrative here in The Dark Ages. Complete with cutscenes and additional characters.
That deeper story also looks to be supported by a much more open, potentially sandbox-like experience in regards to the world of The Dark Ages. At the very least the vistas here seem to be a far cry from the narrow hallways of Eternal and DOOM (2016).
Other aspects of the game that are seeing significant changes is the series accessibility. There’s a lot more customization that players can do in terms of modifying the gameplay to fit their preferred level, rather than just the multiple difficulty settings. Game speed for example, can be slowed or sped up, to your preference.
All together, it seems like The Dark Ages is set to be the biggest entry in the franchises history, in more ways than one, and potentially one of the best, if all these changes are able to stick the landing.
Source – [id Software]