After four hours with Doom: The Dark Ages: Doom has not played so different in 20 years

4 hours gambled - Doom: The Dark Ages is (almost) perfect!

It was tricky to learn DOOM completely again. How can the forefather suddenly feel so unusual for the genres?

But it is also certain: after my first hours inDoom: The Dark AgesI never want to go back! Because in 2025 the shooter legend has a fundamental change of course that is almost unprecedented in series history.

There was a comparable change in 2004 at mostDoom 3The focus shifted to horror elements and took the foot from the accelerator pedal.

But what exactly does this time change and is it worth getting used to for fans? I slid myself through four levels and deliver the answer.

Disclaimer zum Event
Gamestar was able to try a press version of Doom: The Dark Ages as part of an event for journalists near Mainz for about four hours. The version ran on high-end PCs provided by Nvidia. Bethesda covered the costs for arrival, accommodation and meals on site. The screenshots in the article largely come from their own recordings and are therefore not quite as cracked as the new Doom actually looks in -game.

From jet to tank

What can be felt immediately in the first moments of Doom: The Dark Ages: with the breakneck acrobaticsDoom: Eternalis over now. This is also intended by ID software.

"While you were a fighter jet in the predecessor, you are now rather an unstoppable fighting tank," says Game Director Hugo Martin. Of course, the slayer can still jump, but I spend most of the time on the floor with both legs.

In addition, melee is now a fixed part of the core concept and no more casual mechanics. No worries:This does not replace the gunplay. But there is still a noticeable relocation that gives the fights a completely new dimension.

Overall, in The Dark Ages there is no longer the pure pace, but rather the timing: which weapon, which maneuver or which attack do I use to best master the current situation? However, this includes getting involved with the new mechanics - because there is a lot to understand and learn from the new Doom.

My new sidekick the sign

The central linchpin of most new systems is the (by the way simply noticeable Sau Cool) circular shape, which the slayer always carries in his left hand and which complements the usual firearm in the right corner. Essentially, the sign fulfills four essential functions in combat:

• Block:If I hold the right mouse button, I block frontal damage up to a certain amount with the shield (both close and ranged attacks).
• Parade:If I press the block button at the right moment, I can parry certain attacks (and thus throw projectiles back or make opponents stagger).
• Rush:I can target opponents from the block and then smash them into them - this causes damage and overcomes distances at lightning speed.
• Litter:With a pressure on R I can spin the shield and either smash armor or stun enemies while the saw bores into it.

So the sign is not a purely defensive tool, but the new all -rounder in the arsenal of the slayer and in almost every single fight.

For example, if an arachnotron takes me from a distance with its cannon under fire, I can first block its shots, then jump on it by dash and immediately force him into the (disadvantageous) close combat.

Which brings us to the second important utensil: the morning star!

From the medieval gun cabinet

Unlike in the predecessors, close combat is no longer limited to the Glory Kills, i.e. prepared finishing moves. Instead, I freely use weapons from our press demo from our press demo-and even unleashed devastating combos.

Over 10 minutes with Doom: The Dark Ages show the new direction of the shooter legend

The morning star isOne of several melee optionsthat the slayer in Doom: The Dark Ages takes in the course of the campaign. With the gigantic steel ball, I can thrash into the demon brood up to three times in a row before I have to collect new charges or wait for the Cooldown.

In combination with the shield skills, after some practice I was able to process even small opponent groups into hell goulash without giving a shot! However, it becomes absolutely decisive when I have added so much damage to medium and large demons that they get into stumbling and invite me to the triumphant Ko-Schlag with a violet appearance.

This not only causes a lot of damage, it also feels cursed cool: if I catapult a demonic rider with a metallic "Donk!" From his horned animal with my argument, then give the cattle with a broad-sided shotgun from the double shot and there is ammunition and armor down, I am the most powerful bathroom for a moment that trudges through the shooter landscape.

By the way, all of this now runs in real time and no longer tears me out with a given animation from the flow of the fight. So I always have control and the already brutal battles feel even more immediate.

Doom is stupid? Are you kidding me? Are you serious when you say that!

But that doesn't mean that I can just storm blindly forward in the new Doom and hammer the melee button to win! On the contrary: Since the opponents have adapted to the new skills of the slayer, there areconstantly tactical decisionsto meet.

For example, the zombie soldiers now appear with shields and form a phalanx that I cannot penetrate with normal firearms. After a few hits, however, the shields begin to glow - the signal for the throw of my saw shield! And the entire group of demon bursts with a thunder.

However, due to its stone skin, a new variation of the ImpS is completely immune to the shield throw, so only the pure firepower remains here. This in turn does not align anything against the thick shell of the new demonic combat tanks - but I parry their projectiles with the right timing, the things fly into the air with just one goal.

In addition to their armor, certain minioses even have a second line of defense: a demon with morality can only be killed when I have set its moral beam to zero by switching off enough smaller henchmen around it. This multi -stage process can quickly become tricky because the miniboss also perseveres with shot.

"The real power of your firearms is only unleashed by the shield and close combat," explains Hugo Martin from the developer ID. “Everything turns aroundThe right interaction.«

You can already tell: In Doom: The Dark Ages is constantly in demand in the heat of the battle. All the new tools want to be properly combined and our opponents read properly, otherwise my campaign will quickly end in the Quicksave menu.

Doom: The Dark Ages develops a completely new battle dynamics through these building blocks, but still manages to maintain the identity of the series and the brand.

So the actual shooting, at least the core of the Doom brand since 1993, feels better than ever: withcreative new weaponsLike a nail defense, I peek opponents to the walls of the levels, the chainshot cannon shooters a huge steel ball around the ears (and pulls back on a chain) and the skull crusher crushes the skull and spit them as a bullet towards the enemy. And all of this against a medieval backdrop that could come directly from a Death Metal album cover. It only gets it that way.

The bassy sound of the arsenal of weapons, the heavily booming steps of the slayer and the juicy hit feedback, in which demons like to lose one or the other part of the body, finally put the infernal crown on the whole.

A nice side effects of the more down -to -earth gameplay: penalty, i.e. the sideways dodging of floors with A and D, plays a much more important role again and moves me in a pleasant wayBack to the time of the original Doom games. If Eternal was a little too much flight simulation, the comeback to strategic movements in the horizontal will definitely welcome.