On theid Software has a lot of detailsrevealed, the prequel to the DOOM reboot from 2016 and logically also to DOOM Eternal. Starting May 15th, the Slayer will once again target Imps and Cacodemons, but in a very different way than before.
The stoic main character is sluggish and heavyand suddenly fights his way through the hordes of hell in close combat instead of gliding over the heads of the monsters like a fighter jet and constantly bombarding them with rockets and plasma balls.
So The Dark Ages will be completely different than DOOM Eternal– my favorite of the series so far. Back then, it pulled me into a real vortex of action with its extremely high speed, a tough level of difficulty, lots of finger acrobatics and many complex game mechanics.
Just the ever-long projectile relays that are thrown off the fence when changing the guns and mods -More power fantasy is hardly possible!
But not all players think like that– I have often read and heard from friends that the gameplay loop is rather frustrating and intimidating. The Dark Ages tries to do the exact opposite and initially left me in a state of complete shock. But the realignment could be just right for you if id Software implements it well.
Tanks instead of jet planes
At the Xbox Developer Direct, id Software took almost 13 minutes to talk about DOOM: The Dark Ages.A whole range of innovations and changes were presented:
- The movement speed has been significantly reduced; the developers describe it as "standing still and fighting" instead of "jumping and shooting"
- Close combat will come to the fore, but there will also be several weapons, such as a mace or a morning star
- A chainsaw shield becomes the central game element, with it you can dash, block, parry and throw it around as you like - preferably in the face of the hellish creatures
- Firearms are still elementary, but battles are primarily fought at short and medium distances
- There will be more story and therefore more cutscenes and a real villain
- the levels will be significantly larger and often resemble battlefields
- "Vehicles" can be used for the first time in the series: a cyborg dragon with wings made of Argent energy and a horned battle mech
- The controls are less complex and should no longer distract you as much from the actual gameplay
- Glory kills are no longer animations, but rather kicks and punches
Especially when it came to the large game worlds and the reduced pace, I felt really uneasy. I prefer it linear, compact and, above all, extremely fast. However, id Software no longer saw any potential, especially when it came to speed: According to the development team, they couldn't find a way to make DOOM even faster than in Eternal.
That's why they decided to convert the Slayer into a "tank".You should now concentrate solely on the duels with the demons, react quickly to their attacks and look around the area for powerful upgrades.
The new chainsaw shield serves as a kind of Swiss army knife.Not only is it used to block light bullet fire, but it can also be used to dash towards enemies at high speed or zip to a distant position if you've thrown it away.
That's why id Software described the Slayer in an interview as a "wrecking ball" - it takes a few seconds to pick up speed, but then hits the inferno's minions with incredible force.
And that sounds pretty cool even to me!Even if a lower basic tempo almost amounts to heresy for my taste.
There would also be the possibility of parrying or throwing back attacks like in a Soulslike. I can live with that, because...,,etc., like DOOM, are among my absolute favorite games, so finding the right rhythm should also make The Dark Ages a lot of fun.
The Dark Ages will probably be the action game of the year - even for me
In general, on paper, id Software has found some pretty clever solutions to make The Dark Ages appealing to both newcomers and veterans alike. Individual difficulty adjustments, such as the length of the parry window, can be made and the story is more coherent since it is no longer relegated to codex entries.
I actually think that's really brilliant, because I can barely understand the lore of the new DOOM trilogy. The Slayer should not lose his “radiance” either, he continues to be the unstoppable elemental force that would rather “tear and tear” than question his motives.
Ultimately, the only question that remains is whether all the cogs of the realignment will really mesh and The Dark Ages will become the action festival we hope for. In any case, I'm looking forward to finding out, because even if the prequel will have a hard time with me against Eternal, it's still a DOOM. And the DOOM series has never let me down so far.
What do you think about that? Do you like the approach of The Dark Ages better than that of Eternal or DOOM (2016)?
