[I spoil some stuff in this review.]
I want to start this review by saying that this game has a vast story with lots of cinematics. They are all really well made, and I liked watching them. That said, I did not for even one moment care about the story at all. Not even a little. They really just failed at making me care about any character other than the one I was playing. I cared plenty about him, and I loved everything about him.
"Doom: The Dark Ages" is a prequel to "Doom (2016)," but please don't ask me why. I don't really understand the continuity of the new trilogy. The writers made it both complicated and much too subtle at the very same time. I just feel like important information was left out. Who cares?!
This game differs from the other two in that you are more of a juggernaut. You are slow and have a shield you need to use constantly in order to avoid taking damage from a near constant barrage of incoming projectiles and attacks. You also have a nice selection of melee weapons that really hit hard, so if anybody gets close... they won't live very long.
Of course, it would not be Doom without an assortment of ranged weaponry. Since this is set in an older age, they all have a medieval look to them, but they are still fairly high tech. The BFG9000 was actually replaced with a ridiculously overpowered crossbow. In fact, it is called the BFC. I barely used it. I'm not saying it was bad. It was really cool actually. I just never really felt like using it. I don't know how to explain it. The button was always there, waiting for me to press it... and I just didn't.
I think what happened was that I was more into getting into the nitty gritty of the combat rather than just blowing everything up. I really enjoyed the combat in this game. Why just kill everything when you can dive in there and do some rip and tear? I'm willing to bet other people felt this way. The juggernaut gameplay was really well done.
You also can pilot a dragon and walk around in a giant mech suit. Those bits were fun, but I actually found them to be a little on the "gamey" side. How does dodging attacks make your gun go from firing bullets to plasma bolts? That doesn't make any sense. Still, I did like flying the dragon. Pretty metal honestly.
In fact, everything about this game was pretty metal. It is one of the most beautiful games I have ever seen. All the vistas are like out of a heavy metal album cover. Gloriously beautiful. I even took a few pictures along the way.
Oh, and by the way, this game crossovers with the Lovecraft universe. Not only is Cthulhu in the game, you even get to fight him. You also get to go to his home world. I really loved this. I'm sure a lot of people questioned whether or not Doom Guy could fight an elder god.
Even though I don't care about the story, I kind of liked the villain. He reminded me a lot of Darkness from the movie "Legend." Yes, the one played by Tim Curry. Imagine him being the main villain of a Doom game. He was a pretty awesome opponent, and I liked how everything gets resolved concerning him.
My main beef with the game actually had more to do with certain anti-religious hints in the story. Like I said: I don't give a crap about the story. Really, I don't. But there is a sneaky little distrust of religious figures running through both this game and "Doom Eternal." It's annoying, but there isn't enough of it to ever really bother me. Besides, in the world of Doom, you appear to be the closest thing to God anyhow.
I do recommend "Doom: The Dark Ages." It is actually my favorite of the new trilogy. I found it more relaxing and rewarding to play, and it injured my thumb a lot less than the previous game. That said, I think I would rather Id take Doom back to its roots. I don't mind the upgraded visuals, but I just feel it's time to just bring back the basics of what made the original games what they were. It will probably never happen, but that's what I would really prefer. Either way, great game. Just stop with the story-telling already!
This blog was written on June 4, 2025.
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It seems Id believes it has exhausted its original premise so is trying something new: STORY! Now that games are more advanced, they want DOOM to be more sophisticated.
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