‘Doom: The Dark Ages’ review: one hell of a good time

“In 2020’s Doom Eternal, you felt like a fighter jet,” explained game director Hugo Martin in the run-up to the release of the latest entry in the series that fathered the first person shooter (FPS). “In Doom: The Dark Ages, you’ll be an iron tank.” Thankfully, tanks are fun too! A few caveats aside, developer id Software has pulled off another laudable, ambitious reinvention.

• READ MORE: ‘Doom: The Dark Ages’ is the most fun you’ll have with a game this year

First, the plot. Despite worrying noises about a greater emphasis on narrative – this in the series whose creator once compared the importance of story in games to the importance of story in pornos – what we have here serves as an excellent supplement to the game’s power fantasy, namely that “YOU ARE THE SUPER WEAPON IN A MEDIEVAL WAR AGAINST HELL.”

To add more context, demon Prince Ahzrak leads hell’s hordes in a hunt for the two halves of the ‘Heart Of Argent’, an artifact that will conveniently increase the prince’s strength to a level capable of challenging even you, the immortal Doom Slayer, now sporting a dashing fur cape. Basically, it’s Halo with the gore turned up to 11. As the Slayer blasts his way through dark crafts, sky cities and ancient forests, you feel epic; an untethered herald of the apocalypse.

Developers made another controversial promise: to include expansive, sandbox level design in Doom: The Dark Ages. Thankfully, this is less modern cookie cutter open world and more a way to describe that some levels comprise interlinked arenas, where missions can be taken on in any order. Throughout the game, you are rewarded for exploration with secrets and gold, used to purchase upgrades at Sentinel Shrines. Compulsion for upgrades will lure you back into missions as soon as they end – charging through an area will typically net you only 50 per cent of its offerings.

Shield, melee and guns provide the central gameplay loop. The ‘tank-ishness’ Martin warned about is noticeable: the Slayer feels satisfyingly weighty, his quaking returns to earth disintegrating foes and allies alike. In general, you keep to the ground far more than the double-jumping Slayer in Doom Eternal, though the marvellous new Shield Saw lets you lock and charge enemies from across the map. In fact, the shield and the other medieval melee instruments you are provided to bash your way through the hordes of hell sometimes relegate the guns to side arms. There are still standouts though, such as the Skull Crusher which, unsurprisingly, fires torrents of ground-up skulls.

The most explicit influence on Doom: Dark Ages is the classic original, 1993’s DOOM. This goes deeper than the nods to the status bar face and the flaming Lost Souls; it can be felt in the strafing and weaving through the bullet hell of projectiles. There’s a traffic light system at play here, with red projectiles to be strafed or blocked and green to be parried. It’s all very arcade shooter and at lower difficulties, when the bullets are less a storm and more a drizzle, it can feel almost antiquated as your slayer casually sidesteps obstacles. The platform puzzle sections suffer from this same simplicity, with many requiring just a throw of your shield at glowing targets.

Other slight grievances involve interludes where you pilot towering mechs and armoured dragons, with varying results. Enjoyment in these sections scales directly with skill level. For gunplay perfectionists, they will feel like a distraction but for those happily plodding their way through the carnage, they’ll provide a welcome change of pace.

None of these lesser elements warp a brilliant, compelling core. Doom: The Dark Ages stands proudly as its own take on unapologetic fun. And if you’re turned off by the shock of the new, there’s always the previous Dooms to get reacquainted with.