When game director Hugo Martin discussed “Doom: The Dark Ages,” three images spring up over the discourse. The first is Leonidas in the “300” battling the Persians at the Hot Gates in Thermopylae. The second is another Frank Miller project “The Dark Knight Returns” and the last one is a tank.
Those images embody what the team at id Software tried to create with this “Doom” (2016) prequel. “The Dark Ages” brings to life the Slayer Testament lore that players read about in the two previous titles. When Martin and his team designed the game, they wanted it to feel different from the recent entries. If “Doom” (2016) was about running and gunning and “Doom Eternal” made players feel as though the Doom Slayer was a fighter jet, then the prequel was about making the players feel like a tank, barreling through the forces of hell.
BUILT LIKE “A MONSTER TRUCK”
It’s a mindset that goes with the protagonist and the “The Dark Ages” themes. It’s about brutalizing enemies, not with finesse, but raw power. In this imagining of The Doom Slayer, Martin thought of how Miller designed an older Batman in “The Dark Knight Returns” as a superhero who is thick and burly. “Instead of a Ferrari, he’s a monster truck,” Martin said. “Everything is heavy about him.” That’s conveyed in everything about the Doom Slayer’s armor and weapons.
Leonidas from the “300” enters the design process because he echoes the fighting style they envisioned for “The Dark Ages” Doom Slayer. In the prequel, the hero will relentlessly move forward. Players won’t flit through the air, but rather, they’ll be charging at enemies and not backing down, and the key to the new gameplay loop is the Shield Saw.
The Doom Slayer has an abundance of weapons in “Doom: The Dark Ages.” (Bethesda)
OPPORTUNITIES IN SIMPLER CONTROLS
The Doom Slayer can throw it and it can slice enemies and boomerang back to him. He can parry enemy blows, creating openings for counterattacks. When enemies fire energy blasts at players, they can deflect certain ones back at them. The Doom Slayer can even toss his shield and jump to it, acting like a form of traversal. Best of all, all of this is done with one button, according to Martin.
It creates a simpler, more ergonomic control scheme. He said that was a reaction to a flaw in “Doom Eternal,” pointing out that its complex layout was a detriment. It asked too much of players. With a simpler scheme in “The Dark Ages,” players can focus on the action, reacting more rather than thinking. It lends itself to the visceral gameplay that’s a franchise hallmark.
Players can control a giant Atlan mech in “Doom: The Dark Ages.” (Bethesda)
GROUND GAME CHANGES LEVEL DESIGN
Because of the more grounded gameplay, “The Dark Ages” level design is flatter and more expansive. The developers needed a wider area to accommodate the old school gameplay found in the original games. In fact, the team took plenty of inspiration from the classic, trying to emulate its strafe-heavy combat, and that shows up in how players have to dodge enemy projectiles almost like a shmup.
Another wrinkle about the design is that the developers revamped the glory kill system to be more natural. It now flows within the combat, making it less repetitive. Even better, players can now choose from three melee weapons to take into battle. The Doom Slayer starts with the speedy electrified gauntlet but the optionsl expands to include the spiked mace and an iron flail.
The developers also showed off a few other weapons and executive producer Marty Stratton said “‘The Dark Ages’ will have some of the most ridiculously powerful weapons” in the franchise. He added taht it will create only-in-“Doom” moments.
Players will ride a dragon in “Doom: The Dark Ages.” It has a special stage and its on suite of moves. (Bethesda)
BIGGER BETTER RIDES
Two of these extraordinary weapons are the 30-story tall Atlan mech and the other is a fire-breathing dragon. The developers said these special rides have a full suite of abilities that makes it feel like more than a one-of. It sounds as though players will have several opportunities to pilot both in special levels.
The developers said they removed any plans for a multiplayer mode so they could focus on giving players a better single-player experience that included these two gameplay twists.
The other big innovation for “The Dark Ages” is the difficulty system. The game doesn’t just have “Hurt Me Plenty,” “Ultra Violence” and “Nightmare.” It’s more nuanced this time around with players having the ability to use sliders to adjust the speed of the game, the windows for parrying and other aspects.
It improves accessibility so that players can fully enjoy the realization of the Doom Slayer testament writte in the two games.
“Doom: The Dark Ages” is scheduled to launch on Xbox Series X and Series S and PC on May 15.
