Preview: Doom The Dark Ages turns up the intensity for a joyous gorefest

If any series could get away with giving us more of the same from one entry to the next it’s the rebooted Doom games. Doom 2016 was the perfect modernization of the fast-paced boomer shooter with gory action that kept the adrenaline pumping, and Eternal kept that going, adding features that arguably overcomplicated the simple joy of the formula, but was still a fantastic game. Doom: The Dark Ages strafes in a different direction.

There are several big changes to gameplay, the most important of which is the shield. Despite being a traditionally defensive item, it slots seamlessly into Doom’s quick and aggressive action. By blocking you can target an enemy in view and then dash towards them, dealing heavy damage to all enemies in the immediate area, turning the weakest demons into lovely meat showers. This makes combat even faster-paced than before — alongside your basic movement, you’re now darting around from enemy to enemy, leaving crimson clouds in your wake.

It also introduces the new parry system. When enemies glow green – either firing a projectile or making a melee attack – you can block to parry the attack, stunning the demon. Don’t think you’ll be carefully waiting for foes to strike though — this also keeps the pace up with twitch reactions. One particular demon I faced shows just how fun this system is, as they absolutely shred you with bullets from a distance, but once you come into melee range they will assault you with a barrage of quick parryable attacks that feel unbelievably satisfying to repel, and of course, once you do enough damage you’re rewarded with an opening for one of the series’ signature Glory Kills.

The shield still has more to offer though, as a few levels in it’ll be kitted out with razor spikes along the edges allowing you to throw the shield and pierce through enemies like a murderous Captain America. This pairs with the new armour system for enemies, where you’ll need to super-heat their steel armor by shooting it, then throw your shield to shatter it, letting you rip and tear them apart. This system fits perfectly into the existing flow of combat, giving you one more thing to think about and react to as you’re darting about the combat arenas.

With the shield in play that flow is stronger than ever as each encounter gives you a unique lineup of the game’s various demon types, forcing you to individually analyse each scenario and work out the optimal order to destroy the opposition. On top of that, some minor changes have been made, like how the chainsaw – a weapon that would one-shot enemies and drop loads of ammo – has now been replaced with just a really big punch, which really speeds things up. Much like the previous games, it’s an exhilarating loop where I can feel my mind running at a mile a minute reacting to all of the wild action that gets thrown at me.

Dark Ages also introduces two brand new gameplay styles. First up is the Atlan, a giant walking mech that you can use to stomp through cities and have fistfights with other giant mechs, which is as fun as it sounds. Finally we have a game that understands that just because something’s giant doesn’t mean it has to move slowly, with the Atlan feeling just as responsive as the Doom Slayer. You’ll be striking, dodging, and countering enemy attacks to build up your super-attack bar, which can dispatch of many hostile mechs in one shot. It does feel a little gimmicky, but it’s still a lot of fun, and it will remain that way as long as the full game doesn’t overuse it.

That shouldn’t be a problem though, as it can balance it out with the other new feature: dragon riding. The level I got to play featuring this was, without a doubt, my favourite part of the entire preview. You start out moving at Mach speed through some tunnels, chasing and shooting down ships ahead of you before the combat switches to taking out stationary targets. Here you use the aim button to lock-on to an enemy and then have to directionally dodge the target’s attack as you unleash a machine-gun barrage on it, with dodging certain attacks powering-up your offense.

After an introduction to this formula, the level opens up into a massive assault on a citadel where the gameplay styles are mixed together. First, you must fly around and take out the defenses of the attacking airships before jumping off your dragon to blast your way through it as the Slayer, blowing up the core and landing back on your dragon to do it again. Combine that with a handful of optional objectives to chase down some ships flying around and the series’ usual batch of hidden rooms and secrets, and you’ve got one of the best levels in the entire series.

The linear level design remains in this game, but now it’ll occasionally throw you a much more open area to play with. The last level I got to play gave me freedom to run around an entire battlefield, with the main objectives scattered at all ends and plenty of optional encounters, secrets, and challenges dotted around the place. The level design is such that you can play in whatever style suits you. You can dart straight to the main objectives to keep the breakneck pace going without punishment, or you can take a bit more time to explore to be rewarded with secrets, health, armour, and resources to upgrade your weapons.

In short, Doom: The Dark Ages promises to be the best entry in the series yet. It entirely maintains the fantastic flow of gameplay from previous games, adding new features that only enhance it, while at the same time giving us brand new styles of gameplay that change the pace and are great fun in their own right.