During a recent hands-on demo with id Software's gothic prequel, *Doom: The Dark Ages*, I found myself unexpectedly reminiscing about *Halo 3*. Midway through the demo, I was mounted on the back of a cyborg dragon, unleashing a barrage of machine gun fire across the side of a demonic battle barge. After neutralizing the vessel's defensive turrets, I landed atop the ship and charged through its lower decks, transforming the entire crew into a gory mess. Moments later, I burst through the hull on my dragon, continuing my crusade against Hell's machines.
Fans of Bungie's iconic Xbox 360 shooter will recognize the parallels to Master Chief's assault on Covenant scarab tanks. While the helicopter-like Hornet is replaced by a holographic-winged dragon and the giant laser-firing mech by an occult flying boat, the essence of the experience remains: an aerial assault transitioning into a devastating boarding action. Surprisingly, this wasn't the only moment that echoed *Halo*. Although the combat core of *The Dark Ages* is unmistakably *Doom*, the campaign design carries a distinct late-2000s shooter vibe with its elaborate cutscenes and push for novel gameplay mechanics.
Over two and a half hours, I played through four levels of *Doom: The Dark Ages*. The first, the campaign's opener, mirrored the tightly paced, meticulously designed levels of *Doom (2016)* and its sequel. The subsequent levels, however, introduced me to piloting a colossal mech, flying the dragon, and exploring expansive battlefields filled with secrets and powerful minibosses. This marked a significant departure from *Doom*'s traditional focus on mechanical purity, drawing more similarities to games like *Halo*, *Call of Duty*, and even older James Bond titles such as *Nightfire*, known for their scripted setpieces and mission-specific mechanics.
This direction is intriguing for *Doom*, especially considering the series' past shift away from such elements. The cancelled *Doom 4* was initially set to resemble *Call of Duty* with its modern military aesthetic and emphasis on cinematic storytelling and scripted events. id Software ultimately abandoned this approach for the more focused *Doom (2016)*. Yet, here we are in 2025, with *The Dark Ages* revisiting those ideas.
The campaign's rapid pace is punctuated by new gameplay concepts reminiscent of *Call of Duty*'s most innovative moments. My demo began with an extensive cutscene reintroducing the realm of Argent D'Nur, the opulent Maykrs, and the Night Sentinels, the Doom Slayer's knightly comrades. The Doom Slayer is portrayed as a fearsome legend, a nuclear-level threat. While this lore is familiar to dedicated fans who have delved into previous games' codex entries, its deeply cinematic presentation feels novel and reminiscent of *Halo*. This theme continues into the levels, with NPC Night Sentinels scattered throughout, akin to UNSC Marines, creating a sense of being part of a larger force, much like Master Chief.
The character development in the introductory cutscene raises questions about whether *Doom* truly needs this approach. I prefer the subtle storytelling of previous games, conveyed through environment design and codex entries, with cinematics reserved for major reveals, as in *Doom Eternal*. Nonetheless, the cutscenes in *The Dark Ages* are brief and serve to set up missions without disrupting the game's intense flow.
However, other interruptions come in the form of new gameplay segments. Following the opening mission, which featured pure shotgun combat and parrying Hell Knights with the Slayer's new shield, I found myself piloting a Pacific Rim-style Atlan mech to battle demonic kaiju. Then, I soared on the cybernetic dragon, taking down battle barges and gun emplacements. These scripted levels introduce significant shifts in gameplay, echoing *Call of Duty*'s novelties like the AC-130 gunship sequence or dogfighting missions in *Infinite Warfare*. The Atlan feels slow and heavy, with the high perspective making Hell's armies resemble Warhammer miniatures, while the dragon is fast and agile, offering a vastly different experience from traditional *Doom* gameplay.
Many acclaimed FPS campaigns thrive on such variety, with *Half-Life 2* and *Titanfall 2* setting the standard and *Halo*'s blend of vehicular and on-foot sequences adding richness. Yet, I'm uncertain if this approach suits *Doom*. *The Dark Ages*, like *Doom Eternal*, remains a complex shooter that demands constant attention as players juggle shots, shield tosses, parries, and melee combos. In contrast, the mech and dragon sequences feel simplistic and almost on-rails, with combat engagements resembling QTEs more than the dynamic gameplay *Doom* is known for.
In *Call of Duty*, switching to a tank or gunship works because the mechanical complexity aligns with on-foot missions. However, *The Dark Ages* reveals a clear divide between gameplay styles, akin to a novice musician playing alongside a virtuoso. While *Doom*'s core combat will always be the star, I shouldn't be yearning for a double-barreled shotgun while operating a rocket-powered mech.
My final hour of play introduced "Siege," a level that refocuses on id's exceptional gunplay within a vast, open battlefield. The goal of destroying five Gore Portals echoes *Call of Duty*'s multi-objective missions but also evokes *Halo*'s contrast between interior and exterior environments. Here, players must adapt weapon ranges and use charge attacks to cover vast distances, while the shield deflects artillery from tank cannons. The downside is that the expanded space can feel unfocused, with backtracking and empty pathways disrupting the pace. Integrating the dragon as a mobile unit, akin to *Halo*'s Banshee, could enhance the experience and maintain momentum.
The reintroduction of ideas from the cancelled *Doom 4*, including scripted set pieces and vehicle sections, is fascinating. A 2013 Kotaku report highlighted the presence of such elements in *Doom 4*, which id Software ultimately rejected. Now, in *The Dark Ages*, we see these elements reimagined and integrated into the modern *Doom* formula. The campaign features large boarding action setpieces, lush cinematics, a broader cast of characters, and significant lore reveals.
AnswerSee ResultsThe question arises: were these ideas always unsuitable for *Doom*, or were they simply ill-suited when they resembled *Call of Duty* too closely? While part of me remains skeptical, I'm also excited to see id Software potentially make this approach work within the modern *Doom* framework.
The heart of *The Dark Ages* undoubtedly remains its visceral, on-foot combat. Nothing in the demo suggested otherwise, and everything I experienced reaffirmed its status as another brilliant evolution of *Doom*'s core. This alone could carry an entire campaign, but id Software clearly has other plans. Some of the new ideas feel mechanically thin, raising concerns about whether they will enhance or detract from the experience. Only time will tell how these disparate demo elements fit together. I eagerly await May 15th to dive back into id's unmatched gunplay and satisfy my curiosity: Is *Doom: The Dark Ages* a well-crafted late-2000s FPS campaign, or a disjointed one?
