The Slayer has returned inDoom: The Dark Ages, ready to take on the forces of hell once again, this time with a medieval twist. The third entry in id Software’s reboot trilogy is another fantastic shooter, but one of the problems with having such an acclaimed development pedigree is that your new projects will likely be compared to your previous successful efforts.
The Dark Ages does have big shoes to fill, as its immediate predecessor, Doom Eternal, was hailed as an achievement in first-person shooting design. It built on the already excellent foundation that was established in Doom (2016), raking in award nominations left and right. How does The Dark Ages stack up? Let’s find out.
Gameplay
Winner: Doom Eternal
Matching Doom Eternal from a gameplay perspective was always going to be quite the task, and in the end, Dark Ages falls just short. Eternal is filled to the brim with mechanics, bringing back the iconic Glory Kill system (sadlyabsent in The Dark Ages) and giving the player myriad movement options (jumps, dashes, and a grappling hook). Enemy variety is also greater, leading to a larger combat sandbox.
Doom: The Dark Ages is no slouch by any metric, but id definitely took the series in a different direction with this entry. Melee combat is a significant focus, asking players to get up close and personal with demons, parrying their strikes. While this turned out to be a welcome surprise, the Atlan and flying sections were more underwhelming, simply asking you to dodge enemy attacks before fighting back with little meaningful variation.
Weapons
It’s hard to say no to a giant laser sword. On top of the firearms you’d come to expect in a Doom game, Eternal gives you access to theextremely powerful Crucible, capable of felling a demon in a single hit. You’ll also receive a flamethrower useful for farming armor pieces, and multiple grenade types to experiment with.
The Dark Ages has a great arsenal of weapons, but the best new additions are in the melee category. The Pulverizer is a unique idea, shooting skull fragments over a large area, but it’s incredibly situational andoutclassed by the Ravager. Having both a grenade and a rocket launcher feels a bit redundant, and turning the BFG into a crossbow, while admittedly cool, proves to be less effective than the original.
Graphics
Winner: Doom: The Dark Ages
As you might expect, the latest release looks the best. The Dark Ages is a demonic beauty, sporting high resolution and impressive texture work, all while running at a solid frame rate. It’s also the debut of the new id Tech 8 engine, allowing the developers to further flex their technical prowess.
However, there is a significant difference in art direction between the two games. Eternal is much more colorful, leaning into an almost cartoony aesthetic at times. You may find you prefer this aesthetic, since The Dark Ages can sometimes be a little too dark, appropriately, for its own good.
Story
Your eyes don’t deceive you; there is a story in a Doom game. Despite what John Carmack may have previously stated, having a satisfying narrative is pretty important in the modern AAA industry. The Dark Ages is a major step up from Eternal, with well-choreographed letter-boxed cutscenes clearly communicating the stakes of each level.
That’s not to say that Eternal lacks any story content whatsoever, but more so that the focus is primarily on the gameplay. It’s possible to traipse through the entire campaign without paying much mind to what’s happening in the plot, very rarely having control taken from you in order tointroduce an enemy like the Marauder. You may even prefer this style of storytelling, since lore is present if you seek it out, but it’s otherwise out of the way.
Music
It was never going to be easy to replace Mick Gordon. The soundtracks for the previous two series entries were an integral part of the new trilogy’s identity, and losing that creative voice is still upsetting. Eternal’s music was excellent, causing many gamers to crank the volume up to dangerous levels.
The Dark Ages was composed by Finishing Move, whose previous credits include The Callisto Protocol and Borderlands 3. While their music is quite good, it unfortunately doesn’t quite hit the same highs as Eternal. Still, there are a few great tracks worth bobbing your head to while you mow down the forces of hell.
Verdict
In this head-to-head matchup, Doom Eternal comes out on top. The improvements it made on top of the already excellent Doom (2016) cemented it as the pinnacle of the FPS genre, and a game that will surely stand the test of time.
Despite falling short of Eternal, the fact that id decided to go in such a different direction with The Dark Ages should be commended. It shows that the developers are willing to experiment with the Doom IP, even after they’ve found a winning formula. This should spur innovation within the space, leading to more unique shooters.
