I appreciate how id Software is completely unafraid to shake up the DOOM formula in between games. In 2016, DOOM was a reboot of the franchise and felt traditional, while the changes made in the gameplay loop for its sequel DOOM: Eternal altered things in a way that I didn't particularly enjoy. For DOOM: The Dark Ages, the formula has been changed again, slightly slowing down the combat and making it like the older DOOM games. They have given the Slayer some heft, and the resulting gameplay makes you feel like a berserker armed like a battle tank.

The setting of the game is effectively what you would get if you imagined the Dark Ages as represented on an '80s metal band's album cover. Sure, the Slayer has a fur cloak, and there is a lot of castles and ancient architecture, but there are also plasma weapons and spacecraft. Medieval kings command battalions of soldiers equipped with advanced armor and energy rifles. Pilots within massive, Pacific Rim-style mechs get into melee combat with equally massive demons, and dragons with laser wings fly around the battlefield. The setting plays by its own rules, and I love that.

The gameplay has many changes compared to either of the most recent games in the series. The biggest change comes in the addition of the Slayer's shield, which is almost always available for use in your offhand. It can block incoming projectiles, but it has its own "stamina" bar, so you cannot hunker down forever. If an enemy attacks with a "green" attack, which can be either a glowing melee attack or an actual green projectile, you can right-click just before the attack would hit to parry/deflect. This can stagger enemies in the case of parrying a melee attack and leave them wide open to damage, or in the case of the projectiles, you deflect it back to its sender.

Such projectiles don't always have to be blocked with the shield. Unlike previous entries in the series, and in what feels like a nod to older DOOM games, projectiles often move relatively slowly and can be dodged by moving around. Some projectiles are wider but can be leapt over, and others have limited tracking, so you have to be a little clever in how you move around to avoid them. There are still some faster shots that are harder if not impossible to dodge, but since the majority of them are of the relatively slower variety, it makes fighting large groups of foes more manageable.

The shield is also an offensive weapon of its own, thanks in part to its chainsaw-like teeth that spin around its edge. You can throw the shield at distant enemies like a sadistic version of Captain America, and the shield will cut weaker demons in two. If it hits stronger demons, it will embed itself, cutting into them and stunning them for the duration. You can also hold right-click to lock into an enemy and then left-click to launch at them from considerable distance and bash into them with the shield. This also makes the shield a mobility tool, both to get into and out of trouble.

It wouldn't be a DOOM game without a suitable selection of weaponry befit for a Slayer, and there's an interesting mix of options available in The Dark Ages. Of course, you get a shotgun and super shotgun, but I used the more distinct weapons the most. One weapon called the Chainshot answers the question of, "What if we made a gun that shot a cannonball that retracted back on a chain?" while another one of my favorites shoots a giant spike on a ballistic trajectory that deals heavy damage. The more traditional rocket launcher and grenade launcher make their appearances in the arsenal, but the Skullcrusher's ability to literally grind the skulls of your enemies and fling those fragments in a wide arc is also a nice room-clearing option. In the second half of the game, you also unlock the BFC, which of course stands for "Ballistic Force Crossbow." It has a low and rare ammo count, but it can also clear entire groups of enemies at once with a single shot.

You can get really up close and personal with your enemies and lay into them with melee attacks, first with merely your armored fist and later with a selection of additional options. It never gets old to shield-bash into an enemy and then immediately hit them with a massive flail a couple of times before parrying their attempt to strike back. You only have up to three charges for melee attacks, but they recharge on their own relatively quickly, and melee attacks drop additional health and ammo pickups.

Throughout each level, you will find gold and other valuables to pick up, which can be spent at the shrines within levels to permanently upgrade your guns, shield, and melee weapons. A shotgun upgrade can enable its ability to set enemies aflame, make a fully charged Chainshot hit do extra damage in an area, etc. Shield upgrades improve the effect that the shield has when you parry/deflect an attack, which you unlock throughout the game. Upgrades include creating fissures in the ground in front of the Slayer that stuns enemies or an automatic turret that pops out from the Slayer's shoulder and laces into nearby enemies. It gives you all the more reason to really explore the levels so you can upgrade all of your favorite tools.

Prior to the game's release, the developers said that the levels in The Dark Ages are some of the largest that have ever been featured in a DOOM game, and they were not kidding. While parts of levels are more linear, there are often areas that feel much more open than in any previous game, and they are usually chock-filled with enemies to slay. Some levels are open-ended and feature multiple objectives and multiple paths between them, and in either case, a single level in the game can easily range from 30-60 minutes of gameplay to explore and complete. While I still think that DOOM is at its strongest when the combat is kept at relatively close range, it's also a hell of a lot of fun to leap from a cliff, shield-bash into the middle of one cluster of enemies in a large field, and immediately become the most dangerous thing in the area.

As cool as it is to watch a giant mech punch a demon in the face, it is also a lot of fun to do that yourself. At specific times throughout the campaign, you get to pilot the Atlan, which initially only has its fists as weapons. You'll crush enemy forces beneath your feet as you land rocket-powered punches on foes, and around the time the novelty starts to wear off, the game throws you something like a gigantic double gatling gun weapon to cause new forms of havoc. Everything about the Atlan feels very simple compared to the complexity of on-foot combat, but the game does a good job of keeping such segments spaced out and short enough so they are fun every time.

At times, you will also get to ride atop one of those laser-winged dragons, enabling you to fly around certain parts of levels and land in specific landing zones before proceeding to that area on foot. You will also fight enemies from the air, with a lock-on system that has an enjoyable simplicity. Holding right-click locks onto an enemy, and enemy attacks are all directional and can be dodged. Successful dodges of green attacks overcharge your machine guns, letting you deal heavy damage to the enemy. Similar to the Atlan, the dragon gameplay feels simplified, but it's always fun when the level features it.

DOOM: The Dark Ages is the result of all the lessons id Software has learned from previous entries and wrapping the tweaked gameplay in a distinct and oddly compelling setting. It is simultaneously unmistakable as a DOOM game, but it also feels like a fresh approach to the series. I love everything about this game's combat loop, which feels much better integrated than the disjointed loops in the previous game, Eternal. Frankly, I am going to be sad when the next game in the franchise doesn't let me have my shield.

Score: 9.4/10

Reviewed on: AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D, 64 GB RAM, NVidia RTX 4070 Ti