Doom: The Dark Ages review: exciting prequel takes on too much too quickly

      **Doom: The Dark Ages**

      **MSRP: $70.00**

      “Doom: The Dark Ages delivers plenty of excitement but may benefit from slowing down a bit.”

      **Pros:**

      - Doom Slayer gets the recognition he deserves

      - Outstanding combat

      - Complex level design

      - Stunning visuals

      **Cons:**

      

      - Complicated lore

      - Disappointing mech and dragon sequences

      - Consistently flat action

      Just a few missions into Doom: The Dark Ages, I felt as though I hit the pinnacle of action gaming. I was controlling a massive Atlan mech, dominating a battlefield that had seemed vast just moments prior. The sky was scorched above, and buildings crumbled beneath me. One by one, an army of demonic kaiju fell before my metallic fists. How could things get any more intense than this?

      They don’t, and that is both a strength and a weakness of the Doom Slayer’s latest adventure.

      In an effort to outdo the already intense shooter series that reached new heights in adrenaline with 2020's Doom: Eternal, developer Id Software cranks every aspect up to maximum from Chapter 1. The battles are quicker and more vicious, hidden lore turns into flashy cutscenes, and our hero even rides a mechadragon. Each element is an exercise in extreme escalation, attempting to push the limits of hyper-violent shooter glory. While it does reach those heights, it faces a harsh reality: there’s nowhere left to go once you reach the summit.

      Doom: The Dark Ages offers another dose of reliable thrills, building on the groundwork laid by its excellent predecessors. The power fantasy is more potent than ever, but Id Software's pursuit of excess demonstrates that there can indeed be too much when it comes to video game spectacle.

      **Year One**

      Instead of continuing from where Eternal concluded, The Dark Ages serves as a prequel to Id Software’s rebooted Doom series. It functions as an origin story for the Doom Slayer, taking inspiration from Batman: Year One, Frank Miller’s gritty portrayal of The Dark Knight’s first year. This approach establishes the narrative-focused Doom game yet, featuring significant cutscenes. It mirrors the jump from Metroid Prime to Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, where the latter expanded on a famously atmospheric adventure by deepening the lore and introducing a larger cast of characters to convey it through dialogue. The Dark Ages attempts a similar feat for Doom, albeit with mixed results.

      The story takes place during Doom’s own medieval era, where humans wage war against demons using crossbows, flails, and, of course, shotguns. This concept allows Id Software to imagine more primitive versions of classic weapons, but the narrative behind it is the most baffling chapter in Doom’s history. New characters, introduced without proper context, spend cutscenes throwing around proper nouns that ultimately lack significance. A lot of money was spent on a story that mostly amounts to “There’s a war between humans and demons.”

      However, the characterization of the Doom Slayer is more successfully handled. While earlier installments depicted him as an unstoppable killer who always maintained control, here he begins as a mere tool. His origin story portrays him as a living weapon whose personality is stripped away to create a single-minded focus on demon killing. This clever twist adds depth to his typically shallow persona, transforming it into a source of pain that drives him down a more complex path of revenge and havoc. Key moments revealing his humanity help clarify the otherwise convoluted narrative.

      **The Dark Ages goes full Hollywood**

      I understand the impulse behind this. Doom has always been a deceptively deep series. To the casual player, it might seem merely about guns and gore. Dedicated fans, however, argue that there’s much more beneath the surface, and The Dark Ages feels designed to finally appease that audience. Unfortunately, in doing so, Id sacrifices something special about the series. The old games had a mystique tied to their minimal in-game storytelling. They often felt sparse and atmospheric, allowing players’ imaginations to occupy the void. Only the most devoted fans would delve deep, uncovering secret lore concealed within books or cassette tapes. These scattered details gave games like Doom a sense of hidden history, transforming fans into archivists sharing their discoveries.

      As Doom expands, its world ironically feels smaller. Wet concrete fills every crevice, creating a uniform historical record for every player. Even minor details are documented in in-game Codex entries. The 2016 Doom reboot struck a balance, keeping the story sparse and sleek while still broadening the lore. The Dark Ages embraces a more cinematic style and loses some of its uniqueness for it.

      **Primal violence**

      The expanded scope detracts from certain aspects of The Dark Ages, yet it enhances its core action. If Eternal focused on demonstrating the Doom Slayer’s agility, this installment emphasizes raw power. The shooting mechanics remain