My Lack of Excitement for DOOM: The Dark Ages

[liyue1987]

As Doom: The Dark Ages approaches, I'm filled with a mix of excitement and curiosity. While Doom Eternal holds a special place for me due to its impact during the tough times of 2020, The Dark Ages brings a new vision that leans into first-person melee and medieval fantasy—elements I'm not as passionate about. I’m open-minded, but it’s hard to match the emotional connection I had with Eternal. I’m curious to see how it evolves, and I’m prepared for a slower build in enjoyment if it clicks. Time will tell!

 

[Zloth]

I'm not even watching that one. Doom 2016 was fun. Doom Eternal was OK for me once I got used to the platforming elements, but the lore had me rolling my eyes. The Doom marine is suddenly some eternal Slayer that's been around forever? I couldn't buy it. Now they're leaning into that more. Blah.

 

[BeardyHat]

I'm not even watching that one. Doom 2016 was fun. Doom Eternal was OK for me once I got used to the platforming elements, but the lore had me rolling my eyes. The Doom marine is suddenly some eternal Slayer that's been around forever? I couldn't buy it. Now they're leaning into that more. Blah.

Agreed.

I didn't bother with Eternal, as the description of the gameplay doesn't sound appealing--though I might be writing it off unnecessarily--but the added Lore and blah, blah, blah, just sounds dull. I don't care about the Lore, I don't need a story, just let me murder demons in cool environments.

Doom was a formative game for me back in 1994 and I enjoyed 2016, but it seems like the more Doom's they make, the further they stray from Romero's Light.

 

[DXCHASE]

I get the hesitation, especially with the studio leaning into more parrying-style fights, im just hoping they can gel that combat with what we all here have come to love about Dooms fast pace, frenetic style.

I like the idea of having more open-world areas to explore and find things but its something that has to work here for me to enjoy it.

I personally like the approach here of the dark ages, the mix of fantasy with Doom. The weapons, like the skull crushing smg gun and the ball/chain weapon look like theyll be fun to use. I dont mind using a shield either and i think itll be fun to fly around and kill things on a bird and in a mech. But again, im a little hesitant too about all this.

At least the doom statue will be a good addition to my doom collection.

 

[ZedClampet]

I get the hesitation, especially with the studio leaning into more parrying-style fights, im just hoping they can gel that combat with what we all here have come to love about Dooms fast pace, frenetic style.

I like the idea of having more open-world areas to explore and find things but its something that has to work here for me to enjoy it.

I personally like the approach here of the dark ages, the mix of fantasy with Doom. The weapons, like the skull crushing smg gun and the ball/chain weapon look like theyll be fun to use. I dont mind using a shield either and i think itll be fun to fly around and kill things on a bird and in a mech. But again, im a little hesitant too about all this.

At least the doom statue will be a good addition to my doom collection.

Maybe it's just me (I'd be willing to bet it's just me), but it sounded very "iffy" in the hands-on article on PCG, but it's hard to really get across the gameplay in writing, or maybe it's hard for me to interpret someone else's description of gameplay. In my tiny, ill-equipped brain, I was picturing the first person equivalent of Black Flag combat where every fight the entire game was just parry/attack.

 

[Zloth]

I really wonder if I would like the game if it was marketed as some version of Hexen instead of another Doom.

 

[ZedClampet]

I really wonder if I would like the game if it was marketed as some version of Hexen instead of another Doom.

okay, first of all, I accidentally hit "report" instead of "reply", so sorry if you get banned, but also Hexen looks kind of relaxing compared to modern boomer shooters. You can get 4 Hexen games in a bundle on Steam for $9.97. Since I am adamant that I wasn't even born yet when they first came out, I may have to grab those and give them a try.

 

[GSarge]

It's looking more and more like the type of game that I'd play once or twice out of curiosity, then never again

And also no Multiplayer? in the game that basically invented Deathmatch? that's lame

 

[BeardyHat]

okay, first of all, I accidentally hit "report" instead of "reply", so sorry if you get banned, but also Hexen looks kind of relaxing compared to modern boomer shooters. You can get 4 Hexen games in a bundle on Steam for $9.97. Since I am adamant that I wasn't even born yet when they first came out, I may have to grab those and give them a try.

The first game is essentially reskinned Doom. Doesn't mean it's bad and in fact, it's fun enough that I played through it entirely via a DOS emulator on a PSP several years ago.

Hexen I've always meant to try after playing the demo back in 96 or whatever. It seemed very neat with a kind of spoke and hub open world, though I've heard that it can be very confusing with lots of backtracking..

Hexen 2 I know I played a demo back in the day, but I don't remember much of it. I believe I have the Demcer 1996 PC Gamer where it was reviewed and I think they gave it like an 86% or something.

There's also Heretic 2, which I definitely played the demo of and thought was pretty cool as a departure. It was a third person action game. It's abandonware now though.

You can also checkout Amid Evil, which is a modern take on the series that came out like 5 years ago or so.

 

[ZedClampet]

The first game is essentially reskinned Doom. Doesn't mean it's bad and in fact, it's fun enough that I played through it entirely via a DOS emulator on a PSP several years ago.

Hexen I've always meant to try after playing the demo back in 96 or whatever. It seemed very neat with a kind of spoke and hub open world, though I've heard that it can be very confusing with lots of backtracking..

Hexen 2 I know I played a demo back in the day, but I don't remember much of it. I believe I have the Demcer 1996 PC Gamer where it was reviewed and I think they gave it like an 86% or something.

There's also Heretic 2, which I definitely played the demo of and thought was pretty cool as a departure. It was a third person action game. It's abandonware now though.

You can also checkout Amid Evil, which is a modern take on the series that came out like 5 years ago or so.

That looks really cool. It also looks like it has that modern madness that seems to want to combine retro shooters with bullet hells. I'm not sure I'm good enough at retro shooters to play that, though I wish I was. Maybe I'd get good enough if I stuck to it, but I don't have a lot of "stick to it" in me. I tend to just move on to the next game,