plot theater director Marty Stratton and Hugo Martin are sitting across from me in Hell . Well , it ’s technically a elbow room embellish in the style ofDoom : The Dark Ages , I d Software ’s highly anticipatedfirst - mortal shooterlaunching on May 15 , but it might as well be Hell . An eerie flushed gleaming is cast over the place , plumes of smoke spew from what looks like chasms leading to glum , demon - filled profoundness , and a medieval version of the iconic Doomslayer helmet rests on a nearby pillar .
But the most interesting turn of decor in this unholy space is a monolithic , jagged - march shield , which sits between the three of us as we chat after my drawn-out hands - on sitting withDoom : The Dark Ages . That shield represents i d ’s desire to shake up the Doom dealership — not just in its gameplay , which is very different from the last two Doom titles , but in its storytelling as well .
Doom diehard , do n’t fret . The Dark Agesstill flavour , feel , and headbangs like a Doom game .
I am your shield
Doom : The Dark Agesis like to the last two titles i d Software has liberate : the 2016 reboot and 2020’sDoom : Eternal , but with fun tweaks and additions that offer you a brand new arsenal of weapons and upgrades for you to wield at your leisure time . The proverb is its crownwork jewel .
Known as the Shield Saw , it ’s a weapon system that both protects and attacks and fundamentally changes the Doom gameplay cringle . After several hours with the game , the shell became my new favorite toy dog , like a deadly teddy bear prevent me safe from all the scary ogre . I was curious about the squad ’s thought appendage in total such a dramatically different Doom arm into the fray .
“ That was the goal , ” Martin tells Digital Trends . “ To introduce as much as we could . There ’s a needle and thread , though . You still want it to find like a Doom plot . ”
And it does . The shield wo n’t protect you forever — it has a block time that runs out and ask you to assail to reload it , so Doom ’s legacy of pushing players towards a massive firefight remain intact . you could also habituate the Shield Saw to deflect and parry Hell Surge projectiles , thrust it at hard - to - hit situation to open up doors or pure puzzles , and , most significantly , bedevil it at super - heated up armour ( indicated by an orange glow ) and collapse it off of big bad guys with a satisfying clangoring of metal .
In inadequate , it ’s f*****g fun .
It ’s kind of like WWW sling …
Martin says the teamlooked back at the originalDoomand its found , three - dimensional shoot - pica - up style for inspiration , which they then immix with medieval and Ancient Greek vibraharp ofThe Dark Ages . “ 300when Leonidas breaks the phalanx and he ’s take the shield and the Spartan sword and the shaft , we very much wanted the instrumentalist to feel like that . ” Martin say .
The first section of my hands - on is a traditional Doom experience : a running , explorable outer space filled with demons , featuring some tucked - away areas that enshroud collectable or Life Sigils ( which afford you an extra lifetime upon death ) accessible only after finding a key plug-in or completing a puzzle . early on on , an orbital supply drop bang into the solid ground in front of me , bring about from it a mean - looking melee gauntlet . Smacking the blaze out of an foe with the gauntlet ( which has three charge before requiring a timed cooldown ) will make them drop ammo , so you ’re encouraged to apply it to plunk into hordes of baddie and start swinging .
“ You solve problems with your shield , you advance things with your fists , and you hurt matter with your guns , ” Martin says simply .
Playing modern Doom game feel like force a monster truck that spews burn from its exhaust pipes and Pentagram from its Speaker while you ’re hopped up on Red Bull and Zyns . The Dark Agesdelivers more of that . The loop between the shield , the gauntlet , and whatever ridiculous gunman I had in my hand at any given moment was like behave a symphony of end that guide me through every battle .
“ It ’s kind of like web sling , ” Martin says of the case of gameplay the addition of the carapace encourages . “ you’re able to just pinball yourself around the arena … you’re able to move around the blank space more aggressively . ”
The added stratum of the carapace is a blessing for a player like me , who often favor to survey the battlefield rather than extend aright in . The shield permit me to protect myself while being more aggressive , which led to me parkouring around arena and pose waste to dozens of ugli fruit .
“ I saw you were dodge quite a bite , ” Martin point out .
In the last section of my hand - on , I was dedicate admittance to a much more open , explorable sphere filled with enemy encounter , portals , puzzle , and most significantly , Sentinel Shrines , which rent you upgrade your frame . As a now - outed Shield look girlfriend , I decided to elevate it so that every time I attain an foeman with a shield or successfully parried a Hell Surge attack , I ’d get ammo for my preferred weapon , the Impaler .
subsequently , I raise it so that I could ping the Shield Saw between enemies like a serrated pinball game . There are dozens of upgrade options centered around the shield , the metal glove , and the Doomslayer ’s arsenal of weapons , offering players a luck to customize their build to wreak death in whichever way they ’d like .
There ’s also a legion of accessibility options , like a camera shake Pseudemys scripta , a human race desaturation slider , and the ability to deform off environmental screen shingle . Difficulty modifiers have players further tuneDoom : The Dark Agesto their playstyle , from the ability to correct the skirt windowpane , to toggle on / off enhanced aim and empowered attacks , and even dumb foe projectile stop number .
Demons and dragons
If you ever toy Doom and thought , “ This is fun , but it would be even more fun if I could mount into an Atlan mech and Kaiju battle a demonic Titan and then later leap on a vast flying lizard and vaporize into struggle , ” you ’re in fortune . Of the four levels played during my hands - on , two were dedicated to new ways to raise Hell in Doom : in a vast mech case lay waste to everything in your path and astride a massive , armour - up dragon .
Martin is very excited about the mech , telling me he ’s want something like it in a Doom biz since he was 13 year old . I only played a snippet of the full level , which had me stomping through a metropolis under siege to get to enemy brush , during which the Atlan can hedge attacks , shoot a massive throttle , or punch the monsters repeatedly like a giant plot of Rock ‘ Em Sock ’ Em Robots . It ’s simple , satisfying , and gleefully absurd .
The Draco is more refined in innovation , letting you ascend and descend rapidly and swimmingly with the public press of a release as you soar through a massive cavern — though I launch its lock - on power , which lets you swivel around a target while firing an car - cannon , to be sticky and cumbersome . But flee on the back of a huge dragon donning medieval armor is as fun and joyful as it sounds , an almost welcome respite from ripping and tearing .
And that ’s knowing . The Atlan and tartar degree , of which Stratton tells me there are several , are design to be “ nice , tonic pace breaker ” that he feels are “ really coolheaded beats ” throughout the game . It feels likeThe Dark Agesaims to elevate Doom even further , to improve upon an already winning formula .
“ You have a certain amount of resource and prison term and money that you’re able to put toward something , so some early decisions leave Hugo [ Martin ] to carry through his 13 - year - honest-to-god dream and bring a mech into Doom , ” Stratton says as Martin laughs beside him . “ I think it ’s the correct decision . These are really coolheaded beats throughout the biz . ”
New gameplay elements , when pair off with fully exalt cutscenes , makesThe Dark Agesfeel like I d Software had a little spare gas when cooking , an added layer of AAA sparkle that shine like a blood - pluck brand hilt .
“ It makes it more accomplished as an experience , ” Stratton say . And the team was able to add these Modern , long - search - after elements exclusively because of an early decision made in - star sign : The Dark Ageswill be exclusive - musician only .
“ 2016 andEternalboth had a multiplayer part , ” Stratton explains . “ The decision to go campaign ahead of time really gave us the resources and the capability to put in some of the things like the Atlan and the dragon , to do the story the way we ’re doing it . ”
We were sitting around watching all the estimable ‘ 80 and ‘ 90s action movies , really studying the musical genre .
The Dark Ageswill tell its tale through cutscenes rather than codex entry , as the series has traditionally done , and from the few that I ’ve see , expect some freaky - look cat , some scary ma’am , and some serious guitar riffs ( all of which , like the gameplay , depend and fathom awful ) . Martin leveraged his connection to his from Blur Studios , a visual arts and vitality studio , to get some great masses work on cutscenes .
“ We had a ball doing it . We were sitting around watch all thebest ‘ 80 and ‘ 90 action movies , really study the genre , ” Martin says . “ What makes it influence ? We all knowRoadhouseis a estimable film , but let ’s go beyond that — why sit a good movie?Rambo , Predator , conk severely , what makes these thing really work and what can we take from that and implement it to our secret plan ? ”
The results are as face - melting as you ’d go for . Watching aDark Agescutscene feels like whenMad Max : Fury Road ’s War Boys huff chrome paint before go into battle — you ca n’t see one and not need to pull the heart out of a devil right away subsequently . Lucky for you , Doom : The Dark Ageswill let you rend out hearts and rent through armour as much as you ’d wish , and it ’ll pump you up to antecedently out of the question heights before letting you liberal .
Doom : The Dark Agesreleases for Xbox Series X / S , PS5 , and microcomputer on May 15 .
