DOOM: The Dark Ages, the much-anticipated sequel to DOOM Eternal is just around the corner, and thanks to the folks over at Bethesda ANZ, we had the pleasure of spending several hours checking out the game.

Our hands-on playtime included playing through the entire first chapter of the campaign and the very beginning of chapter 2, before moving on to getting some play time in the Doom Slayer Mech and the dragon-riding combat, before finishing the afternoon up on a larger style section called “Seige” which has multiple different objectives and arenas that require your Doom Slaying skills. More on that later.

DOOM: The Dark Ages is a prequel to DOOM 2016 where the evil forces of hell are invading a medieval-inspired realm, and the DOOM Slayer is summoned to Rip, Tear and now Bash his way through the demons. The team over at id Software has really stepped it up by making both gameplay and storytelling their highest priority. In DOOM: The Dark Ages, storytelling is no longer done by you, the player, digging through countless different log entries to understand the lore and what’s going on. Instead, we are treated to full cinematic cutscenes.

I’m happy to report that pretty much all the core elements and gameplay mechanics you expect from a DOOM are back for DOOM: The Dark Ages, but with some new tools and mechanics making combat as brutal as ever, and boy, if you thought the past few DOOM titles looked good, you are in for a real treat. DOOM: The Dark Ages looks absolutely gorgeous.

Although it’s filled with a ton of new weapons and abilities to play with, the most obvious new tool in the DOOM slayer’s disposal is his shield saw. This bad boy can do it all; you can block projectiles with it, use it to rush in and shield bash enemies, or use it as a tool to progress through levels and unlock certain areas. Later on, once you get introduced to the parry system, you can use your shield to knock back green attacks towards the enemies, stunning them and giving you a window of attack.

The first section we previewed in DOOM: The Dark Ages was more of what you’d expect from a DOOM game, linear sections, but it was a perfect way to show off the combat and level design and a great way to introduce the new shield saw.

If you’re like me and always wanted to take on those huge demons off in the background in previous DOOM games, and soon enough, you’ll be able to. The second part of the hands-on was with the giant mech.

While our time with this was limited compared to other gameplay elements, I can happily report that it was very satisfying – a nice little change from what we are used to. Mech combat was a combination of powerful punches along with dodges and parries, before taking control of a huge weapon, holding down the trigger and mowing down swathes of enemies.

Next up was the dragon section, where you’ll find yourself controlling and fighting from the back of a dragon, flying around to take down demon Hell Carriers, and doing so consists of destroying any turrets on the sides followed by the main gun on top. Once the turrets are out of action, you dive in and land on the carrier, completing the rest of the job on foot. While I did enjoy myself here, it was my least favourite section to play.

The final section of the DOOM: The Dark Ages we got to play was “Seige”, a large open area with a ton of different objectives to sink your teeth into. We had the freedom to complete them in any order we wanted, and just as we’ve come to expect from the DOOM franchise, there were still plenty of collectibles to track down and all kinds of secrets to find.

Completing objectives rewarded you with gold, allowing you to access the various upgrade stations found on the map. It’s here that we can purchase new and additional upgrades for our arsenal, helping to increase the chance of completing the more difficult objectives, and even then, some of them can still be very challenging.

Once again, id Software looks to be sticking to the already fun and brutal core gameplay that DOOM fans have grown to love, building on it with plenty of new guns, abilities, and gameplay mechanics. Pencilled in to arrive on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S on May 15th, we can’t wait to jump back into DOOM: The Dark Ages and slay.

Written by: MKAU Gaming