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DOOM: The Dark Ages throws players into a medieval battlefield filled with demons, combining the signature furious action with a new, harder and more fundamental approach to combat. Id Software has redesigned Slayer, portraying him not as a lightning-fast fighter, but as an unstoppable war machine, heavy, relentless, and absolutely destructive.
Every DOOM The title pushes the boundaries, but The Dark Ages is a radical change that slows down the pace and places more emphasis on brutal exchanges of blows. It's a decision that has proven to be extremely successful, offering a campaign full of a variety of weapons, strategies and thousands of demons ready to be chopped up.
In a year full of fantastic games, DOOM: The Dark Ages manages to stand out as a bloody, explosive attraction.
Gameplay
The Dark Ages remains faithful DOOM DNA, but refines the mechanics with a more deliberate pace. The Slayer's movements are heavier and his actions more calculated. The double jump has been removed, replaced by the "Shield Saw", a multi-purpose weapon that can cut through weaker demons, weaken stronger opponents, and block attacks, with the option to parry certain blows.
Combat now relies more on raw strength and endurance than pure speed. Weaponry complements this change, with devastating options like plasma rifles, heavy spike launchers, and the incredible “Skullcrusher,” which crushes crowned skulls and scatters their sharp fragments among the hordes of Hell.
Players can customize the experience using game speed modifiers (up to 120%), allowing for a faster pace without losing the difficulty of the combat.
Demon leaders bring a strategic dimension, rewarding players who defeat them with increased health, armor, and ammo capacity, which encourages a tactical approach to conflicts.
Research and Upgrades
Levels in The Dark Ages remind of DOOM (2016), filled with battle arenas with larger maps full of secrets. Careful exploration yields collectible figurines, pages of lore (the history of the world in which the action takes place), and puzzles, adding extra layers beyond pure combat.
Players can earn Gold, Rubies, and "Wraithstones" to upgrade Slayer weapons. A standard shotgun, for example, can be upgraded to set enemies on fire, forcing them to drop armor fragments. It's a small but significant tactical element in combat.
Flexibility is key. Unlike DOOM Eternal, which forces a rigid combat flow, The Dark Ages it allows players to experiment with different tools while maintaining strategic depth.
Kaiju Battles and Air Missions
Id Software further expands the gameplay with Serratos, Slayer with a kite used for aerial combat, i Atlas, a giant mech designed for "Kaiju" style combat.
Dragon segments focus on dodging attacks, charging up weapons, and destroying enemy fighter jets with machine guns. Players can also engage in Titan battles, where giant creatures are torn apart in the midst of aerial attacks.
On the other hand, Atlan sequences rely on sheer brutality, allowing players to punch, kick, and destroy colossal opponents with a variety of heavy weaponry. Although fairly simple, both mechanics do a great job of emphasizing the epic scope Slayer's rat.
Brutal Story
Shop The Dark Ages takes place before DOOM (2016), exploring the long-running war between Slayer, Night Sentinel, Hell's legion, which is led by Prince Ahzrak.
Slayer starts as a weapon Makyrsa, used as the ultimate soldier. The story unfolds through impressive cinematics, which, although visually spectacular, maintain the style of a bloody Saturday morning cartoon series, dramatic but relatively simple.
For veterans, DOOM mythology provides a sense of inevitable tragedy. For newcomers, this prequel is the perfect entry point to the series.
Visual and Audio Atmosphere
Started idTech 8 by engine, DOOM: The Dark Ages impresses with its visual beauty. From medieval fortresses, through infernal rivers of lava, to cosmic horrors. Ray tracing technology improves lighting, while HDR support reaches 10,000 nits, ensuring incredible contrast and clarity.
The world feels dynamic, with physical interactions that allow chairs to be destroyed, giant grenades to be scattered, and wooden pallets to be moved, adding further realism.
The sound design is equally impressive. From a blunt impact Slayer from the landing to the crackle of the plasma weapon, each effect is crisp and clear tonally.
While the music in the background, signed by Finishing Move, still energetic, does not reach the legendary status of Mick Gordon from DOOM (2016) i DOOM EternalHowever, it contains several extremely powerful compositions.
Accessibility
Besides the gameplay, DOOM: The Dark Ages is the most accessible title Software ID boredom. It includes adjustable font sizes, game speed modification, and customizable match windows, allowing players to shape the experience to their own needs.
Of particular note is the “Magnify” feature, which enlarges menu text to full screen size, improving readability for all players. It’s a small but powerful change that other publishers should adopt.
All these functions mean that DOOM: The Dark Ages I can easily recommend it to new players. As a prequel, it doesn't require any prior knowledge of the series, while offering the most accessible design that's been released. Id Software ever created.
The game offers about 15 hours of gameplay to complete, and Steam gaming platform costs €80.
performance
To have the chance to play this masterpiece Software ID you need the following components:
- processor: AMD Ryzen 7 3700X or Intel Core i7 10700K
- RAM: 16GB
- Graphic card: NVIDIA RTX 2060 SUPER or AMD RX 6600
- Video RAM: 8192MB
- Operating System: Windows 10 64 bit
- Hard Disk: 100GB of free space
Conclusion
DOOM: The Dark Ages brings a fresh yet authentic evolution to the series. It retains its wild energy while improving combat, exploration, and accessibility.
For veterans, this is a refreshing change. For new players, this is the easiest point of entry. And for anyone looking for pure, unfiltered action, DOOM: The Dark Ages is simply a hell of a good game.
Evaluation za Doom: The Dark Ages je 9+
