Doom: The Dark Ages (PS5) Review: Parry Through Hell

Doom: The Dark Ages is a prequel to the 2016 reboot and 2020’s Doom Eternal. While I can’t say I’m particularly interested in the lore of the Slayer’s backstory, there’s plenty of allure in mixing sci-fi and fantasy and giving the Doom aesthetic a significant facelift. Thankfully, the changes aren’t all visual, as the new shield that players possess is a genuine game-changer and one of the most fun additions to a first-person shooter that I’ve seen in years.

While the shield might seem against everything Doom and its sequel’s push-forward mentality stood for, it’s important to judge Doom: The Dark Ages as its own game. While there are more defensive options, and ones you’ll want to deploy if you hope to stay alive against the demons you face, you’ll have to use them offensively as well. The most important part of the shield is the ability to parry green projectiles, which you can then fling back at foes to create openings and do damage. You can also toss your shield, which conveniently gets a chainsaw blade upgrade, at foes in order to stun them, so there’s a great layer of versatility that goes beyond just blocking incoming damage with it.

Getting used to Doom: The Dark Age’s combat loop takes some time, but once it clicks, it becomes a real joy. It gets especially fun once you earn upgrades for your weapons and melee attacks, as you’re bouncing bullets off enemies, using your shield to destroy the heated-up armor of foes, and performing executions to get ammo and health back. While you’ve got to keep defense (or at least parrying) in mind here, you’re still able to play aggressively and get rewarded for doing so.

The game’s boss fights are some of the best examples of the importance of parry attacks, as they allow the encounters to have some really tricky patterns. Having to parry through specific green sections of projectiles in rapid succession is always fun, and there’s even plenty of mini-boss encounters that are unique, enhanced versions of regular foes that give you permanent buffs for seeking them out and defeating them. There are always new skills and weapons to acquire, which keep the gunplay from ever feeling repetitive during the 22-level campaign.

The levels are also incredibly varied, as the Slayer will encounter everything from turrets to being able to ride dragons and even maneuver giant Atlan mechs. The dragon levels are particularly fun, as flying through the air looks genuinely gorgeous, and allow you to really appreciate the game’s sprawling scope and size. The mech is slow and methodical, which makes it a very different pace from the rest of the game, but getting to go up against colossal titans and putting together melee attacks before well-timed dodges makes it quite satisfying. While I wouldn’t say any of the variation tops the core gunplay, that’s exactly why they’re a good diversion and why most of Doom is still a FPS.

The campaign features some fantastic art design, especially in the cosmic realm. The only drawback is that I never got truly invested in the story being told, and there are a bit too many cutscenes than I personally want from a Doom game. I really admired how Doom 2016 just had the Slayer uninterested in any exposition and just wanting to rip through things, but I understand that might be a trick you can only pull once. Regardless of your investment in the narrative, the major gameplay moments the story builds to all deliver, and that’s what truly matters.

Doom: The Dark Ages Review: Final Verdict

Doom: The Dark Ages shows that the team at id Software refuses to rest on its laurels and is always looking to iterate upon Doom’s fantastic base. The addition of the shield helps the gameplay feel entirely fresh, with the parry system and melee combat helping it differentiate itself from Doom Eternal, which perfected the push-forward combat. With a varied campaign that features some truly stellar moments and boss encounters, this is one of the best PS5 shooters ever made.

Disclosure: The publisher provided a PlayStation 5 copy for our Doom: The Dark Ages (PS5) review. Reviewed on version 1.001.000.

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