My thoughts on Doom: The Dark Ages [SPOILERS]

I'm a very big fan of the Doom series. I think my profile gives off that impression well enough. I have been for almost a decade now, starting from playing classic DOOM on some flash game website. Since then I've played every mainline game through multiple times, aside from full completion of Doom 3. It's not a bad game at all, just kinda lost interest. That being said, my favorite game was Doom (2016), and that had changed when The Dark Ages released.

MUSIC

A Doom game just isn't a Doom game without some metal to jam out to as you slaughter demonic hordes. With the loss of Mick Gordon in Eternal, I was definitely skeptical of id picking someone good for the music for TAG. Fortunately, they went with David Levy and Andrew Hulshult, two amazing musicians in their own rights. After that, I always kinda expected at least one of the two of them coming back, but got a nice surprise with Finishing Move. Pandora's OST was always my favorite in borderlands 3 so I was intrigued to see what they'd come up with. Till then, Andy Strider's covers could hold me over.

When it finally did release, nothing could prepare me for the pure metal injected into this soundtrack. Some of my personal favorites come from a realm I'll get into later, those examples being "Into the Void" and "What Lies Below". These tracks have some brutal guitar with some of the best use of motifs, especially Into the Void. I do think I'm starting to like What Lies Below more though as time passes. Other tracks like Steel Beyond the Grave are both some of the best riffs I've heard as well as seemingly taking what could be old school Doom riffs and Argent Metal-ing them. It's astounding to me that it's not just the music that really feel like a return to the classics in such a satisfying way.

Gameplay

I knew from the reveals that I would be a fan of the Shieldsaw and the parry mechanics. I blame ULTRAKILL. I just didn't realize how good the Shieldsaw would make combat feel. In Eternal, to take out plasma shields, you had to switch to a Plasma Rifle to take it out. It felt kinda forced, especially after many hours of play. Now, the Shieldsaw can take care of that for you. Big crowd? Throw the shield. Annoying Arachnotron pelting you with its minigun? Throw your shield. Random Stalker Imp throw a cross at you? Parry, then shield bash. And not to mention the synergies it has with upgraded weapons. My two most used are Pincushion for the Shredder and the Eldritch Blessing on the Chainshot. Pincusion causes enbedded spikes to shoot out from an enemy when you throw your shield, doing massive damage to everything in a surprising range. Eldritch Blessing allows a parry to instantly charge the Chainshot, making battles with parry-heavy demons feel like a brutal dance of parry, sneak a shot, parry, sneak a shot, melee when you get the chance.

Speaking of melee, Eternal suffered HARD from a nerfed melee system. I'm pretty sure it takes somewhere between 80-90 punches to kill a Possessed in that game. Not only did they buff melee, they made it an integral feature. You have three options for melee: a quick Gauntlet capable of doing Shock damage; a heavier Flail that can ignite enemies and destroy armor; and a brutal Mace capable of destroying even the biggest demons in one strike. You unlock these throughout your campaign through Argent D'Nur, Hell, and beyond. I favor the Flail but each of these are completely viable with their own synergies, strengths, and weaknesses. For example, the Mace is absurdly strong but only has one charge and takes a significant amount of time to recharge. Even then, it is still very fun to use in combat, just as the Gauntlet and Flail are.

The last bit I wanted to touch on for gameplay was some of the enemy behaviors and things I noticed. So the best way to deal with a lot of heavier demons (as long as you don't have, say, a Revenant pelting you) is to throw your shield ASIDE from Hell Knights, Armored Hell Knights, Battle Knights, and most super heavy demons. The stun it provides can be PIVOTAL in either quickly wiping an enemy from the board or stopping it/interrupting it from attacking for a few seconds. Also, purple stuff can be destroyed with plasma, just way slower. Best way to see this is [SPOOOOIIIIIIILEEEEEEEERRRRS] during your fight with the Kreed Maykr or your first fight with Azhrak. They can form little shields around them at times, usually while doing an attack you can only dodge. You can stop the attack and do a little damage if you destroy the shield while they're attacking. Important tip imo.

STORY (FINALLY)

I'm gonna preface with the fact that I'm a lore nerd. I love the deep, rich lore of the Doom series and am very glad we get to see a way deeper look into it this game. I think the best way to do this is to do a brief overview of the story as I understand it so far.

So, before the game takes place, the Slayer is put through the Divinity Machine and given Godlike power. The Maykrs, fearing the Slayer's power, attempted to control and subdue everything but his rage for the demons. The Sentinels, wary of this powerful Outsider, feared him and his unpredictability. The game starts with an attack on the Village of Khalim, a Sentinel mining outpost. the demons and a Mysterious "witch" character are overseeing it, looking for something known as the Heart of Argent. The Kreed Maykr launches the slayer there for "total purification". After the Slayer quells the horde, Azhrak decides to not go for the Slayer but to instead keeping going after the Sentinels, targeting a shield generator on Hebeth (probably Mars).

The Slayer arrives on Hebeth and fights on the ground up until he gets into his Atlan mech and fights with some Titan demons. He makes his way to the core which is going to detonate. He makes his way to an abandoned mineshaft and, with the unwilling help of a Titan, kicks the bomb down the shaft. He saved Hebeth, but now the demons could freely open Hell Gates to Argent D'Nur.

The Slayer then goes to the Sentinel Barracks to get his dragon warmount, Serrat. He then uses Serrat to fly to the Holy City of Aratum as Azhrak is attacking it, looking for the Heart of Argent. The Slayer takes out some flying Hell Barges and makes his way to Novik and Azhrak's location. Azhrak almost gets the Heart of Argent, but Novik escapes with it instead, collapsing the temple over Azhrak.

The demons then besiege the Stronghold of Teroth, where King Novik is keeping the Heart of Argent. The Slayer is called to close the Hell Portals and, while successfully doing so, a Titan had destroyed the energy barrier keeping the demons out. The Slayer then fights his way up to Novik, only to find Azhrak and the Witch already there. The Slayer is thrown of a ledge when he tries to intervene, only for Azhrak to find the Heart of Argent empty. It's missing it's fuel source: the Soul of a Wraith. Before Azhrak can do anything else, the Slayer rises in a half-destroyed Atlan and, while charging the shoulder-mounted cannon, tells Novik one word. Run. He then shoots as Novik flees without the incomplete Heart.

Commander Thira, King Novik's daughter, then brings the Slayer to the Ancestral Forge to empower his weapons. While that is going down, Azhrak possesses a Maykr drone and attempts bargain with the Kreed Maykr. While the Kreed kills the possesses Maykr, it's clear that his words linger on his mind. Afterwards, the Slayer is sent to Hell to Assult Prince Azhrak's fortress, meanwhile Azhrak and the Witch, with info from the Kreed Maykr, learn that Thira IS the Heart of Argent. The Witch says that no harm should come to her and that the "ceremony" must happen in her world. She also tells Azhrak to fulfill his end of their deal; return her God to her realm.

The Slayer fights his way to two Hell Cannons guarding the area and destroys them. He then gets an Atlan Powercore and uses a Atlan to fight his way to Azhrak's fortress. When the Slayer arrives, a projection of Azhrak only tells the Slayer "Our time will come" and then sends a horde of demons to take you out. After, Thira tells you the Kreed calls you both for a meeting at Thira's Command Station.

When you arrive at the command station, demons start attacking it. The slayer then fights his way to the hangar where Serrat is waiting. They then close some hell portals as well as repel some tentacles coming out of a portal in the sky. Once they do, the portal seems to close before one last tentacle comes out and rips the top of the tower that Thira and Kreed are in from its base, pulling it through the portal. The Slayer and Serrat just barely missed it.

The Slayer then heads to the Spire of Nerathul, a place said to house the only being that can bring the Slayer to their world. The Slayer undoes the binds that hold it and it's revealed to be a giant Cthulhu monster called "The Old One". It flies upward into a portal and the Slayer hitches a ride on it with his Shieldsaw, entering the Cosmic Realm.

LORE ON HOLD SO THAT I CAN GAWK ABOUT THE COSMIC REALM

I LOVE the Cosmic Realm. The color palette, the look of the beings there, the way it's woven into the lore of the enemies, everything. It only gets a three level run but I truly think that was the level designers and artists doing some of their BEST work. There are sections where it seems to defy the laws of physics, other moments where you're swimming through air. There's a whole level themed around shipwrecks and you swim through some in between areas. It is SUCH a visual spectacle. Oh, and then Cosmic Baron has to be one of my favorite redesigns so far. Even though it is visually very different, it still bleeds with ferocity, brutality and a malicious dread about it. The Cacodemon made me think we were getting a Doom 3 tie in for a bit, which made me pretty excited to hopefully see Doom 3 finally connected. But instead it's tied to the Cosmic Realm and it's still alright, but I'm still hoping for it to be relevant to the story somehow somewhere. Anyways, Cosmic Realm is pretty cool imo.

LORE CONTINUED (sorry)

Once in the Cosmic Realm, the Slayer's Suit guides him to the location of Thira and Kreed. It takes a while for him to get there, say, about three level's worth. When he gets to the temple she's in, he gets tricked into being eaten by The Old One. He proceeds to kill it from the inside out. When he busts out, he goes back to where Thira was. Going up to her, He tries to pull her out of her levitating trance. The wraith soul instinctively attacks him, paralyzing him with Wraith energy. The "ceremony" then begins, with the Witch using some cosmic magic to separate the Wraith Soul from Thira. The soul goes into the Heart, which attaches to Azrak and giving him immense power.

Azrak then opens a portal directly to the Sentinels, throwing the Slayer's bloody and broken helmet through first. They waste absolutely no time in evacuating. Meanwhile, the Slayer wakes up alone in the Cosmic Realm. Three big Cthulhu monsters are using some Cosmic magic to trap him there, when the Slayer gets an idea. He begins to grab at the Maykr's tether, causing energy to surge towards the big dudes (I'm not writing all that again). He then pulls at it with all his might, ripping it and causing a massive explosion that freed him but also destroyed the platform he was on. He then plummets into the green toxic stuff at the bottom, dying.

This isn't new for the Slayer. He's died before (E1M8, when you go through the end teleporter the level over trigger only shows at less than like 5 health so canonically he died) so when he ends up in Hell, he knows he's gotta find a way back. The Slayer then tracks down the Ship of Souls, a boat meant to take souls in Hell to their respective locations. When the Ferryman (Ferrydemon) asked for payment, the Slayer just shot him with his SSG and stole the ship. He used it to (I'm sorta guessing here) crash into the physical plane.

After the Crash, the Slayer wakes up on a hollow-white wooded area with a blood trail. Following it, he comes upon a pool of blood with his mark floating above it. He walks into it, sinking deeper. On Argent, some Sentinels including Commander Valen, his son Marok, and King Novik are preparing a bloodrite ritual to summon you back. Drawing blood on your repaired helmet with a sarcophagus behind it, priests chant while the sarcophagus fills with blood. Then He emerges from the blood. Valen is the first to offer the Slayer his helmet and tell him of the situation.

The Maykrs have stopped responding and Novik's forces are surrounded. The Slayer's job is to clear out the demonic siege towers and get to the Kreed Maykr's ship. That requires getting on Serrat to fly there. When you get there, he's pleading with Azhrak that he can still be of use. Then the fight begins. After kicking the Kreed off a ledge, you fight him again but with a stronger moveset. Before you kill him, he tells you that Thira is alive and on Azhrak's ship. He also says that if Thira dies, he loses her power, insinuating that he can help you kill her if you spare him. The Slayer rightfully saws him in half.

An empowered Azrak and his strengthened demon horde begin their main attack on Argent D'Nur. Novik and the Slayer go to get into their Atlans but see that the Slayer's is too damaged to fight. Novik then lets the Slayer use the Royal Atlan, which comes with an additional weapon; the Hellbreakers. Twin Shoulder cannons with devastating damage. The Slayer fights his way through the battlefield, meeting eye to eye with Azhrak's ship. Azhrak then brings The Old One to fight the Slayer in a battle of gods. The Slayer rips his head off, then exits the mech to face Azhrak face to face.

Azhrak tells the Slayer, "I can never rule as king, so long as You are the one they fear". Then, the fight starts and Azhrak is catching the Slayer's shield, he's catching his arm in punches, he's holding his own well. After the first phase, he notices the slayer still drew blood. This enrages him and causes him to transform into a strange, demonic angel-ish looking thing. The fight continues up until the Slayer gets stabbed by Azhrak's staff. Serrat then flies in and gets Azhrak away from you, then lands. As soon as he does, Azhrak stabs him through the neck, killing him. This causes the Slayer to get back up, enraged.

This time, the Slayer wastes no time in beating him. He ripped the Heart of Argent out of Azhrak's chest, making transform back. This also caused Thira to partially awaken. The Wraith Soul destroyed the ship she was in, causing a shockwave to send the Slayer and Azhrak flying. Azhrak managed to escape to Hell in the chaos. The Slayer gives the Heart to Novik, letting him give the Wraith Soul back while the Slayer takes a moment to mourn Serrat. Giving the Soul back had also awoken some Wraith powers within Thira.

Seeing as you can't leave Azhrak alive (nor Serrat unavenged), the Sentinels mount an assault on Azhrak's castle in Hell. With the Slayer rushing to Azhrak, the rest hold off the horde. After the Slayer fights his way to him, Azhrak commands the Witch to "avenge her God" and attempt to kill the Slayer. He beats them, and the Witch tries the ssame magic she used on him in the cosmic realm but he pushed past it, throwing her into the wall. He then threw his shield and cut her in half. She (for some reason) exploded and reduced the room to rubble.

Azhrak is under some rubble, looking around. Seeing his failure, he lets out a furious roar. The higher-tier demons he was working with abandonded him when they heard it. He then turns to see the Slayer staring him down. His breathing quickens as the Slayer lets the ball of his Flail hit the ground. He then lets out a terrified yell as the Slayer kills him once and for all.

The others are fighting the demons and getting surrounded when the slayer appears on the ridge behind the Sentinels. The fighting stops and the Slayer throws down then beaten severed head of Azhrak. Upon seeing this, the demons begin to flee and the sentinels head back.

The ending has Novik saying that the Maykr's have assured them that the Kreed was working on his own volition, though the Sentinels are doing their own investigation just to be sure. It's then said that the location of the Slayer is "unknown", as he is in the Kreed Maykr's ship in Hell, ready to launch to look for "multiple targets".

FINAL STUFF (that was long)

I love so much about this game. the gunplay, the melee, the music. I could seriously go on. I cannot wait for future DLC and already have some ideas for what it might be. Personally, I think that the Slayer is the undercover investigation. I think his job is to investigate certain areas in Hell and it's going to set up the Argent D'Nur civil war.

Thanks for reading all this, I appreciate it :)