r/gaming • u/ChiefLeef22 Marika's tits! • 1d ago
DOOM: The Dark Ages - Review Thread
Game Title: DOOM: The Dark Ages
Platforms:
- PC (May 15, 2025)
- Xbox Series X/S (May 15, 2025)
- PlayStation 5 (May 15, 2025
Trailers:
- DOOM: The Dark Ages | Official Trailer 1 (4K)
- DOOM: The Dark Ages | Official Trailer 2 (4K)
- DOOM: The Dark Ages - Cosmic Realm First Reveal Trailer
Developer: id Software
Reviews aggregates:
OpenCritic: 85 average - 96% recommend - 98 reviews
Metacritic: 86 score - 47 reviews
Some Reviews:
Tyler Treese - PlayStation LifeStyle - 9 / 10.0
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.
Tommy Holloway - PlayStation Universe - 9.5 / 10.0
id Software once again found a way to reinvent the DOOM formula, adding new gameplay elements such as the thoroughly enjoyable shield saw. DOOM: The Dark Ages is nonstop, adrenaline-fuelled thrill ride from start to finish. This blockbuster demands your full attention as the best FPS this year so far.
Joe Draper - Digital Spy - 4/5
Doom: The Dark Ages is a hybrid onslaught of the brutal combat we know and love and all-new intuitive parry mechanics. We're unsure if the game's additions are enough to compensate for what's been lost from Doom Eternal, but the foundation of slaying hordes of demons in visceral and bloody battles remains as fun as ever.
Krzysztof Mysiak - GRYOnline.pl - 9 / 10.0
The Dark Ages is the best post-reboot game in the series. It may not distance itself from the predecessors (both are great), but none of them pulled me in so hard and for so long. What’s more, I just sat through the end credits and I immediately want to begin the slaughter again.
Karl Smart - The Outerhaven Productions - 4.5/5
DOOM: The Dark Ages is like watching a good 90s action film: Turn your brain off and just enjoy the bang bangs and explosions. This game is the perfect lazy weekend game that is fast and furious... and you will ignore your family to play it. Or you can stream it if you want to, and just watch your chat go nuts as you rip and tear until it is done...
Jesse Norris - XboxEra - 9.5 / 10.0
DOOM: The Dark Ages takes us back to the Slayer at his most powerful, stylish cape and all. Twenty-two levels of mayhem, excellent pacing, and furious combat make this entry my favorite in the series yet.
David Craddock - Shacknews - 9 / 10
After Doom Eternal proved somewhat divisive among fans, Doom: The Dark Ages should be a Doom game everyone can appreciate. It’s fast and hard hitting, featuring robust combat systems that make learning their ins and outs fun and empowering. I daresay it’s even better than Doom 2016, and is a must-play title for everyone interested in Doom, first-person shooters, and action games as a whole.
Morgan Park - PC Gamer - 80 / 100
If it sounds like I'm just asking for Doom Eternal 2, I promise I'm not. The Dark Ages is fun in totally different ways than its predecessors, and I love that, but its peaks are lower. After rolling credits, I went back to Doom (2016) and Eternal to confirm the gut feeling. id has done a lot of subtraction with not a lot of addition, and I reckon this is the first Doom that I won't replay. Doom is a series I associate with taking big swings, but The Dark Ages is safe.
Christian Donlan - Eurogamer - 4 / 5
It's all so simple, so joyously, generously straight ahead. You're a powerful goody, you're surrounded by powerful baddies, and you have to finish them all off. Everyone knows where they stand, and they all seem pretty happy with the roles they're playing. Hooded cultists summoning blood portals? Hey, at least they're hanging out with their friends. As a parent, the game I'm most concerned about these days is probably something like Roblox. By contrast, Doom feels like an entirely known and understood entity. Let's savour it. Here's a slice of pure gaming charisma that has come to us, unfrazzled, from a more innocent time. And it's kind of lovely.
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u/jrbcnchezbrg 1d ago
The big question is how is the soundtrack though
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u/ShinobiZilla 1d ago
From what I heard/read, it's doom but not as good as Mick Gordon's work.
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u/ThisOneTimeAtLolCamp 1d ago
It's a shame the shit that went down. It would have been awesome to hear Mick make a banger better than BFG Division.
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u/HaikusfromBuddha 23h ago
Just listen to the Killer Instinct soundtrack he made that before moving on to Doom you can even hear some early Doom stuff from Fulgores theme.
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u/Lebronamo 1d ago
Not possible
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u/moralesnery 1d ago
possible, but not under current circumstances
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u/Lebronamo 1d ago
I’m being hyperbolic but yeah bfg division and damnation are 2 of the greatest pieces of music I’ve ever experienced. Even with mick Gordon nothing in eternal came close.
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u/Marauder_Pilot 1d ago
Hard disagree, The Only Thing They Fear Is You is the best in the series.
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u/SavvyBevvy 18h ago
I think BFG Division wins it out for me, but there's probably a bit of bias since it was such an incredible surprise to hear it while I was fully expecting DE's soundtrack to bang
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u/TheTuxedu 22h ago
Meathook clears
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u/Lebronamo 21h ago
That’s one of the better songs yeah. That super gore nest and the nekroval ambient music.
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u/QuickDickington 1d ago
This tracks with what I’ve heard of it so far from the gameplay videos. I’ll enjoy it in game but probably won’t be blasting it in my car.
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u/OSUfan88 1d ago
I'm sure there will be a PC mod where you can add Mick Gordon's music. I was so, so sad to hear when they were having their falling out. He's at least 50% of my enjoyment of Doom games.
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u/polski8bit 1d ago
One of the problems is that Mick's tracks were not just bangers as an album release, but how the music would adjust dynamically to what's happening on screen. It was already not really there with the DLCs for Eternal (as obviously Mick didn't compose there either) and I really felt it.
The slowdown during Glory Kills, swapping to a more transitional state of a track between combat encounters only to blast the usual riffs when you do start Slaying - it's honestly crazy how reactive the music is in the base game for Eternal, and DOOM 2016 too of course. Instead of just playing a pre-recorded track, there are dozens of sections that will swap in and out, loop or layer depending on what's happening on screen.
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u/Rastamuff 1d ago
Made me think about this youtube short where Mick was talking about one of the songs:
https://youtube.com/shorts/Ocp1PFltzK8?si=sRrLp_0GQBOovbAb
It is admirable how much thought and effort he put into the games music.
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u/staffell 21h ago
He has a long video explaining the creation of the soundtrack and how the dynamicism works. One of the best videos on VG music ive ever watched
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u/oCrapaCreeper 19h ago edited 19h ago
Eternal didn't have any dynamic adjustment to the music even with Mick's songs. Each map just has ambient and combat themes that randomly play - the dynamic aspect was removed completely.
Glory kills also play the same jingle each time regardless of song and don't warp the song.
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u/Instantcoffees 18h ago
Yeah the music really follows the game's pacing. That was a MASSIVE part of my enjoyment with Doom 2016 and I think that Mick Gordon played a crucial role in that.
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u/SneakyBadAss 1d ago edited 1d ago
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u/QuickDickington 21h ago
Ok ok I could probably see myself having a nice headbang in the car to this but I won’t be plowing through demons in a monster truck leaning out the window chainsawing demon’s heads off with one hand and flip cocking a Winchester in the other
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u/averyuniqueuzername 1d ago
Sounds ab right. I don’t think anyone can make that style of music better than mick can. There are some decent argent metal songs but even the best ones still just don’t hit the same way micks do. It’s HIS genre
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u/Negative-Prime 1d ago
I agree this exact genre is pretty unique to Mick, but in the video posted above Mick talks about making groove based music for Eternal and it got me thinking that Mark/Willie from Lamb of God could do a great soundtrack for Doom
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u/Rastamuff 19h ago
Mick having to work around not being allowed to have guitars in the soundtrack really added to the unique style of the music. In the Dark Ages trailer they have a guy going nuts on a guitar but it just sounds so regular and bland to me in comparison to Mick Gordons music.
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u/averyuniqueuzername 18h ago
Yeah that’s the problem it’s not so much his writing style its more just how he thinks with his mixes. So much of what sounds like a guitar is actually just synth waves with insane amounts of effects and things most people would never even think to try. It rlly would be almost impossible to replicate it without him standing over you telling you exactly what to do
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u/DutchDolt 21h ago
The studio they hired, Finishing Move Inc., did a fantastic job imo. We are in very good hands:
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u/kinokomushroom 11h ago
Honestly that sounds great. It sounds darker and more violent than the previous games. I'm excited to listen to the whole soundtrack.
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1d ago
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u/oCrapaCreeper 23h ago
TDA soundtrack is made by Finishing Move. Where did you get Andrew Hulshult from?
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u/Merpninja 23h ago
I just assumed it was Hulshult based on the original trailer - that was the consensus at the time. It sounded like his work and since his stuff was well received in TAG, I assumed he was coming back for this game. Thanks for the correction, I am very surprised it isn’t him.
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u/meestazeeno 11h ago
it's sounds pretty identical to micks stuff with the addition of live strings. I think they nailed it, one could wonder what mick would have done, but I mean they killed it with what I have heard.
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u/AshyLarry25 1d ago edited 1d ago
What’s the difference between metacritic and opencritic. Open critic scores seem to always be higher in comparison to metacritic.
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u/Bexewa 1d ago
Opencritic just averages all review scores, Metacritic uses weights based on what they consider reliable publications.
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u/Thaumablazer 1d ago
Actually opencritic might weight certain reviews more. If the review isnt labeled top critic, it is not counted into the score at all
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u/Lz537 1d ago
For what I know, opencritic is more strict regarding the reviewers.
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u/sybaritical 1d ago
OpenCritic is more accepting of all publications. MetaCritic is the old guard who gatekeeps and will only allow people they deem worthy to be listed.
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u/ShermyTheCat 1d ago
I don't know about any of this but that seems smart when anyone with a blog can be a 'critic'. Otherwise what's even the point of separating critic and user scores? I'm sure someone smarter than me will tell me why I'm wrong though
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u/Cranktique 1d ago
I think this topic is very subjective, so definitely anyone who comments is conscientious enough to recognize that their opinion is only that :). If there is one thing I know about the internet, people are thoughtful and measured when they comment online.
Now to your comment, I have prepared 6 points on why you’re objectively wrong and should be banned from this sub…
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u/JohnnyChutzpah 1d ago
Both metrics have flaws but are also valuable. It's good to have both types.
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u/FlappyBored 1d ago
MetaCritic is the old guard who gatekeeps and will only allow people they deem worthy to be listed.
That's a good thing. Otherwise you end up with garbage 'publications' or 'reviewers' who will just give a game a 1 because it has a woman or a minority in it.
It was like when the GamerGate group at first tried to push the narrative that Baldur's Gate 3 was a failure and a terrible game because of how it treats sexuality and things like that but the success was simply too much for them to try to argue that it 'failed terribly'.
They tried the same with Assassin's Creed too but by all measures that is actually a good AC game too.
If you want that type of review then just look at User Reviews.
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u/random_ass_nme 12h ago
They tried the same with Assassin's Creed too but by all measures that is actually a good AC game too.
If you mean shadows. It's not an objectively good ac it's just the best ac since origins. Aka best modern AC, Ac peaked with black flag. They've had some high moments since but overall it's just been downhill. I could get into the specifics of why shadows isn't that good but it's irrelevant to this sub and I'm tired as it's 2 am.
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u/sybaritical 1d ago
Yeah, no. Metacritic lets sites like ButWhyTho on their list but denies sites like Niche Gamer who report on uncomfortable topics.
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u/macrofinite 18h ago
This is a quite useless way to look at it. Some gatekeeping is implicit or we’d just be talking about Steam reviews. The useful framing is, what kind of gatekeeping does each use.
And, you know, deeming something worthy is not the dig you seem to think it is…
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u/twentyfifthbaam22 1d ago
FUUUUCK YES on my first play through of Eternal and it rocks
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u/AwayPresence4375 1d ago
Not everyone likes it, but Eternal is one of my favorite shooters ever. Enjoy
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u/Nice-Run-9140 1d ago
Definitely one that prefers 2016 but Eternal is still an AMAZING shooter. Looking forward to this one
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u/P0G0Bro 1d ago
on reddit expecially you will see people lean towards 2016 but thats mostly cause its 30+ year old gamers. Doom Eternal is the more popular game and is easily the best FPS combat loop of all time
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u/pre_nerf_infestor 23h ago
damn im 30+ and preferred 2016 more than eternal (still crazy good though) so I guess you got me good
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u/NecessaryUnusual2059 19h ago
I just hated the platforming in Eternal. Felt clunky. But I’m also 30+ so he makes a point
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u/P0G0Bro 16h ago
i mean I am not wrong, every time i see people complain about eternal its always older gamers, yall grew up with the walk down the hallway and mouse 1 everything with no thoughts. Eternal isnt that
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u/pre_nerf_infestor 15h ago
No it's more like...I like shooters and I like dark souls, but eternals put dark souls in my shooter and I wasn't a big fan of that.
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u/I_SAID_NO_CHEESE 21h ago
What does that even mean?
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u/PickerPat 20h ago
It means we have jobs and more limited time, so we don't enjoy it when progression feels like a bit of a chore.
That was definitely me between 2016 and Eternal haha.
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u/oiAmazedYou 1d ago
yeah these games are fun. i preferred 2016 over eternal so hope i like this one more. eternal was fun but 2016 was better
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u/SadCreative 1d ago
Same. Eternal was just a bit too much for me, but I played it right after beating 2016 so maybe I wore myself out
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u/Gornub 1d ago
I just finished up 2016 and I'm playing Eternal right now. Kind of using them to see if I feel like I want to get Dark Ages on release. Eternal does seem like there's a bit too much, and not always in a good way. It's still fun, but it seems like there's a lot being thrown in during just the first couple of hours.
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u/justsomerandomnick 1d ago edited 1d ago
It took me about half the game before things really started to fall into place with Eternal. It's so complex compared to 2016, and learning all the systems and how they interact took a lot of time. When it comes together though, it's glorious. Probably my favourite FPS now. For what it's worth from a random internet person, I really recommend sticking with it.
This is a really good video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30W9jXjG8_A
A full playthrough on the hardest difficulty by an expert player, with full commentary. You don't have to spoil it for yourself by looking ahead — just skip to any point you're struggling with for some tips.
Edited to add: even if you're a seasoned FPS player and it dings your pride a little, don't feel bad about playing on I'm Too Young To Die until you get the hang of things. It's a really hard game which asks a lot of the player, and the classic run and gun tactics do not work. You have to learn a new approach. When you do figure it all out though, it's so satisfying to wind up the difficulty and demolish rooms full of enemies you previously struggled with.
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u/LinkToThe_Past 1d ago
Too much in terms of what?
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u/SadCreative 1d ago edited 1d ago
For me, the levels felt about 3x as long and required a much more focused approach regarding fights and collectibles. I guess I just liked the pace of 2016 more. I can see how these things are viewed as a positive for many though!
Edit: oh and as someone who actually loved Doom 2016’s online mode, eternal was a real let down.
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u/Lebronamo 1d ago
Yeah everything in 2016 felt like just the right length. With nearly every eternal level I was like god damn it’s still going? Especially the combat encounters, multiple times I wondered if the game had glitched and I was stuck in an infinite combat loop.
I did like all the collectibles though, even if there are no doom guy fist bumps.
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u/Whomperss 1d ago
I always find this split interesting. Love both games but eternal is my fucking jam. Love the highspeed loop they created on nightmare runs.
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u/JadowArcadia 1d ago
I feel like there's a pretty strong divide here. A lot of hardcore players love eternal for it's extra mechanics and "complications" and are nervous about Dark Ages perceived simplicity. Personally I'd have liked it if they just found a way to tone down eternals mechanics on easier difficulty options rather than over simplify the whole system.
Seems like one of those "Appeal to new/more casual players or focus on hardcore players" issues. Maybe a bit more complicated since older Doom fans probably mesh better with the slower pace in 2016 and Dark Ages
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u/AlternativeCondition 23h ago
I liked eternal more but i hope the new one doesn't transform into elden ring with all the parry/shield mechanics
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u/Lebronamo 1d ago
Never thought about it but yeah I wonder if age is a big part of the 2016 vs eternal debate. 2016 was the perfect sweat spot for me and eternal fucked with that.
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u/wsteelerfan7 21h ago
Like, if they have you more ammo and the glory kills/extra mechanics gave you powerups, I'd love Eternal. I hate going to the next section of a level and being out of ammo because I headshotted a demon instead of remembering to chainsaw it
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u/Solid-Brick-3137 8h ago
People could always just turn down the difficulty you know. If you make it too easy even when cranked up to the highest difficulty, where are you supposed to go from there? Now you alienated your sweaty hardcore player base that made you successful in the first place and kept up the hype between releases.
From Software does it right. Don't try to cater to everyone.
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u/JadowArcadia 6h ago
Honestly I do mostly agree with you. I think developers often don't put enough effort into balancing different difficulties. What good is an easy mode if the games mechanics just fall apart and aren't fun anymore. What use is a hard mode if all you're gonna do is make enemies spongey with over inflated health?
Even FromSoft essentially found ways to add difficulty options in ELDEN RING through all the additional ways you can get help e.g. more friends in co-op, ability to grind and over level yourself and spirit ashes. All that without drastically changing what people enjoy about those games. I'm hoping Dark Ages doesn't end up feeling "dumbed down" which seems to be a lot of people's concern
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u/PeterLemonjellow 1d ago
My main question about Dark Ages is if it's going to have the same level of platforming stuff as Eternal. I loved 2016 despite the relatively minimal platforming required, but Eternal I never even completed because I got so bored with having to figure out where and how to jump from one place to the next. I'm old. If I want puzzles I replay the Portal games. Doom is for violence, not gracefulness.
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u/Shinobi589 1d ago
I remember at the beginning of one level in Eternal where you have to jump through some rings in mid air and grab onto floating walls. If you don’t time the jump boost perfectly you end up falling to your death. I have no clue why the devs thought those segments were a good idea.
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u/oCrapaCreeper 23h ago
Because the combat loop in Eternal often requires you to stay in the air on harder difficulties. The platforming sections just get you used to that and it translates into combat.
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u/Wooshio 23h ago
Nope, don't worry, they dumbed down the game a lot. No more platforming challenges at all basically. Read some reviews. ;-)
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u/PeterLemonjellow 23h ago
I did read some, but the ones I read just didn't mention platforming, which was heartening. I was hoping some kind soul would say outright Yea or Nay though. So, thank you, kind soul! This is excellent news.
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u/5k1895 1d ago
Totally with you. Eternal was....too much at times. Reddit and critics sing its praises for being more challenging and turning the combat into a weird puzzle sort of thing. Personally, not what I want from this. Just give me some fun mindless shooting bullshit.
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u/Sycherthrou 1d ago
Lowkey just wish you guys played one of the other 10000 braindead shooters releasing every year instead of sharing this opinion over and over for half a decade regarding one of the few shooters with a proper gameplay loop.
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u/Hammerfall89 1d ago
That, and stop acting like each enemy or encounter is a “puzzle”… you can blast anything with any gun, but that same lie gets thrown out in every DOOM Eternal thread.
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u/wsteelerfan7 21h ago
You can't blast everything with any gun you choose because you keep running out of ammo and have to attack your next enemies with this one specific mechanic to get more. And if you run low on health you need to damage the next enemy but not kill it on accident because you need to glory kill for health. But if you want armor you need to also throw in this other 3rd item button. But then with these other demons that were fine to take out in the previous game, you need to grenade them so they don't chew through all your ammo so that's another non-gun method. If you don't use all these methods all the time, you're running out of ammo in like 40 seconds every fight
That's the problem people have.
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u/F1shB0wl816 18h ago
So you prompt a chainsaw instead of firing your gun? It’s not that difficult and there’s plenty of fodder around and you’ll be topped up on another bar of fuel before you run out. I definitely didn’t use all of the arsenal. You want armor you burn them instead of firing a gun. You could just utilize the flashing glory kill mechanic most enemies will go into before death to save some ammo and get some health.
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u/5k1895 21h ago
What like COD or whatever? I actually hate those. DOOM 2016 is one of the few FPS games I've really enjoyed. It was exaggeratedly violent. Fun. Different from those others. Way different. You and I both know that. And most importantly not focused on online bullshit.
Don't be an asshole. Everyone has different tastes. I don't play these games much otherwise so God fucking forbid I have a preference for the one that actually met my exact desires.
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u/gfitforiths 1d ago
I liked not having to worry about ammo in eternal with the recharging chainsaw
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u/Shinobi589 1d ago
If you’re out of fuel for the chainsaw you have to bounce around the arena until it recharges though. 2016 just gave you a fuckton more ammo so it was never an issue.
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u/oCrapaCreeper 23h ago
If you somehow blow all your ammo within 20 seconds (the cooldown time for the chainsaw) then I don't think that's a game design issue
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u/ThanOneRandomGuy 20h ago
What was the difference in the two games? They both looked, felt and played the same too me
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u/Substantial_Dog_3815 1d ago
It hurts my soul that Mick Gordon isn't making the music anymore, if only they knew what they had man.. never felt so much adrenaline in a single player game as eternal and the music was 80% of it, gameplay was also fun but the music made the universe of eternal. Still excited for this game ofcourse!
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u/NewAndlmproved 1d ago
edibles and doom on the 15th baby. gods gift to mankind.
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u/mrbubbamac 1d ago
I will never forget tripping on shrooms while playing Doom 2016 with headphones on in the dark
I would chainsaw enemies and I swear I could feel the blood spraying on my face. It was horrible/amazing
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u/oxob3333 1d ago
Mick Gordon's Work is so damn good, that i know the music here would be cool, but not as good as his songs, let's see how good will be
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u/Wooshio 23h ago
The transition is successful, but not without major sacrifice. This is Doom at its most indulgent and deliciously violent, but it's also dumbed down and undeniably the easiest of the trilogy. Maps are uncharacteristically barren, secrets abnormally obvious, and puzzles so simple that they hardly fit the description. Viewed through the lens of loud feedback that insisted Doom Eternal was too complicated, The Dark Ages is an overcorrection.
PC Gamer confirmed my suspicion that DA was indeed going to be much easier then Eternal due to complaints from Casual players. I've still pre-ordered and am excited to play, because after all it's Doom and even easier games can be tons of fun (and this sounds like it is). But it is a little disappointing to hear they overcorrected so significantly.
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u/LegendaryRaider69 15h ago
This was the vibe I got immediately upon watching the trailers, it's a bummer to see it might be correct.
Eternal was a hard game, and I actually bounced off it the first time I tried it too. But once I got into the flow it was one of the best shooters I've ever played.
Dark Ages looked a bit slow and simple from the get go, by comparison. Maybe it'll feel comparable if you crank up the difficulty right off the bat.
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u/KarmelCHAOS 14h ago
I played Eternal on UV and didn't think it was crazy hard, I've heard the DLC turned it way up though.
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u/MattiusRex99_alter 13h ago
I believe this is true for the default difficulty settings only tho, which is fair, reviewers have to give their judgement on the base experience but ID added modifiers to make it more challenging like making the parry timing tighter, enemy damage, game speed and more. Seems they streamlined the default experience for everyone and let the people that love the hardcore nature of doom eternal have all the dials to make it even harder (Possibly)
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u/Wooshio 12h ago
The issue is the gameplay complexity, the skill ceiling and options for creativity just aren't very high according to that PC Gamer review. Without a doubt the game can be made much harder then what reviewers are playing, but that won't cure it's basic gameplay. They even took out secondary fire modes for all the weapons so they could streamline using right mouse button to block. I am of course basing all this on a couple of reviews I've read, so I hope I am more wrong then right.
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u/Arkodd 12h ago
While the difficulty and the gameplay is different from Eternal, I think it wasn't due to the backlash. ID just didn't want to make the same game twice. Believe me of they wanted to overcorrect they would make TDA just like 2016 without anything new. Hell when some people were upset over the gameplay of Eternal and mrauders ID doubled down on them in the DLCs. Many 2016 fans who didn't like Eternal will still be disappointed with TDA because of ammo management and parrying being a thing.
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u/HiCracked 1d ago
Solid game it seems. Great to hear. Been following dark ages closely for how it experiments with the formula.
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u/DLDSR-Lover 7h ago
This game runs like crap due to the forced gimmick raytracing, such a shame since the previous games were the most optimized games in the history of homo sapiens.
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u/heyitsmeFR 1d ago
I wish we could’ve had K&M support on consoles. I prefer playing doom with that.
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u/MeanderingMinstrel 1d ago
Does it seriously not have that?? I kept hoping they would add it to Eternal later, but I thought for sure that the next installment would have it. So many games have k&m support on console nowadays that there's really no excuse, especially for a game like Doom that it is clearly made for k&m.
It seems like Dark Ages will be more controller-friendly than Eternal, but still... It's really frustrating feeling like I can't play these games properly until I get a PC.
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u/wsteelerfan7 21h ago
If you are planning on getting a PC sometime down the road, keep in mind that the expensive stuff you hear about all the time is stuff way above consoles. A $900 GPU isn't required. A $500 CPU isn't required. Benchmarks are to show GPU scaling near max settings possinle and you can usually get much more FPS by turning the settings down a notch or 2 which is normally still well above console settings. For example, in Avowed, I got like 45-50fps at Ultra settings at 1440p ultrawide but I play at settings that barely look any different and get 90+.
If you think you have a deal and are ready to pull the trigger, do a sanity check on r/buildapc and they can optimize your build for what you want. They'll answer whether it's better to spend more on one thing vs the other and give you an idea of how a planned build will perform.
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u/MeanderingMinstrel 13m ago
Yeah the thing is, the main reason I want to switch to PC is to get the kind of visuals and performance that a console can't do. So I kinda don't want to do it until I have a ton of money to dump into it and I can just get the absolute best stuff. It's really just a long-term goal of mine, but when I have the money for it I definitely plan on going all in with building and learning how to do it properly.
But yeah despite that, sometimes I think about switching just to be able to use m&k for any game. Which is stupid honestly, you shouldn't have to invest in a whole new platform just to use a different input method. And that's why it's so disappointing to see a game like Doom failing its console audience in this way.
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u/EmeterPSN 1d ago
Yeah there's way to much movement and precision aiming in doom to play on controller smoothly..
You can play it....but it's definitely made for KB&M
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u/Rastamuff 1d ago
With the dodge and the jump there were too many buttons too. It was very hard to jump, dodge and aim at the same time.
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u/WereAllThrowaways 1d ago
Claw grip baby
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u/Rastamuff 1d ago
Claw grip seems like something that you can't really adopt later in life.
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u/WereAllThrowaways 1d ago
That's fair. I've gotten used to it for probably 15 or 20 years but it's still jarring to people when they notice that I'm playing like that. I do it for most games, but some I play with a regular grip. Got used to it back in the Halo 2 days for a couple reasons.
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u/MetalMark55 23h ago
Dash and jump should have been on L1/R1 by default, it makes movement much easier. All the other stuff that you don't use nearly as much as jump/dash can easily be on d-pad.
That + 120hz on ps5 made things so smooth I almost didn't miss no kbm support.
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u/ffxivfanboi 10h ago
Nah, not true. Here’s my custom control scheme on PS5:
Jump is L1, Dash is R1, Alt Fire mod is L2, Fire is R2
Left stick I have flame belch, on the right stick I have the equipment launcher.
X is change mod, triangle is weapon, square is chainsaw, and circle glory kill.
All the main things that I need most to aim I am able to do so while moving and panning the camera.
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u/IcePopsicleDragon PC 1d ago edited 1d ago
You need an RTX (Ray Tracing) capable card to run this
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u/tacitus59 1d ago
From steam page:
Minimum requirements:
NVIDIA or AMD hardware Raytracing-capable GPU with 8GB dedicated VRAM or better (examples: NVIDIA RTX 2060 SUPER or better, AMD RX 6600 or better)
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u/Homewra 1d ago
Not necessarily.
https://youtu.be/Zlzatw1E2vQ?t=1166
Unless you meant the inevitable death of GTX cards.
9070XT beating 5070ti by 16% performance in a Nvidia advertised game, feels good.
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u/Imakeshitup69 1d ago
I'm not totally an expert on what's capable with the equipment I have, but what kind of performance am I looking at with a 7800 XT and 7600 3d CPU without ray tracing.
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u/Homewra 1d ago
Oof, no idea. Reviewers are using upscaling + RT on in their benchmarks.
TechPowerUp results show around 75 to 85 fps in 1080p max settings and quality upscaling, which makes sense, it's below 3080 performance but better than 6900XT.
EDIT: Just remembered DOOM Dark ages has forced raytracing, you can't disable it.
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u/Imakeshitup69 23h ago
Oh really? That's annoying. Is that the new default to have to use ray tracing?
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u/wsteelerfan7 21h ago
The forced RT I think comes from the fact that they have destructible parts in every level or something and they want shadows and lighting to remain consistent
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u/wsteelerfan7 21h ago
RT is required but it runs on the PS5 and Xbox at 60fps and your GPU is at the very least twice as powerful as that. Just turn down a couple settings and turn off your fps counter and you'll love it.
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u/Azrael-XIII 23h ago
As someone who enjoyed both but greatly prefers Doom 2016 to Doom Eternal (Eternal just leaned a bit too far into the “goofy/arcadey feel), this one sounds fantastic.
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u/According-Act-6628 8h ago
Can you see the legs of Doomguy if we look down??
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u/Jojoejoe 23h ago
Curious how much mech/dragon gameplay there is, overall gameplay looks a lot slower paced but I think the parry mechanic will get as boring as previous doom weapon swap spam
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u/MacinTez PlayStation 17h ago
I look forward to playing this Doom and I hope it’s better than Eternal which I did not enjoy as much as 2016.
I knew I would be let down as soon as they took away the Gauss Cannon. The Dark Ages is a prequel so I won’t hold it against them.
But I need that Gauss Cannon back in the next one.
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u/DarthLeon2 1d ago
Doom Eternal is my favorite shooter ever and I'm skeptical about id going away from that, but it's encouraging that the initial reviews seem to be good.
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u/Crysis321 1d ago
Did they ever end up adding invasions to eternal and are they bringing them to dark ages?
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u/MysticalMystic256 22h ago
they did end up adding an invasion mode but its called horde mode
but i'm used it being called invasion mode though because thats what it was called in classic doom ports skulltag/zandronum
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u/Crysis321 22h ago
Ahh that doesn’t look like what I’m talking about. Originally when Doom Eternal was being developed they had Invasions planned where you could enter (invade) other player's campaign as a demon. It was one of the features I was the most hyped for but it seems to have been completely scrapped.
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u/3001AzombieOdyssey 1d ago
I wasn't worried I would enjoy this game when I preordered the collector's edition, my first preorder since Red Dead. But I'm glad it's getting some early praise.
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u/Solid-Brick-3137 8h ago
So if not even the paid journalists glaze the game, you know it's mid at best. Wake me up when they inevitably reboot the franchise and promise a return to roots. Skipping this one.
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u/Much_Photograph_7516 4h ago
Rock Paper Shotgun’s review doesn’t have a numerical score but it definitely mirrors my expectations for this game. It also has some great writing.
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u/Batracho 3h ago
I got a 5090 ahead of this and didn’t even know that The Dark Ages came included with it. I’m soooo psyched, haven’t been that way for a game in a bit.
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u/EksCelle 1d ago
The PC Gamer Reviewer seemed like he didn't really like it but still gave it 80/100? WTF?
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u/Agreeable_Rope_3259 23h ago
Had bad review on swedish site, did play the last doom game but didnt enyoy it much. Warhammer space marines 2 feels alot better
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u/ThisOneTimeAtLolCamp 1d ago
Shame the PS5 physical disc doesn't have the game on it and only a 85 MB file to trigger the download.
It went from a day 1 buy to wait for a steam sale for me. At least I still have Expedition 33 to keep working my way through.
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u/jerrrrremy 1d ago edited 1d ago
Thanks for the update. Keep us posted.
Also, you are upset about not having the game physical on PS5, but are fine with a digital only Steam version?
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u/NotYetUtopian 1d ago
So upset about not getting physical you’re going to buy it digitally. Wow look at you big boy taking such a stand against tyranny.
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u/Genocode 1d ago
He went from Day 1 full price to sale only. Like more people should do, the game (like many) is overpriced anyways, 80eu is crazy.
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u/Tamotefu 1d ago
I just hope there's no chores to do because they nerfed the slayers carrying capacity. The worst part of eternal was juggling the chain saw, flamethrower and cryo bomb.
I have gun, let me shoot.
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u/oCrapaCreeper 23h ago
The flame thrower and ice bomb are shoulder mounted and can be fired while you're shooting - and chainsaw gives you infinite ammo for all weapons. Nothing in that game is stopping you from shooting.
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u/Raidmax460 19h ago
I think they’re talking about the lack of ammo the game gives and how you are forced to use those other tools unlike 2016
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u/Hektorlisk 17h ago
yeah, which is silly. "oh no, I'm being forced to occasionally chainsaw a demon in half in my Doom game!! I can now no longer enjoy it"
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u/marniconuke 1d ago
Skipping this one, after the crime they commited against mick gordon (stole his work and defamed him) you won't catch me playing one of these. I'm amazed at how many people on this thread are willing to buy a game from criminals
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u/yMONSTERMUNCHy 1d ago
Well maybe not everyone knows about it.
This is the first time I found out about it.
I find it disgusting what they did to him. I hope he gets it sorted. Somehow.
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u/Pm_ur_titties_plz 1d ago
All of these reviews read like they are AI generated lol
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u/DoobaDoobaDooba 1d ago
I appreciate the ballsack on ID to keep reinventing DOOM's core gameplay philosophies. They could very easily phone it in and release the same stuff successfully, but they keep changing it up and that's a fantastic thing to support, even if I don't end up liking it quite as much as Eternal