DOOM: The Dark Ages brings the carnage in dev deep dive, launches in May

During the Xbox Showcase today, iD Software did a deep dive into their upcoming game, DOOM: The Dark Ages. You can learn more about the game in our hands-off preview right here.

Today, during Xbox Developer Direct, the id Software team took us inside the studio to get an in-depth look at DOOM: The Dark Ages, the prequel to the critically acclaimed DOOM (2016) and DOOM Eternal, and the most ambitious DOOM game to date.

The segment gave us extended peeks into three of the title’s core pillars: Combat, Exploration and Story. As the Slayer, you’ll be invited to explore a dark fantasy/sci-fi world with DOOM’s immediately recognizable hellish twist, fighting your way across sprawling fantasy battlefields with an expanded arsenal of weapons and equipment.

With DOOM: The Dark Ages, the team has taken the opportunity to reimagine every aspect of the DOOM experience to create an explosive new action adventure for both long-time fans and newcomers.

Combat

The action in DOOM: The Dark Ages is a grounded experience focused on the sheer power that the Slayer wields – devastating melee abilities, and the return of strafing, a classic DOOM manoeuvre. The team puts it best: In DOOM Eternal, you felt like a fighter jet, but in DOOM: The Dark Ages you’ll be an iron tank, ready to stand and fight. A loadout of new melee weapons, plus a brand-new melee skill tree means you’ll be able to get up close and personal to your demons and deliver some serious damage. 

During the show, we were introduced to the Shield Saw, packed with features to both block incoming fire, decapitate foes from afar, or traverse the environment. The segment also showed us a huge, spiked flail, an electric gauntlet built to pummel and paralyze incoming foes, and a fierce spiked mace; three new weapons that all come with their own combos and upgrade options. 

It’s all about engagement; creating a loop or “dance” that’s intuitive, innovative and loaded with depth – fun on the outside smart on the inside,” Game Director Hugo Martin says. “An appealing power fantasy that’s new but familiar – who hasn’t wanted to feel like an iron tank in the middle of a medieval war against hell?”

Obviously, DOOM is also all about the guns, and that trademark top-shelf shooting is here in abundance too. We saw a handful of the ranged weapons in action – a hulking double-barrel shotgun packing a punch, a mean, energy-powered gun spewing paralysing shots, and, perhaps the most impressive – a preposterous-looking machine gun that fashions high-speed rounds by breaking down actual skulls. It’s an utterly menacing arsenal built to take on the biggest and baddest demons you’ve ever faced in a DOOM game. 

Bigger demons means bigger battles, and mech fans, rejoice – you’re in for an absolute treat. In DOOM: The Dark Ages, you’ll be able to pilot your own gigantic Atlan, a mech of gargantuan proportion built to take on baddies on a colossal scale. One clip in the segment looks like a kaiju movie, showing the Atlan throwing annihilating hits at a demon the size of a building – it’s Doom’s epic, brutal combat moments on a literally next level scale. 

If that wasn’t enough, the team has also leaned more into the fantasy flair with another new weapon – a giant cybernetic dragon complete with mounted gatling guns, able to swoop in from above and absolutely drill through anything standing in its way – letting you hop on and take the fight to the skies. While DOOM: The Dark Ages internal motto has been ‘Stand and Fight,’ this piece of equipment lets us mix it up with some fantasy style airborne combat, which looks extremely fun,

Both the dragon and the Atlan come with their own suite of upgrades too, so as you use them, they’ll actually get even more impressive and effective than they already are.

Exploration

In DOOM: The Dark Ages, we’re met with a mysterious world from the Slayer’s past, shrouded in dark forests and towering structures, alongside dangerous dungeons, and ancient battlefields. The setting blends DOOM’s signature, recognizable hellscapes with a menacing medieval twist, and the juxtaposition of hi-tech weapons and cybernetically enhanced demons against this imposing fantasy backdrop is truly remarkable.

You’ll also be able to fully explore these levels with a level of freedom that has rarely been possible in a DOOM game. The levels in DOOM: The Dark Ages are less linear than previous instalments – you have autonomy over which areas to explore and which objectives to pursue. It’s a DOOM sandbox, your playground to cause carnage in whichever you want, and the biggest player space ever seen in DOOM.

The Shield Saw we mentioned earlier also doubles up as a cool exploration tool – you can use it to traverse across broken bridges, scale up ledges, smash through hidden paths, and crack into treasure troves nestled in every corner of the world. Exploration isn’t just encouraged, it’s rewarded with loot, upgrades, and secrets.

“It’s power through progression – which leads to exploration,” Hugo adds. “Every critical item you need to dominate in Dark Ages is either held by your enemies or hidden in the world. Seek, discover, destroy!”

Story

The id team is going big on narrative in DOOM: The Dark Ages, with aims to make the story and lore much more approachable, bringing deep story beats out of the codex and into incredible cutscenes for maximum impact.

“With the Slayer imprisoned at the start of our story the balance of power between good and evil is shifting and time is running out,” Martin says. “Our hero is a feared outsider among an imperilled people, his strength controlled by the gods they serve, in a world under siege by an ancient evil.”

The main plot is being kept under wraps for now, but the team shares that we’re expected to meet exciting new characters alongside old allies and of course, terrifying new villains. This story also leads right into the Slayer’s testaments in DOOM (2016), serving as something of an origin story for the two previous games. It’s an action story worthy of the Slayer’s legend, and we can’t wait to uncover it. 

The best part is that there’s not too long to wait before you can become a medieval super weapon. DOOM: The Dark Ages launches May 15, for Xbox Series X|S, the Xbox App for Windows PC, Steam, and PlayStation 5 – and you can play it day one with Game Pass.

For more on DOOM: The Dark Ages, stay tuned to GamingTrend.

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