My Thoughts on the DOOM: The Dark Ages Trailer (Repost from DE Forum)

[MYBUTT]

After watching the trailer a couple times, I feel... Conflicted

On first watch, I was excited, I thought "♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥! some of this looks so cool and badass!" but then I watched the trailer a coulple more times, and considered the gameplay implications.

I don't vibe with the whole "This game is not like DOOM, therefore bad" crowd, as I see it as a very dumb and ignorant response. I've accepted that franchises will change and evolve, and that is the nature of a franchise. Even if I don't like the change, I understand others will.

That being said, the gameplay reminds me of Immortals of Aveum or the teaser trailer for Witchfire, due to how simple the gameplay looks. I have a gut feeling that maybe the game will be a lot more simple compared to DE, which... Will have to wait and see.

Lets just get some stuff out of the way first before I do a bit of an analysis on the gameplay:

1. THE DOOM SLAYERS new look is cool. Although I can't help but think they just grabbed the Eternal model and just added spikes and a fur cape to it. I could be wrong, but I need to see it all in a full shot.

2. The Quake comparisons are going to continue. ESPECIALLY with that one gun that uses crushed up skulls as ammo.

3. This game looks like its dipping its toe into a more dark or grim-dark fantasy aesthetic, compared to DOOM Eternals Sci-Fi Fantasy or DOOM 2016's horror aesthetics. But I wouldn't be surprised if they brought back a bit of 2016 horror in a few of its levels.

4. Andrew Hulshult as the composer. I have no ill will towards Andrew, he seems like a cool guy. But I'm personally not a fan of his music for other games, with the exception of his DOOM Remake soundtrack. Not to mention, there's this bad taste in my mouth from what happened with Mick Gordon that makes it hard to accept Andrew as the new composer. What Marty did was scummy.

Alright, with these out of the way, lets discuss the gameplay.



The biggest differences that I've noticed when it comes to Dark Ages compared to Eternal, is how slow THE DOOM SLAYER is, the wider arenas, the more powerful guns, and the focus on more melee options.

THE DOOM SLAYER seems to move a bit slower this time around, and there might not be a dash at all. That might just be the footage though, and the game may feel completely different from just watching it. I would also like to point out how slow the projectiles are compared to DE. My guess is that the Slayer might not have as much health as he did before, and the game may want to push the player into dodging (And blocking) a lot more frequently, even without a dash.

The arenas look like they'll have a lot more space to move around in, which is a plus in my book, but I have to wonder what enemy types will exist to take advantage of this space. It's obvious a few demons from DE will come back, especially the Arachnitrons, which were my favorite to fight against. It also looks like there's gonna be some spike traps, which if there's one thing to criticize DE for, is that not a lot of levels had many traps in them. Cultist Base is the only level I remember with traps in it.

But OMG the Super Shotgun. It took out a Mancubus WITH ONE SHOT!!!! (technically 2 shots from both barrels, but still) How in the ever loving ♥♥♥♥ are they gonna balance that? And not just that, but the shield killing a demon in one throw, a gun that shoots spikes that impales enemies on walls, It just makes me think that they will make the Slayer not have as much health (or ammo again) to compensate, if this is how powerful our options are gonna be. I also think there might be a bit more levity in the combat.

All in all, I think theres some promise in the new DOOM game, but again, will just have to wait and see.

[Sar]

I wouldn’t worry about balance based on a trailer. Look at DE trailer where Doomguy flies through the air, shoots a Manc with Full Auto and then instantly goes into a Glory Kill. This trailer is in-engine, but not “real” gameplay. Hope they’ll have a presentation at Quakecon, like they did for DE at E3 where they shown a ton of gameplay footage.

[MYBUTT]

Originally posted by Sar:

I wouldn’t worry about balance based on a trailer. Look at DE trailer where Doomguy flies through the air, shoots a Manc with Full Auto and then instantly goes into a Glory Kill. This trailer is in-engine, but not “real” gameplay. Hope they’ll have a presentation at Quakecon, like they did for DE at E3 where they shown a ton of gameplay footage.

So basically like Hugo Martin faking the gameplay?

[kostaskladianos]

Ok friends. First of all i liked the teaser, but i think this is more a work in progress than a finished product. As for the medieval aesthetic is totally normal for me. After slayer pass in this parallel dimension, if we assume that slayer is doom marine (personally i doubt about that) he discover a dark fantasy world that combines the superstition with technology.

[Sar]

Originally posted by Primaris Gamer:

Originally posted by Sar:

I wouldn’t worry about balance based on a trailer. Look at DE trailer where Doomguy flies through the air, shoots a Manc with Full Auto and then instantly goes into a Glory Kill. This trailer is in-engine, but not “real” gameplay. Hope they’ll have a presentation at Quakecon, like they did for DE at E3 where they shown a ton of gameplay footage.

So basically like Hugo Martin faking the gameplay?

They didn’t say it was gameplay. They said it’s in-engine footage. We will see actual gameplay at Quakecon.

[djcarey]

My thoughts on the trailer was like "damn i might need to upgrade my 7 year old video card"

lol

[azogthedefiler25]

That shield parry was awesome. I did not expect that in a Doom game.

[kostaskladianos]

Originally posted by djcarey:

My thoughts on the trailer was like "damn i might need to upgrade my 7 year old video card"

lol

I already have my new tower pc under construction assembly.

[MYBUTT]

Originally posted by Sar:

Originally posted by Primaris Gamer:

So basically like Hugo Martin faking the gameplay?

They didn’t say it was gameplay. They said it’s in-engine footage. We will see actual gameplay at Quakecon.

Oh I see

[MYBUTT]

Originally posted by djcarey:

My thoughts on the trailer was like "damn i might need to upgrade my 7 year old video card"

lol

Hopefully mines powerful enough

[MYBUTT]

Originally posted by azogthedefiler25:

That shield parry was awesome. I did not expect that in a Doom game.

Parrys seem to be a popular thing in action games, just like how grappling hooks are for FPS games

[Mixed Herbs]

Hugo Martin equated DE to a Ferrari going 200mph and said the next game will instead be like a monster truck, so Doom Guy will most likely have more HP/Defensive options actually.

[azogthedefiler25]

Originally posted by Primaris Gamer:

Originally posted by azogthedefiler25:

That shield parry was awesome. I did not expect that in a Doom game.

Parrys seem to be a popular thing in action games, just like how grappling hooks are for FPS games

It's not common in Doom games.

[MYBUTT]

Originally posted by Mixed Herbs:

Hugo Martin equated DE to a Ferrari going 200mph and said the next game will instead be like a monster truck, so Doom Guy will most likely have more HP/Defensive options actually.

Ok, so I was almost right