Doom: The Dark Ages | Review Thread

What scores do you think Doom The Dark Ages will get?

  • 61-64%

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • 65-69%

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • 70-74%

    Votes: 1 0.4%

  • 75-79%

    Votes: 3 1.3%

  • 80-84%

    Votes: 33 14.0%

  • 85-90%

    Votes: 134 57.0%

  • 91-94%

    Votes: 55 23.4%

  • 95-100%

    Votes: 9 3.8%
  • Total voters
    235
  • Poll closed .
Yep still not unlocked after an hour and a half when supposed to. This is 2025 how could this happen. We have AI as well so this should fix every problem, right?

Very very disappointed.
 
hollams said:
Yep still not unlocked after an hour and a half when supposed to. This is 2025 how could this happen. We have AI as well so this should fix every problem, right?

Very very disappointed.
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Imagine being in the UK where people waited up til midnight and got fucked
 
It runs like crap on both of my machines: on 4090 and 4080, not even touching 144hz, let alone 240 even with DLSS. Difference between low and ultra nightmare is 20-30fps max.

Maybe it's OBS, but what the hell.
 
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Preloading on my Pro, look forward to digging in Thursday. Though I loved both DOOM 2016 and Eternal I think 2016 is the superior game, curious to see where this will fall with all the changes, rip & tear.
 
I can't believe they are having this issue with premium content keys on Steam, lmao. Hopefully they'll fix it soon. It's already been almost 2 hours and I can't access it. :(

Someone was saying it appears they haven't authorized them via steamdb, lmao.
 
Playing Dark Ages reminds me of when I played Doom Eternal and sucked because I didn't understand the mechanics.

I look forward to mastering this.
 
Eternal wasn't my game and actually made me think the series was going in the wrong direction. 2016 was awesome. Look forward to trying this.
 
This game is fucking badass. Like demon pinball.

5800x3D+9070XT. Playing at 1440p, Ultra settings, texture pool 4096, chromatic aberration/film grain/motion blur off, XeSS 'Ultra Quality Plus', AFMF(AMD driver level FG) Enabled high settings. Using Freesync and Enhanced Sync in adrenaline. IMO AFMF looks and feels better than the in-game(🤷‍♂️). Running 100-140fps without FG, 200-280fps with FG.
 
YEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS


excited-farley-shake.gif


kBByVLa.gif
 
Didn't like the first level too much. But then really started liking the game on the second level. Love the shield mechanic. Capt Slayer. It's different. Like using to get in and out of situations. Only thing is on Pro it does seem a little soft. Hope they patch it. Also can tell Mick is sadly gone. ☹️
 
Just finished Holy City of Aratum. Holy shit what a journey. Totally savage gameplay.

P.S.- Do we not have a Dark Ages |OT|, or do I have the creator blocked? :messenger_grinning_sweat:
 
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TintoConCasera said:
I'm not sold on this one for now, will wait to read some of yours and other fellas' impressions.
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My friend who scoffed a bit at me for insulting the gameplay I watched is now in the same camp. He is a big nuDoom fan and stated this felt like a giant step back from both games and doesn't even feel like a Doom game. His complaint is Doomguy is slow, the worlds are big (and his slowness shows) with not much going on, and the hook isn't very interesting. He turned it off after a level which is unlike him as he played through both original games in just a couple of days when they launched. I asked for his review, it was a 7/10 and said that's not good either given he felt the other ones were 11/10. The instant hook of the others made him want to consume until he was finished.

I watched someone play the first couple of levels (I couldn't care less about the story of a Doom game lol) and this just doesn't look like Doom at all. I think this was another game, some kind of Witchhaven reboot, and they decided to slap Doom on the title to make sure it sold.

For reference in case you're not familiar with 90s shooters:
ScgxKVi.jpeg
 
Golgo 13 said:
How did you feel about 2016, and also Eternal?

How does this one feel different?

Congrats on Collector's Edition, looks pretty cool.
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Doom 2016 is one of the best games ever made, I wasn't a massive fan of Eternal, It was made too hard, and some of the platform sections did my nut in
Dark Ages plays much more like 2016, only with bloody awesome music, killer attitude and fab art direction.

I've been lucky enough or stupid enough to have bought all the Collector's Editions for the current Doom games

yCmuaKH.jpeg
 
Lucifers Beard said:
I'm not sure it's fair to say 'most players'. A lot of the reviews are a bit disappointed that TDA is missing some of what made Eternal so good. I imagine there is a good 50/50 split between those that prefer either title.

For me personally, Eternal is fantastic and a better game than 2016. It reminded me of playing Doom or quake multiplayer back in the 90s, absolute fucking chaos that requires the player to be switched on all the time during combat.

Eternal not only made the whole game more chaotic by adding micromanagement of resources into the mix, but the hit reaction from enemies is vastly superior. In 2016 enemies jolted a bit when they were hit but it was unclear how damaged they were until the glory kill highlight showed. In Eternal, you could blow off chunks of flesh and visibly see how damaged enemies were which was both very satisfying from a gameplay perspective, but was also a clear indicator as to what enemies could be prioritised based on damage dealt.
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This is what people who liked 2016 and not Eternal didn't understand... It's meant to be a think on your feet, bit of a sweatfest type of game. It's like all the people complaining are not old school FPS players, they got no idea what an arena shooter is or meant to be. Everything about Eternal was an upgrade!
 
There is a YouTuber that wrote a listof recommendations to activate in the game and make the gameplay better,


Where is the OT btw?

Jve6bjJ.jpeg
 
Only played tutorial.

It feels decidedly Doom. (New ones).

Am leaning it being similar to Eternal than 2016. Not sure if it's simplified over Eternal, but it definitely has more resource management than 2016.

Also game feels way heavier than Indiana Jones. Bigger areas, too many enemies, ray tracing. Isn't going to be easy on systems.
 
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simpatico said:
How do you define "Doom"? Just the box art and "Doom guy" being the main character? It must be if you're hyped for this on the basis of it being "Doom".

For me and many others, Doom is a claustrophobic hallway shooter with a big emphasis on soundtrack. I see none of this in Dark Ages. It's more akin to a Halo CE reimagining. Which is cool in its own way, but it's not Doom.
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Yeah, I hear you. I've already said before I'm disappointed but will get this anyway. I wish they'd just make 2016 again with different maps, just as you've described. Even with all the gimmicks and changes to the gameplay, I'm still low-key excited for Dark Ages. It looks like it'll be a lot of fun, just in a different way.
 
keefged4 said:
Yeah, I hear you. I've already said before I'm disappointed but will get this anyway. I wish they'd just make 2016 again with different maps, just as you've described. Even with all the gimmicks and changes to the gameplay, I'm still low-key excited for Dark Ages. It looks like it'll be a lot of fun, just in a different way.
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I'm one of the people who thought 2016 was perfect and I still can't understand why they keep fucking with the formula with Eternal and now The Dark Ages

I just want to shoot demons and they keep putting all of this non-demon-shooting shit in a Doom game and I don't get why
 
Unknown Soldier said:
I'm one of the people who thought 2016 was perfect and I still can't understand why they keep fucking with the formula with Eternal and now The Dark Ages

I just want to shoot demons and they keep putting all of this non-demon-shooting shit in a Doom game and I don't get why
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2016 is my favorite of the whole series, beside 64 and 1&2. I also don't get why they didn't just replicate it.
 
Unknown Soldier said:


Considering how well it worked in Eternal, HDR being broken in The Dark Ages is quite surprising
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This really shows how broken game industry is. They could have not changed anything since DE and it would be amazing.

Ubisoft is fucking up HDR in newer games (when previous ones had good implementation) as well.
 
Unknown Soldier said:
I'm one of the people who thought 2016 was perfect and I still can't understand why they keep fucking with the formula with Eternal and now The Dark Ages

I just want to shoot demons and they keep putting all of this non-demon-shooting shit in a Doom game and I don't get why
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2016 is the only one worth playing imo.
Eternal was not doom.
Gtfo with this dragon flying shield shit
 
7e13vE6.jpeg

W5VjhRD.jpeg


wtf-joe-pesci.webp


Developers are fucking blind or "master" games on fucking LCD screens with no dimming zones...
 
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Justin9mm said:
This is what people who liked 2016 and not Eternal didn't understand... It's meant to be a think on your feet, bit of a sweatfest type of game. It's like all the people complaining are not old school FPS players, they got no idea what an arena shooter is or meant to be. Everything about Eternal was an upgrade!
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Except the part you cant play it how you want and are forced to use weapons and tactics against enemies that you dont want to engage with
 
MMaRsu said:
Except the part you cant play it how you want and are forced to use weapons and tactics against enemies that you dont want to engage with
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While I agree with this on some level, not much freedom in Doom Eternal.

But I also feel it makes for an experience that cannot be replicated by offering player freedom.

I loved the heart pounding experience it offered.

For now I feel Dark Ages also leans into this, you will get more out of it, the more you set sliders to one extreme or the other.
 
I will wait a bit for the honest real reviews. I don't like eternal and more critical reviews/opinions only arrived later.
I liked 2016 though.
 
MMaRsu said:
Except the part you cant play it how you want and are forced to use weapons and tactics against enemies that you dont want to engage with
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Exactly. They constrain you to 20 bullets just to force you to swap. I want to swap because I want too. Not need too.
And it was constant jumping, saw, flamethrower and grenade. To refill health and ammo. Makes you feel about enemies as ammo boxes rather than enemies. I was focused on order of using the tools rather than having fun.
 
Gonzito said:
Dont forget that this game has pathtracing, maybe those benchmarks are including it

One thing that I am reading and it made a bit sad is the soundtrack is not memorable, this in a Doom game is the worst news I could ever hear
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Some reviews say the soundtrack is awesome.
 
So from those who have spent a couple hours with it, is it actually worth buying? I know I'll get it at some point soon and I fucking love Doom but am eager to hear impressions.
 
DryvBy said:
My friend who scoffed a bit at me for insulting the gameplay I watched is now in the same camp. He is a big nuDoom fan and stated this felt like a giant step back from both games and doesn't even feel like a Doom game. His complaint is Doomguy is slow, the worlds are big (and his slowness shows) with not much going on, and the hook isn't very interesting. He turned it off after a level which is unlike him as he played through both original games in just a couple of days when they launched. I asked for his review, it was a 7/10 and said that's not good either given he felt the other ones were 11/10. The instant hook of the others made him want to consume until he was finished.

I watched someone play the first couple of levels (I couldn't care less about the story of a Doom game lol) and this just doesn't look like Doom at all. I think this was another game, some kind of Witchhaven reboot, and they decided to slap Doom on the title to make sure it sold.

For reference in case you're not familiar with 90s shooters:
ScgxKVi.jpeg
Click to expand...
Comparing the new DOOM game... Or anything really, to a Capstone game, damn that's savage. :goog_relieved:

But yeah I had a similar feel after watching a few videos, like the game looks cool but it isn't what I understand as DOOM at all.

Glad to see people are having fun tho, might still grab it later on.
 
Been playing all day 8 hours and Damn I love it, has the rythm of eternal but the openness of doom 2016. loving the open ended levels, secrets and upgrades, Hope they to ultimate levels with the game later on. Spent way to long looking for secrets, Just like the old doom 1 and 2 days. damn fine game so far
 
TintoConCasera said:
Comparing the new DOOM game... Or anything really, to a Capstone game, damn that's savage. :goog_relieved:

But yeah I had a similar feel after watching a few videos, like the game looks cool but it isn't what I understand as DOOM at all.

Glad to see people are having fun tho, might still grab it later on.
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Idk if it's really Doom but i'm just glad the concept of the game works at what it is. It's fun and i feel like the Doom Slayer like in 2016 and Eternal.
 
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Lucifers Beard said:
So from those who have spent a couple hours with it, is it actually worth buying? I know I'll get it at some point soon and I fucking love Doom but am eager to hear impressions.
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I loved Doom 2016. Best FPS campaign I've played in the past decade. But it's quite a basic run and gun shooter compared to the other games.

I loved Doom Eternal. Most compelling moment to moment gameplay. I've beaten the game multiple times on Nightmare including all Master Levels. My all time GOAT FPS. However after almost 300 hours playing the game plus various custom maps I'm actually glad the new game is totally different.

I'm now playing Doom The Dark Ages and it's fucking fun. I don't care for parrying in most games but it's so satisfying here. People who say the game is slow are on crack. The game is not slow and id have even given options so you can tweak the game to your liking. I'm having an absolute blast and the mechanics are deeper than I expected (I imagine the top players will be able to pull off insane combos). The story is actually good too in this game. Mech and dragon sections suck but I love this game. I think people who loved 2016 but hated Eternal will love this. It's a more grounded game instead of being DE's Quake 3 Arena/Unreal Tournament style gameplay.
 
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I really enjoyed 2016 but couldn't get on with the stupid active ammo thing in eternal, thought it was proper stupid.

What platform are people going with for this? PS5 or PC? been on my PS5 little more recently but this supports all the fancy DLSS4 stuff.
 
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