Doom: The Dark Agesabides fiercely by its ‘Stand and Fight’ mantra. You are a heavier and more powerful version of the slayer in this medieval-themed prequel with a fresh arsenal of weapons and the ability to parry an assortment of deadly enemy attacks.
In fact, the art of parrying is key to combat in the same way it underpins battles in Sandfall Interactive’sClair Obscur: Expedition 33, agame which requires players to learn parrying if they want any chance of succeeding. I respect experiences that ask for this sort of complete commitment from players, asking them to master a mechanic or walk away in frustration as they begrudgingly admit it just isn’t for them. The Dark Ages isn’t nearly as demanding in its parry system however, making it the ideal victory lap for those who have just reached credits with Clair and want to replace their tears with some blood and viscera.
Doom: The Dark Age’s Parry System Isn’t That Hard To Master
Ahead of release,idSoftwaremade it abundantly clear it wanted Doom: The Dark Ages to be approachable for everyone, whether you’ve played every single Doom game ever created or have never touched the series before in your life.
This is achieved by expanding on its usual difficulty settings like ‘Hurt Me Plenty’ and ‘Ultra Nightmare’ by introducing a series of sliders you’re able to shift and change to your heart’s content. You can alter the experience so that you’re practically invincible, or make this the hardest shooter you’ve ever played. Any and all styles of play are valid, and during my review playthrough I didn’t think this took away from the utter brutality and unrelenting challenge I came to this series for. If anything, it helped amplify it.
I played on ‘Hurt Me Plenty’ with all the standard settings at first, but I soon found parrying enemies to be incredibly easy. Attacks that can be parried are bright green in colour, while all others are either red or purple and can only be blocked or must be dodged entirely.
From the outset, it is clear how this combat system operates, and why The Dark Ages expects us to do battle with enemies on their own turf instead of constantly strafing around them in search of an opening. Youcando that, but I promise it’s not nearly as fun and makes most encounters tedious. Rather, the joy of combat comes from parrying your heart out however you see fit.
But This Lack Of Difficulty Can Also Be Doom: The Dark Ages’ Undoing
Without changing anything though, the act of parrying on the standard difficulty setting is so easy it’s almost embarrassing. The timing window is generous enough that I can put up my shield when a projectile is still several metres away, and it will register as a parry, putting the important art of timing to the side in a way that simply makes the game less satisfying. But if you want to maintain your parrying streak from Clair Obscur in a more forgiving context, I doubt this will cause much of a bother.
However, after popping into the pause menu to tune things up, it wasstill too easy. I have to imagine the general difficulty setting I was playing on had some sort of impact on the parry windows, and I’d need to shift things up accordingly if I wanted more of a challenge.
But if you want more difficulty parrying on the same level as Clair Obscur or Sekiro, it also makes the general challenge of battles much, much harder. It’s not a perfect solution.
Like the best moments of combat in Clair Obscur, parrying sequences in Doom: The Dark Ages can turn battles into unpredictable dances as you hop around the environment using countless weapons to tear demons asunder, all while sending their deadliest attacks straight back at them. Even with the forgiving timing windows, it feels incredible, and to be blunt, it’s satisfying to embody this power fantasy after Sandfall’s RPG was so unforgivingly precise.
Hardcore Doom fans will want to up the difficulty and keep it there, but for newcomers who might be coming off the back of something else - especially Clair Obscur - there is a joy to the immediate satisfaction here. I cannot recommend enough. If you’re after a new game to fill the void left behind by Gustave and company, why not give the Doom Slayer a chance?
