After garnering plenty of success with both Doom (2016) and Doom Eternal, the legendary developers at id Software gave the Slayer the prequel treatment inDoom: The Dark Ages. The game marks a notable shift in direction from previous series instalments, focusing quite heavily on Doomguy’s backstory, yet still manages to deliver the exquisite action fans have come to expect.
Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end, and after rolling credits on The Dark Ages, you may be left wondering what to play next. Luckily, there are a lot of great games that will let you chase the same power fantasy. Here are some you should check out after finishing the Slayer’s medieval campaign.
If you’re looking for more fights against the hordes, you should check out Shadows of the Damned. The story follows Garcia Hotspur, a professional demon hunter who travels to hell to save his girlfriend from the Lord of Demons. He’s accompanied by his sentient gun named Johnson, who provides comedic relief, mostly fodder for gags about male anatomy.
Shadows of the Damned was the brainchild of acclaimed developers Shinji Mikami and Suda51, mixing Mikami’s third-person action expertise with Suda’s sense of humor. It may be a bit too zany for some people, but if you can tolerate some cringey ‘adult’ jokes, it’s more than worth your time.
Rage 2 was sold to audiences with a simple pitch: combine best-in-class shooting with Avalanche’s open world development experience. While it wasn’t the biggest critical success, it still delivered solid gameplay in a Far Cry-like sandbox.
The star of the show here is certainly the gunplay, which was handled by id Software themselves. The guns feel appropriately powerful, with the shotgun in particular living up to the id pedigree with its impressive damage and sound design. If you enjoyed how large Dark Ages levels are, this makes for an interesting companion piece.
Doom games are predicated on a power fantasy, tearing enemies' limbs off and leaving piles of bodies in your wake. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed taps into similar elements, allowing players to use the dark side of the Force in ways far beyond what franchise films had previously showcased.
You play as Starkiller, Darth Vader’s secret apprentice, saddled with the responsibility of finding and killing any Jedi who survived Order 66. Along the way, you’ll use the Force to grab, throw, electrocute, and even explode enemies, with upgrades making your powers yet more ludicrous. There are few Star Wars games that give you as many combat options as The Force Unleashed, making it a favorite among fans.
After ascending to game development superstardom with Resident Evil 4, Shinji Mikami shifted his focus from survival-horror to action games. Working with PlatinumGames, he would direct Vanquish, which launched in 2010. Although it has the trappings of a stop-and-pop cover shooter, the best players make use of movement mechanics to speed the game up significantly.
You play as Sam Gideon, a man equipped with the Augmented Reaction Suit. It’s fitted with boosters that allow you to slide at extreme speed, making navigating the battlefield a breeze. This,coupled with a slow-motion mechanicto help players shoot, creates an incredibly stylish combat experience filled with near-misses and clutch gunplay. The game can be finished in just six hours, but it encourages replays to master its systems.
WHERE TO PLAY
id is not the only master of creative shooter design. In 2011, developer People Can Fly launched Bulletstorm, a game that asks you to dispatch enemies in the most creative ways you can think of. Each unique dispatch awards you point bonuses, incentivizing you to experiment with your abilities and the environment.
You start the game with a limited number of tools, but as you learn Bulletstorm’s systems, you become capable of pulling off wild kills. For example, you can tether someone with your leash, shoot them, then kick them into a nearby spike to finish them off.The player expression in Bulletstorm is second to none, making it very popular in the FPS community.
Hotline Miami is a violent, drug-induced fever dream that will have you begging for more. You take on the role of Jacket, a mysterious man who goes on killing sprees after receiving messages on his answering machine. What starts as a straightforward premise slowly morphs into an existential nightmare, asking players to look within themselves and ask whether they like hurting people.
Levels are presented from a top-down perspective, giving you a good view of targets and the nearby surroundings. You’ll use both melee weapons and firearms to dispense Jacket’s unique brand of justice, staining the environment red in the process. Gameplay can be punishing, so expect to die a lot, but thankfully, you canhop back into the action immediatelywith the press of a button.
Games like Doom: The Dark Ages offer a safe and appropriate way to engage with uglier aspects of humanity, like aggression and anger. However, if your bloodlust still isn’t sated by the time you’ve rolled credits, God of War 3 would be an excellent next choice. While the series has been taken to new heights by 2018 and Ragnarok, the original titles still offer the best insight into Kratos’s destructive capabilities.
The third entry sees you finally take on the Greek pantheon, slaughtering them one by one as you ascend Mount Olympus. God of War 3 had some of the largest set-piece boss fights ever at the time of its launch, and they’re still impressive today. Combat is also frenetic with plenty of gore and viscera, perfect for a Doom fan looking to get into the character action genre.
Titanfall 2
Metacritic: 89
Titanfall 2 is often referenced asone of the best FPS campaigns of all time, and for good reason. Respawn took its exquisite shooting and paired it with thoughtful level design, creating a phenomenal adventure to play through. It also features a multiplayer suite, letting you test your skills against other players from around the world.
Fans of Atlans in The Dark Ages will feel right at home piloting a Titan. Both machines let players dish out serious punishment, and Titans even come equipped with different weapons and abilities. If you love shooters, you owe it to yourself to check out Titanfall 2.
