During a hands-on demo of *Doom: The Dark Ages*, the gothic prequel from id Software, I found myself unexpectedly reminiscing about *Halo 3*. Mounted on the back of a cyborg dragon, I unleashed a barrage of machine gun fire across the side of a demonic battle barge. After taking down the vessel's defensive turrets, I landed atop the ship, charged through its lower decks, and turned the crew into a bloody mess. Moments later, I burst through the hull, leaping back onto my dragon to continue my crusade against Hell's machines.
Fans of Bungie's iconic Xbox 360 shooter will recognize the similarity to Master Chief's assault on the Covenant's scarab tanks. The helicopter-like Hornet has been replaced with a holographic-winged dragon, and the giant laser-firing mech with an occult flying boat, yet the essence remains: an aerial assault transitioning into a devastating boarding action. Surprisingly, this wasn't the only *Halo*-like moment in the demo. While *The Dark Ages*' combat core is quintessentially *Doom*, the campaign's design echoes the late-2000s shooters with its elaborate cutscenes and emphasis on novel gameplay mechanics.
Over the course of two and a half hours, I played through four levels of *Doom: The Dark Ages*. The opening level mirrored the tightly paced, well-designed maps of *Doom (2016)* and its sequel. However, the subsequent levels introduced me to piloting a colossal mech, flying the aforementioned dragon, and navigating a wide-open battlefield filled with secrets and powerful minibosses. This departure from *Doom*'s traditional focus on mechanical purity feels more akin to *Halo*, *Call of Duty*, and even old *James Bond* games like *Nightfire*, known for their scripted setpieces and varied gameplay mechanics.
This shift in direction is intriguing, especially since *Doom* once moved away from such elements. The cancelled *Doom 4* was set to resemble *Call of Duty* with its modern military aesthetic and emphasis on cinematic storytelling and scripted events. id Software ultimately abandoned these ideas for the more focused *Doom (2016)*. Yet, in 2025, *The Dark Ages* brings them back.
The campaign's rapid pace is interspersed with new gameplay ideas reminiscent of *Call of Duty*'s most innovative sequences. My demo began with a long, detailed cutscene reintroducing the realm of Argent D'Nur, the opulent Maykrs, and the Night Sentinels, the Doom Slayer's knightly comrades. The Slayer is portrayed as a terrifying legend, a nuclear-level threat. While familiar to *Doom* enthusiasts, the cinematic approach feels new and reminiscent of *Halo*. The levels feature NPC Night Sentinels scattered throughout, enhancing the sense of being part of an army, much like Master Chief leading the UNSC forces.
The introduction of extensive character work through cutscenes raises questions about whether *Doom* needs such narrative depth. Personally, I appreciate the subtle storytelling of the previous games, preferring environmental design and codex entries for the Slayer's tale, with cinematics reserved for major reveals as seen in *Doom Eternal*. However, the cutscenes in *The Dark Ages* are brief and set up missions without disrupting the game's intense flow.
Other interruptions come in the form of gameplay shifts. Following the initial shotgun slaughter and parrying Hell Knights with the Slayer's new shield, I found myself piloting a Pacific Rim-like Atlan mech to battle demonic kaiju, then soaring on the cybernetic dragon to attack battle barges and gun emplacements. These scripted levels introduce significant gameplay changes, evoking *Call of Duty*'s most memorable sequences, like the AC-130 gunship mission in *Modern Warfare* or dogfighting in *Infinite Warfare*. The Atlan mech feels slow and heavy, while the dragon is fast and agile, offering a different experience from classic *Doom*.
Many acclaimed FPS campaigns thrive on such variety, with *Half-Life 2* and *Titanfall 2* setting the standard and *Halo* benefiting from its mix of vehicular and on-foot sequences. Yet, I'm uncertain if this will suit *Doom*. The core combat of *The Dark Ages*, like *Doom Eternal*, remains wonderfully complex, demanding constant attention as you juggle shots, shield tosses, parries, and melee combos. In contrast, the mech and dragon sequences feel simplified and almost on-rails, with combat engagements resembling quick-time events (QTEs).
In *Call of Duty*, switching to a tank or a circling gunship works because the mechanical complexity aligns with the on-foot missions. However, in *The Dark Ages*, there's a clear divide between gameplay styles, akin to a middle school guitarist playing alongside Eddie Van Halen. While *Doom*'s core combat should always be the star, even a rocket-powered mech punch shouldn't make me long for the ground and a double-barreled shotgun.
The final hour of my demo shifted *The Dark Ages* into another mode, focusing on id's exceptional gunplay but expanding the typically claustrophobic level design into a vast open battlefield. The level, "Siege," tasked me with destroying five Gore Portals, reminiscent of *Call of Duty*'s multi-objective missions, yet evoking *Halo*'s contrast between interior and exterior environments. The expansive map required rethinking weapon ranges, using charge attacks to cover vast distances, and employing the shield to deflect artillery from oversized tank cannons.
The downside of such expansive spaces is the potential for unfocused gameplay—I found myself backtracking through empty paths, disrupting the pace. Integrating the dragon as a *Halo*-style Banshee for swift traversal and divebombing into miniboss battles could have maintained the momentum and made the dragon more integral to the experience.
Despite the overall shape of the full campaign remaining a mystery, it's fascinating to see the resurrection and reinterpretation of ideas once deemed unsuitable for the series. The cancelled *Doom 4* reportedly featured scripted set pieces and an "obligatory vehicle scene," elements now echoed in the Atlan and dragon sections of *The Dark Ages*. id Software's Marty Stratton confirmed in a 2016 Noclip interview that *Doom 4* was closer to *Call of Duty* with its cinematic focus and broader character presence, all of which were scrapped for *Doom (2016)*. Now, *The Dark Ages* brings back these elements with boarding action setpieces, lush cinematics, a wider cast of characters, and significant lore reveals.
AnswerSee ResultsThe question now is whether these ideas were always a bad fit for *Doom*, or if they were simply ill-suited when they mimicked *Call of Duty* too closely. While I share some skepticism with fans who once feared "Call of Doom," I'm also excited to see id Software potentially making this approach work within the modern *Doom* framework.
The heart of *The Dark Ages* remains its on-foot, gun-in-hand combat, which nothing in the demo suggested would be anything less than the main attraction. Every moment I played affirmed that it's another fantastic reinvention of *Doom*'s core. While this alone could support an entire campaign, id Software clearly has other plans. I'm surprised and slightly concerned that some new ideas feel mechanically thin, potentially more distracting than refreshing. Yet, there's still much more to see, and only time will tell how these demo missions fit into the broader context. I eagerly await May 15th, not just to return to id's unparalleled gunplay, but to see if *Doom: The Dark Ages* will be a well-crafted late-2000s FPS campaign or a disjointed one.
