Doom: The Dark Ages Secures May 15 Release Date
As part of the Xbox January Developer Direct, we received tonnes of new details and release dates for four upcoming titles. One of the biggest of these was Doom: The Dark Ages. The latest entry in the fast-paced FPS series is set to release on May 15th this year. This places it neatly after two other games shown in the direct- South of Midnight and Expedition 33- which are releasing on April 8th and April 24th respectively. With all of these also coming to Game Pass, Xbox players are getting a monthly run of some very promising titles all for the cost of their subscription.
Image by Id Software
Pivoting back to Doom, though, this medieval spin on the series looks to be shaking up more than just the setting. As Id Software mentioned in their video, they sought to balance nostalgia and innovation with this latest release. Of course, going from sci-fi space and modern day earth to a dark fantasy setting is quite the shake up of the Doom formula but, from what we’ve seen so far, its something that can easily work to the game’s benefit.
Doom: The Dark Ages is more about standing and fighting like a walking tank as opposed to the zippy faster gameplay of 2016 and Eternal especially. With a Captain America style shield that has chainsaw blades attached (which is insane by the way) and a whole new arsenal of heavy weaponry, the Doom Slayer can finally stand his ground by parrying attacks and utilising three new melee weapons to really get into the medieval setting. Switching between the shield, ranged weapons and new melee options looks great and will hopefully provide a shake up to the traditional tried and tested Doom formula.
Image by Id Software
With this being a Doom game, though, we can expect more than just some traditional shooting levels. Id have gone all out with the battles in this release from what we’ve seen- with each gameplay segment feeling like a part of a massive ongoing war against Hell. On top of that though, we’ll get the chance to play inside a Pacific Rim-style giant robot as well as being able to ride a cybertronic dragon to mix up the gameplay and take the fight directly to Hell’s legions. Outside of this, exploring the world is supposed to be bigger, more expansive and deeper than the segmented levels found in the most recent two games.
Doom: The Dark Ages launches on May 15th and is set to be the most ambitious game in the series yet- which is saying a lot after the massive success of Eternal. With a completely new gameplay style, the introduction of huge kaiju like battles and a complete switch up in setting, this prequel could have the potential to be the best Doom game. With it also releasing day one on Game Pass, there’s no reason to not check this out when it releases later this year.
