Review: Doom: The Dark Ages | Revelations

Going fromDoom 2016 to Doom Eternalfelt like a natural progression. Doom 2016 reintroduced arena shooters to a world where arcade shooters were the norm, and Doom Eternal upped the ante with its speed and intensity. Going into Doom: The Dark Ages, it would have been safe to bet it would be a continuation of the formula. However, it wasn’t. Doom: The Dark Ages arrived last May with an entirely new philosophy centered around weight, parrying, and standing your ground. It was a fascinating shake-up that helped The Dark Ages feel distinct, as well as its focus on delivering a focused story-driven campaign. While the game was excellent, Doom: The Dark Ages was a big change for franchise fans, particularly those who fell in love with Doom Eternal.

DOOM: The Dark Ages | Revelations aims to remedy that feeling by bringing back several of Eternal’s mechanics and being more approachable than either of Doom Eternal’s DLCs. Does Doom: The Dark Ages | Revelations find the right middle-ground, or should this DLC be thrown straight into Purgatory?

A Look Into the Past

Doom: The Dark Ages | Revelations picks up shortly after the events of the base game. The Slayer's conquest of Hell has brought him before its High Council, determined to finish off the demon threat. However, deep-seated guilt allows them to weaken him, and he is defeated by their Henchman and banished to Purgatory. Rescued by "the Architect", the Slayer must collect the Ascension Stones, confront his guilt, and return to Argent D'nur to thwart the Khan Makyr's plan.

If Doom: The Dark Ages' plot can be best-described as a narrative-driven title, then it would be accurate to describe Revelations as a character-driven story. Much of the game's campaign is spent diving into Slayer's past, revealing his past and showcasing the trauma that turned him into the man he is. It's a riveting tale that slowly unfolds and sheds light on one of gaming's most mysterious protagonists.

The downside to this approach is that very little else gets any breathing room. The Khan Makyr's plan, the brewing civil war on Argent D'nur, Marok's time as the Makyr's new champion, and the identity of the mysterious Architect (particularly given that he shares the same voice actor as another important character in the series) are all plot points conveniently glossed over or given little time to develop. If the story only focused on the Slayer, it could have worked, but by throwing in all these mysteries and plot points, the narrative sets up too much with little payoff.

Speaking of payoff, the DLC's ending lands flat, abruptly ending as if a second DLC or fourth Doom game is expected. There's a great payoff to Slayer's story, but anyone invested in the trilogy's story won't get a satisfying ending here.

Swing, Swing, Swing From the Tangles of my Spear

While narrative has been important to the modern Doom trilogy, it's the deep, intense gameplay that defines these games. Doom: The Dark Ages | Revelations continues that trend by layering in returning mechanics from Doom Eternal. The game is still very much Doom: The Dark Ages, but the addition of mechanics like the Meat Hook, Dashing, and the Hammer Slam effectively add on more depth to the Slayer's arsenal.

All of this accomplished through the Chain Spear, Revelations' sole new weapon. While the spear has many of the Shield's mechanics, mainly parrying, it's what this spear enables that makes it so special. Equipping the spear enables the Meat Hook, allowing you to swing across the environment, get up and close to enemies, and, after upgrading it, even allow you to orbit enemies for a short period of time. It also enables a dash, a sorely missed feature that opens new possibilities in combat, which is needed. Unlike the shield, there's no blocking with the spear. The traditional stand your ground mechanics enabled by the shield aren't applicable to the spear, although you do get the shield back rather quickly.

The Chain Spear's capabilities don't stop there. Much like the shield in the base game, you'll unlock new ways to use the spear through upgrades. These include the ground slam from Doom Eternal's DLC, a spear throw perfect for aerial enemies, and a powerful stab that's excellent at piercing shields and stopping stampeding enemies in their tracks. There's a lot that the Chain Spear can do, though it opens a sizable can of worms.

The Chain Spear is a versatile weapon with an unnatural control scheme. Actions like parrying, slash, and dash that you'd expect to be assigned certain inputs aren't. While the shield's parry, block, and throw options felt natural, the Chain Spear actions never did and required constant control mapping just to find something that felt natural, which leads to the next problem. There are so many overlapping button usages that finding a natural way to perform every action becomes difficult. It gets to the point where it's probably best to play Revelations with a controller that has back paddles. The Chain Spear is an excellent new addition, but it does push the boundaries of what modern controllers and keyboards can accommodate.

Down, Down, Down we Go

Doom: The Dark Ages | Revelations is a meaty expansion that rewards those who stick with it. While the main campaign only lasts 4-6 hours depending on difficulty, the DLC offers a lot of additional content that can extend runtime past 12 hours. The main levels are split into two; the normal path you'll play as part of the main campaign, and then Endgame sections that require you to return post-story. These areas feature additional puzzles, more combat challenges, new currency to upgrade your armor and Chain Spear, and classic Doom levels that unlock a classic weapon once completed.

There's even more to unlock in Purgatory, the DLC's central hub. Large and explorable, Purgatory is filled with puzzles to solve and secrets to discover. It's certainly easy to spend hours just roaming around and collecting important lore.

Revelations also addresses one of the main criticisms leveled against The Ancient Gods, the difficulty. Revelations' difficulty feels like a natural escalation from where the final chapters of The Dark Ages left off. Early battles never feel like a desperate fight for survival like The Ancient Gods was. Don't be fooled though, Revelations can be tough, especially when facing off against the wicked Archvile, Cosmic Elemental, or Warlock, but it never crosses into unfair territory like The Ancient Gods did.

Closing Comments

Doom: The Dark Ages | Revelations does what any good DLC should do: give you more of what the base game did right, while also adding in new layers. The addition of the Chain Spear brings back a handful of beloved Doom Eternal mechanics, spicing up gunplay with new capabilities and movement options. The choice to reveal the Slayer's past adds dimensions to a character and better frames his actions in Doom 2016 and Doom Eternal. The narrative may be a breeze, but the DLC is jam-packed with extra content to keep you entertained long after its conclusion. Not everything is sunshine and rainbows, though. While versatile, the Chain Spear stretches the limits of what can be done with modern controllers and keyboards. It's not easy to find a control scheme that feels natural given how many actions are tied to each button. The overarching story is also quite weak. The focus on the Slayer sucks all the oxygen out of the other major threads. It also has a rather disappointing ending that's more determined to set up a fourth Doom game or a second DLC instead of delivering a satisfying conclusion. Despite these issues, Doom: The Dark Ages | Revelations is still a good DLC that gives players more of The Dark Ages, a little bit of Eternal, and a lot of demon slaying. This DLC easily escapes Purgatory.