The modern DOOM series has established the Doom Slayer as a destructive force of nature. He is a man of few words but many actions, and all of those actions involve destroying demons. He is not really human, he's an unstoppable force that can't find an immovable object. And that's the essence that makes DOOM: The Dark Ages so good.
While the previous game, DOOM Eternal, innovated by making the Doom Slayer more agile and nimble -- able to gracefully glide through the air before crashing down to earth -- The Dark Ages has decided to take a lot of that mobility away. This Doom Slayer's feet will often need to stay firmly planted on the ground, but that has allowed the team to focus on the kinds of attack patterns and projectiles that enemies will be using, while giving the player a new tool to deal with them.
Since you can't jump and glide over the thousands of projectiles that will be coming your way easily, you'll need something to defend yourself, and that's where the shield comes in. The Dark Ages' shield is an integral addition to the Doom Slayer's arsenal, not a weapon that you might forget about after a few levels. No matter which weapon you swap to, the shield will always be in the slayer's left hand, and you'll need it for almost every encounter -- and even a bunch of traversal and puzzle mechanics.
The shield soon gets a chainblade upgrade, allowing you to throw it straight through weaker enemies, and upgrading the shield will see it take out legions of smaller foes in a single throw. While that utility is massively appreciated -- and makes the shield a great tool to focus on in regards to upgrades -- the key mechanic that the shield brings to the table is the parry system. You will need to master and rely on your ability to parry during fights with bigger foes.
Enemies will glow with a green flash before unleashing an attack you can parry -- projectiles you can parry to launch back at enemies are also green -- and this will set the opponent off balance for a moment, allowing you to counter attack. Of course, your parry ability can also be upgraded and even given custom properties, allowing a good deal of flexibility in how your build operates. Your parry and tools might focus on all-out damage, or maybe you've introduced a handful of tools that heal your shield while parrying instead.
It's a solid mechanical foundation for an interesting side-step in the evolution of the Doom Slayer, but the game wouldn't be able to hold interest without a bombastic selection of weapons to blast and enemies to use them on. The Doom Slayer's arsenal is almost as absurd as the man himself, with super shotguns, rocket launchers, energy weapons, and more. Almost all weapons can be upgraded to interact with the shield in some way -- whether that's causing explosive effects with a shield throw, or powering up shots on enemies that have been parried -- and unlocking a new upgrade tier on your weapons will make you want to jump straight back into the fray to test them out. It's a formula that's familiar to players of the modern DOOM games, but it's one that absolutely works.
New mechanics that don't work quite so well include the Atlan and Dragon levels. The Atlan is a giant mech that the Doom Slayer can pilot while engaging in fairly simple games of punch and dodge. Punch a giant enemy enough times, and you can unleash a kill shot. It never deviates far from that, and while it's fun for the first level, it feels like a significantly slower experience. The Dragon is an improvement, allowing you to dynamically fly around certain levels to find secrets, but it still feels distinctly slower than the regular gameplay. They're fun inclusions, but they could've been cut and the experience wouldn't have suffered.
This all goes without mentioning the new "medieval" aesthetic. It's an interesting blend of the demonic sci-fi we've come to know from DOOM, and a hearty dose of ancient castles and towns to sprint through. It does make for a nice change of pace from either hell or a spaceship, though later areas do still feel like exploring a spaceship from hell. Still, the aesthetic change, along with the key mechanical changes, help to make The Dark Ages stand out from other games in the series.
I the heat of the action, tearing through a seemingly limitless supply of demonic foes, DOOM: The Dark Ages stands out as one of the most exciting experiences of the last few years. It's not quite always that hyperactive and fast-paced, but in its best moments, it truly shines. Not everything is polished to the same mirror sheen, but if you want a frantic action shooter to play right now, you won't be disappointed with DOOM: The Dark Ages.