Doom: The Dark Ages - Revelations
This review contains spoilers
Some context:
Dark Ages is my favourite Doom. I also really like Doom 2016 and think Eternal is good but it's not really my thing. I played the original Doom back in the day a bit and then ignored Doom up until 2016. I have also played Doom 3 recently.
Doom Slayer is one of my favourite video game characters mostly because of his connection to Daisy because I also have a rabbit, but I do think the unstoppable force aspect of his character--along with him genuinely being a good dude who wants to protect innocents--makes for a good game character even without Daisy.
I don't follow the lore heavily. I know it's there. I appreciate it. I try to understand it. I know that this retcons or at least adds context to some elements of the lore, while revealing some other stuff. But I will never sit here and comment heavily on the lore and how it all ties in.
However,
The Lore:
Ever since this was announced I've been excited to see where the story goes. I don't know if this is a hot take but I liked Halo 4's story because of how personal it was relative to the other games. I feel that way about Revelations as well. It's cool after all these years to see someone who rarely sweats deal with something a little more personal.
Wished we could have seen more of Daisy. I just wanted to see a little clip of him with her or something. I like the note she's mentioned in. I like that Flynn specifically requested a rabbit.
The spear/gameplay:
Dark Ages connected with me hard because parrying with the shield felt incredibly satisfying and he felt so heavy even though he was fast. More grounded, but I guess that's my preference. The feel, visuals and sound were all impeccable and that remains true for Revelations. What a banger soundtrack especially. So if you like Dark Ages, it's more of the same in a lot of ways.
Except the spear. I don't especially enjoy the spear, but I like this for Eternal fans. Eternal is my least favourite of the trilogy. Revelations blends Dark Ages with Eternal by allowing players to dodge and fly through the air with the spear. It undeniably adds more mobility. If you lost the shield entirely I wouldn't like this game as much as I did, but fortunately you still use it for most of the game.
That does mean that there's spear DNA in all of the design, but id proved that they understood the assignment because outside of some brief moments like puzzles, you can play most of it with the shield and it's just as satisfying. So while in a lot of games where a new element is introduced players could say, "Well, I don't like this new element so I don't like the game," you can't really say that about Revelations because it's like two games in one. Play how you want.
Full disclosure: I don't care about end game stuff or the Ripatorium. This is only about the main story, which I cleared in something like 5-7 hours I think, though I didn't check.
Dark Ages is my favourite Doom. I also really like Doom 2016 and think Eternal is good but it's not really my thing. I played the original Doom back in the day a bit and then ignored Doom up until 2016. I have also played Doom 3 recently.
Doom Slayer is one of my favourite video game characters mostly because of his connection to Daisy because I also have a rabbit, but I do think the unstoppable force aspect of his character--along with him genuinely being a good dude who wants to protect innocents--makes for a good game character even without Daisy.
I don't follow the lore heavily. I know it's there. I appreciate it. I try to understand it. I know that this retcons or at least adds context to some elements of the lore, while revealing some other stuff. But I will never sit here and comment heavily on the lore and how it all ties in.
However,
The Lore:
Ever since this was announced I've been excited to see where the story goes. I don't know if this is a hot take but I liked Halo 4's story because of how personal it was relative to the other games. I feel that way about Revelations as well. It's cool after all these years to see someone who rarely sweats deal with something a little more personal.
Wished we could have seen more of Daisy. I just wanted to see a little clip of him with her or something. I like the note she's mentioned in. I like that Flynn specifically requested a rabbit.
The spear/gameplay:
Dark Ages connected with me hard because parrying with the shield felt incredibly satisfying and he felt so heavy even though he was fast. More grounded, but I guess that's my preference. The feel, visuals and sound were all impeccable and that remains true for Revelations. What a banger soundtrack especially. So if you like Dark Ages, it's more of the same in a lot of ways.
Except the spear. I don't especially enjoy the spear, but I like this for Eternal fans. Eternal is my least favourite of the trilogy. Revelations blends Dark Ages with Eternal by allowing players to dodge and fly through the air with the spear. It undeniably adds more mobility. If you lost the shield entirely I wouldn't like this game as much as I did, but fortunately you still use it for most of the game.
That does mean that there's spear DNA in all of the design, but id proved that they understood the assignment because outside of some brief moments like puzzles, you can play most of it with the shield and it's just as satisfying. So while in a lot of games where a new element is introduced players could say, "Well, I don't like this new element so I don't like the game," you can't really say that about Revelations because it's like two games in one. Play how you want.
Full disclosure: I don't care about end game stuff or the Ripatorium. This is only about the main story, which I cleared in something like 5-7 hours I think, though I didn't check.
Mini Review: I'm going to put this about on par with the base game though this goes in one direction I don't like much and one direction I love, so it kind of cancels each other out. I don't like the spear. It's a personal preference thing. Fortunately you can use the shield for most of it, but it always has some of the spear DNA in the design. But I love how personal the narrative is. Everything else is the Dark Ages I know and love. Impactful violence. Feels, looks, sounds awesome.
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