DOOM: The Dark Ages is the latest game in the popular series from Bethesda, and goes back to the early days of the conflict between the Demon Slayer and forces of Hell. It has a Medieval theme as castles, Dragons, dungeons, and other mythical settings combined with science fiction as there are advanced weapons, giant mechanics, and flying vehicles in the mix.

Players will wage war against legions of evil creatures using a myriad of weapons, which can be upgraded at shrines using collected gold, and new weapons will become available as the game advances. You also get a shield. It’s essential equipment that blocks incoming fire, but can also be used to ram enemies with devastating effect, and you can even throw it to clear obstacles and activate switches and devices needed to advance.

I was happy to see that the very frustrating and annoying jump sequences of the past game were gone. The emphasis now is on interacting with the environment to open paths forward, and I find that much more satisfying.

The action is fast and intense, and the weapons, ranging from the familiar shotgun, plasma, and energy weapons, were great. There are also some clever additions, like a machine gun substitute that fired bone shards and one that deployed a punching glove on a chain. Of course, my rocket launcher and the new BFG-style weapon were also in the mix of impressive options.

Players have the option to collect hidden items along the very visually impressive maps, laden with a variety of enemies.

My biggest issue was that this became boring over time. You get the same mix of enemies over and over in waves, which gets pretty stale, and I could guess the order in which they arrived and where they would be on the map. This changed near the end of the game when new options arose, but fell back into place at the end as I was once again dealing with the same enemies.

I was surprised to have the game just freeze up on me a few times, including twice with a late-game conflict, which required exiting the game and starting over. There is also no multiplayer in the game, which, as a person who has played DOOM since the start, was an issue. People have said to me that the multiplayer aspect of the last game was not great, so it is not needed. My take is, why not make it better and give fans what has been a staple of the series?

Doom: The Dark Ages is visually impressive, with gory and intense action, making for a compelling game and one of the better releases of the year.

4 stars out of 5.