More than a year after Doom: The Dark Ages’ launch, Bethesda Softworks and id Software are ready to unleash hell… again. The expansion-sized Revelations DLC rips into PC, Xbox Series X/S, and PS5 on July 7, and we’ve already seen its new moves in action.
Like with everything else coming from the talented studios under Xbox’s umbrella, there’s an underlying uneasiness making the arrival of id Software’s latest release feel weird. Industry-shaking layoffs across Xbox studios are looming large as the brand looks to reset its strategy, and Xbox remains a BDS boycott target. No matter where you draw the line, however, developers are still putting in good work and deserve better.
Over at Bethesda, which was absorbed by Xbox in 2021, studios continue to deliver impressive (or at least enticing) games at a satisfying pace. id Software has been in the Doom ‘mines’ for what feels like forever by now, prompting many longtime fans to wish its teams would return to Quake or try something new. But Revelations is trying to make an argument about why the Doom Slayer is far from ready to go to bed.
In late June, studio director Marty Stratton and game director Hugo Martin went over everything that makes Doom: The Dark Ages - Revelations a celebration of over 30 years of Doom and not just the culmination of what id Software has done since the 2016 reboot of sorts. At first glance, Revelations looks like more of the same, but it follows a different route and brings back some of Doom Eternal’s biggest strengths, such as more acrobatic combat and bigger emphasis on staying mobile.
As suggested by rumours a while back, it also seems to be built as a Metroidvania of sorts, with gated zones and progressive difficulty that seem tied to more exploration and player upgrades. It might sound shocking at first, but considering the rebooted series’ penchant for more layered and complex level design, it feels right, especially if id Software is trying to surprise following The Dark Ages’ more horizontal structure. Platforming has regained importance and we were told that “the more you play and invest, the deeper the experience becomes”.
In fact, Martin and his team don’t want players to blast through the story - which is said to be longer than you’d expect - and jump out. Around 40% of the DLC is what has been described as an actual endgame loop with unique challenges, trials, more paths with exclusives areas, harder bosses, and even classic Doom levels that take inspiration from all over the series’ vast history. Whereas past Doom games would tell players to replay the campaigns with modifiers or in Arcade mode, Revelations will push everyone to get more powerful and perfect their skills with a meaty loop of new arenas and hand-crafted encounters that keep going long after the credits roll.
As shown in the trailer, the new Spear melee weapon - which can be used alongside the Shield Saw - also pushes the Slayer in the direction of the previous Doom games versus The Dark Ages’ bigger focus on ‘tanky’ gameplay. Parries and blocks haven’t gone anywhere, but covering long distances fast and using the levels’ verticality feels key to success again. If the Spear doesn’t feel right at the beginning, “stick with it, it gets deeper,” Martin said. Combined with the familiar “meat hook” and upgraded weaponry, some pretty slick combos can be easily pulled off. While the team made sure to keep things enjoyable for everyone with the difficulty sliders already present in the game (we were encouraged to play through Revelations at first on the normal difficulty), the endgame’s “master arenas” and new Ripatorium mode upgrades will ask that players really master the Slayer’s entire kit.
Some of the tweaks and additions to moment-to-moment combat will also apply to the base game. For example, the mace and shield are being rebalanced, as Martin and the team felt they were a bit too OP, especially by the end of the campaign. If you haven’t jumped into The Dark Ages yet, chances are the combat loop will feel different after Revelations, even if the changes are subtle.
Stratton and Martin didn’t shy away from commenting on the more heated player feedback following the game’s release even if they maintain it was planned to go back to past entries for inspiration before crafting this expansion. That means no dragon or Atlan (the big mech) sections, more of a focus on first-person cinematics that don’t break the immersion, and more lore drops that bridge the entire franchise together. That said, they wouldn’t confirm or deny if Revelations fully wraps up The Dark Ages and this current saga, but we were told “there’s some catharsis”. Just don’t expect it to go straight into Doom 2016’s prologue. Make of that what you will.
The post-showcase chat went on for a while, mainly because Martin was genuinely excited to discuss all things Doom and the peculiarities of every new bit of content and gameplay tweak, but it’s hard to discern how much of Revelations will actually translate into the substantially different experience that’s promised without playing the seemingly generous DLC. Thankfully, it’s right around the corner, so stay tuned for our complete, hands-on thoughts.
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