Just like howDoom Eternaladded new layers of mobility and aggressiveness to the action fundamentals ofDoom(2016), so too isDoom: The Dark Agesaiming to revolutionize the series' combat sandbox with new design philosophies. In a nutshell,the Doom Slayer is going to be heavier, beefier, and harder-hitting this time around, standing his ground and facing his foes head-on rather than dancing around the battlefield amidst a flurry of bullets.
One way that Id Sofware is accomplishing this fundamental mechanical pivot is throughDoom: The Dark Ages’Shield Saw, a strong contender for one of the coolest weapons in recent gaming history. It can be roughly described as a heavy metal version of Captain America’s iconic shield, designed to deal damage just as much as to prevent it. As seen in Id Software’s recent Developer_Direct, the Shield Saw can be used as a sort of deadly Frisbee, it can block oncoming damage, and yes, it can parry and deflect. This suite of abilities is tantalizing and promises to provide deep gameplay, but there’s one mechanical choice that could impede its greatness.
Doom: The Dark Ages’s Contextual Controls Could Be Hard to Get Right
Doom’s New Shield Saw Relies On Contextual Inputs
As previously mentioned,Doom: The Dark Ages' Shield Saw is meant to be a versatileweapon capable of different offensive and defensive options. However, switching between these two modes isn’t a matter of pressing a different button, or even pressing the same button in a different way (e.g. by holding or double-tapping). Rather, the game will take the players' surroundings into account: a block or parry will be performed if the situation calls for it, but if there isn’t an attack to be blocked, Doom Slayer will throw the shield.
This is an example of contextual controls, like when a game uses the same button for, say, jumping, as it does for interacting with objects. The deciding factors are what is around the player, not what the player actually inputs. There are a number of benefits to this approach, including more intuitive gameplay, especially with a gamepad, but it can be easy to flub.TakeMass Effect, which binds both the sprint and interact actions to A/X, leading to scenarios where a player may accidentally inspect an in-game element when they really mean to run. One can adapt to this overlap, of course, but it can nevertheless cause some awkward situations, and is arguably an inelegant solution to the issue of multilayered mechanics.
Potential Problems With Doom: The Dark Ages' Contextual Controls
Binding the sprint and interact actions to the same button is one thing, but contextual controls in combat encounters is a whole other can of worms. It’s not hard to imagine situations wherein a player means tothrowDoom’s newShield Saw, only to wind up parrying because they are near an enemy winding up an attack. Since the Shield Saw’s multiple different modes will ostensibly be a big part of the game’s combat sandbox, these scenarios could wind up causing frustration, especially if they aren’t few and far between.
Beyond individual instances of mistaken inputs,Doom: The Dark Ages' contextual controls could unnaturally steer players into a specific playstyle, which would be a radicaldeparture from the free-form combat ofDoom Eternal. Say that a player wants to use the shield-throw ability more often than most—this approach could be impeded by the contextual controls that dictate when the shield can actually be thrown. If someone isn’t a fan of parry systems, such an issue could be particularly pronounced. It will be interesting to see how Id Software fine-tunes these controls to ensure the best mix of intuitiveness and player agency.
WHERE TO PLAY
BECOME THE SLAYER IN A MEDIEVAL WAR AGAINST HELLDOOM: The Dark Ages is the prequel to the critically acclaimed DOOM (2016) and DOOM Eternal that tells an epic cinematic story worthy of the DOOM Slayer’s legend. In this third installment of the modern DOOM series, players will step into the blood-stained boots of the DOOM Slayer, in this never-before-seen dark and sinister medieval war against Hell.
DOOM: The Dark Ages is a dark fantasy/sci-fi single-player experience that delivers the searing combat and over-the-top visuals of the incomparable DOOM franchise, powered by the latest idTech engine.REIGN IN HELLAs the super weapon of gods and kings, shred enemies with devastating favorites like the Super Shotgun while also wielding a variety of new bone-chewing weapons, including the versatile Shield Saw. Players will stand and fight on the demon-infested battlefields in the vicious, grounded combat the original DOOM is famous for.STAND AND FIGHTExperience an epic story of the DOOM Slayer’s rage in this cinematic and action-packed story. Bound to serve as the super weapon of gods and kings, the DOOM Slayer fends off demon hordes as their leader seeks to destroy the Slayer and become the only one that is feared. Witness the creation of a legend as the Slayer takes on all of Hell and turns the tide of the war.DISCOVER UNKNOWN REALMSIn his quest to crush the legions of Hell, the Slayer must take the fight to never-before-seen realms. Mystery, challenges, and rewards lurk in every shadow of ruined castles, epic battlefields, dark forests, ancient hellscapes, and worlds beyond. Armed with the viciously powerful Shield Saw, cut through a dark world of menace and secrets in id’s largest and most expansive levels to date.
