(the tl;dr companion video for this article:)

Don’t put all your eggs in one basket, as the old saying goes.


A modern day example of this idiom may involve the idea that one should make sure that they have social engagements that aren’t solely 100% through online interaction, for psychologically relevant reasons

There has been a surprising amount of stark introspection and historical retrospection occurring during my last couple of articles involving the deconstructionism of Doom: The Dark Ages | Revelations, that one wouldn’t necessarily associate with such a straight forward affair that Doom tends to be. After all, when a series tagline ends up being something akin to “Rip and Tear”, some firm expectations are set, and not much in the way of trading within the realm of the challengingly cognitive is to be expected…trading within the realm of blown out brain cavities, sure, but this is why language is so important, and asking someone for a piece of their mind varies wildly depending on context.


Either way, it will certainly be a meeting of the minds…it kind of just boils down to how literal vs metaphorical one is attempting to be

I did feel the need to do a lil old historical breakdown of some of my past run-ins with the Doom series in my first article, just to give you a sense of how we went from point A to point B, as I do think there is a lot of relevancy in seeing the progressive alterity of an idea over time, especially as it morphs through changed perspective. I’d say this is probably true for a lot of series, but since at present, we are dealing with the Doom series, I do stand back kind of amazed at how many different “hats” the series has worn over the years, as a casual glance may trick someone into thinking all of it becomes kind of a ‘sameyness’, with very little distinction across the titles. If we even just look at the unique difference between Eternal and Dark Ages, and what kind of massive distinctions betwixt the two titles there truly are, and what kind of difference that made in rustling jimmies the world over, you get a unique insight into the vast gulf of difference in understanding the approach where game design is concerned.


Game design: the beating heart of any video game, naturally

Which, I know has been a regular point of contention in the first two articles thus far, but the contrast between both titles has just been such a major talking point within the community, and also quite obviously as heard feedback from id software themselves, there’s just no avoiding the acknowledgement there after, and getting into the weeds of what it means for all involved. Where I’ve been fairly up front about my preference towards Eternal’s high flying, million miles an hour, explosively hyperactive chaotic tendencies the game possesses, I reiterate that Dark Ages was a great experience, and had an awesome approach to its own efforts at carving out a distinctive niche, to differentiate itself from its predecessor. With that said, it does become apparent it’s not necessarily that there has to be a winner and loser per se in this ideological battles of the design machinations, as both offer unique perspective where ripping and tearing is concerned. Id software had very much the same idea, which does fit in nicely to the second major part of the Doom DLC: Revelations, as the game brings it “back to basics” without abandoning a prior pretense of doubling back on itself.


Hookshotting just never gets old…

After the Doom Slayer brushed himself off and pickwd himself back up after an unceremonious stomping at the beginning of the DLC, he stumbles across the Chain Spear, which quickly becomes his new best friend, due to its Swiss Army Knife like tendencies, in being your go to guy for almost any occasion. Of course, the bitter sweetness of the event was that Doom Slayer’s beloved Shield Saw fell in combat as well, and seemed beyond repair after the fight had wrapped up. Well, due to some help from a friendly other he encountered in this new pocket of torment that the Doom Slayer had fallen into, his shield is eventually repaired, though in a severely nerfed status, debuffing it entirely, making all of the upgrades from the main game all for naught. It does, however, still help Doom Slayer kick all kinds of ass in its base form, as you are still able to hurl it at demonic others, rush charge from a distance to inflict massive battering ram like damage to any unlucky sucker on the other end, and parry attacks with it at a moment’s notice. Thus lays the ground work for the either/or scenario of how one wants to go about playing Revelations from that point on, as the ability to quick swap between the Chain Spear and the Shield Saw is a quick press of a button. So now, the player gets to decide for themselves what kind of Doom mood they are in at the present moment. Feeling like an over the top Eternal kind of day? Or an aggressive ground assault ala Dark Ages kind of way?

Why not both?


Old faithful, back in action

In what turns out to be a clever little twist of fate, id software does end up giving you back your Shield Saw, after essentially forcing you into a break in period, in broadcasting to the community they heard the feedback from players, and were now responding by “Eternalizing” The Dark Ages, by giving you back your beloved Meat Hook accessory that was attached to the Super Shotgun in the preceding game, in the form of the Chain Spear. Well, a close equivalent at least. Which is great, as you get to cut your teeth on another awkward fumbling period, of attempting to grapple with what is admittedly, a more complicated way of taking down enemies, just in the sheer notion of how much math is low key involved on some level, as there are angles, and trajectories, and velocities one must consider when performing all of these high flying acrobats with the Chain Spear. Even if one isn’t hyper aware of the fact they are doing number crunching in their mind when they are swinging around from demon body to demon body; it’s definitely going on, and it kind of rewires the brain a bit in how one approaches the battle field.


Again, it’s a lot easier to deal with disagreements head on when one is able to lob a spear from a distance directly through the interlocutor’s face, and then fly across the room to discuss current grievances

All well and good, of course, though I can’t be the only one who had an ironic moment of having “the shoe on the other foot”, as soon as I got a hold of the Chain Spear, and started zipping around, to and fro, hither and thither, as I mutilated demons from a sky high perspective, reliving the glory days that were Eternal…was immediately followed by the irony ladened moment of missing the feel of the ground work involved with the Shield Saw, in spite of yearning for the Eternal for so long through out the entirety of the Dark Ages campaign. Funny little world now, ain’t it? Yearn no more, of course, as now with the handy little quick swap at the ready, such a reality was possible, as the Shield Saw is always at the ready, and one is always able to bum rush some sorry sack of hellish shit right the fuck into high god damn heaven with righteous indignation, in confronting the sheer audacity of existing right in front of you


Mistakes were made

Plus, you’ve got an excellent freebie projectile once more with the shield throw, and what I feel as if is the slightly more preferred Parry, due to the more natural fit of deflecting with a shield than the slap back with the spear. Even if some of this is subjective, being able to switch up between the styles, and going at it any which way you want, makes for a marriage of both gameplay styles, and opens the door for a whole lot of improvisational tactics that add an extra dimension of flavor to all the transcendental bloodlust that doth occur when the Slayer shows up.


Always difficult to line up the shot for the picture juuust right, as you usually end up getting either the before or the after image of the demons body exploding into a million pieces…first world problems, am I right?

The added benefit of having both playstyles at the ready, means the utilization of both the Spear and the Shield in non-combat scenarios, too, which means platforming traversal and environmental puzzle solving get an excellent little boost in complexity, as one can switch between the two, in adding even more variety to the intermissionary work that occurs when one is taking a breathing between all of the beatings, and near continuous converting of lost souls and the mass destruction that so often follows soon after. The game also mindfully doesn’t “weapon code” any of the demons, so if you really just want to stick to one or the other, you won’t be shit out of luck, as “shield vulnerable” or “spear vulnerable” enemies aren’t a thing, though it is undeniable that dealing with some enemies one way or the other does become evident pretty quickly, but something that can be brute forced through regardless.

Whether it’s with the Shield or Spear; be sure to make this motherfucker regrets ever being born with a jaw bone intact

I think that the inclusion of both is a great way to let the players decide how to enjoy their Doom experience, and leans into one of the most valuable resources developers can use when tackling effective game design, and that is giving the players options, as the greater the variety they have at their disposal, the more engaged they will end up becoming. This new idea of bringing in what is effectively different playstyles is an interesting one in creating even more depth to the Doom formula, and I won’t be surprised if one of the knock on effects this has, is that in the next Doom, which might be something of a soft reboot for all we know, doesn’t end up incorporating this element of weapon specific fighting styles, maybe even to the point of some pseudo-class structure going on, in how one chooses to go up against the hordes of hell, but we will have to wait and see if such things come to pass.


As long as the hella fun merch keeps coming, I think most people will be game

In any case, I wouldn’t be surprised if the title of this DLC, Revelations, is not a play on words, with one of the “revelations” being offering up is more agency to the player, and the revelation they will have in being able to choose between their own flavor of Doom, and how freeing the process feels as a result.

Another good day in hell, it would seem.


~Pashford