Developer id Software and publisher Bethesda Softworks will be launching their coming first-person shooter ‘Doom: The Dark Ages’ on Battle.net alongside Steam and the Xbox PC app (Microsoft Store). And just like Obsidian Entertainment’s ‘Avowed‘, the game will support crossbuy between the Xbox version and the Battle.net version so long as the buyer purchases the game on either platform and have their accounts linked.
More ways to play never hurt anyone—but demons do feel pain when gibbed! Have a gander at our preview of Doom: The Dark Ages for we think tis a game not to be skipped!
We previewed the game, today!
You know why historians often refer to medieval days as the dark ages? It’s because id Software had yet to invent Doom, and society lived in absolute disarray until then. Lore-wise, Doom: The Dark Ages is a prequel to the last two instalments in the franchise, but don’t be fooled.
It is a transformative new mainline installment in this legendary first person shooter franchise, and we managed to play it for about three hours in a special Doom-themed event, organized by Bethesda in Germany. There’s so much to talk about, so let’s just do it: here’s our hands-on experience with Doom: The Dark Ages.
Hot Sauce!
In the busy town of Wiesbaden, just half an hour West of Frankfurt, Germany, Bethesda gave us a couple hours to Doom our hearts out. After eating hamburgers with hot sauces that mimic the difficulty names of Doom games, from I’m Too Young To Die all the way to Ultra-Nightmare, we were underground to what felt like a dungeon, to get some details on what we were about to experience first-hand. Then, after choosing an Xbox controller over keyboard and mouse, to better grasp how the Xbox version may end up feeling, it was time to shoot. And boy, was it a ride!
Needless to say, the game looks absolutely incredible. Sure, we were on high-end PCs, managing to brute force this id Tech 9 gorgeousness, maxed out at 4K and 60fps, but it’s such a step up from the already incredible-looking Doom: Eternal. Ray tracing makes every weapon and puddle shine, extreme weather conditions are just stunning, all the models, animations and vistas look as sharp as any game has ever done. Even the physics engine gets quite a showcase, with a lot of items to destroy, hung bodies and more to “play” with. Given the previous games, we can surely expect this new iteration of the engine being very scalable and performant, giving us high hope for the console versions as well.
