Quakecon 2024 is heading around the corner. On August 8, Doom fans can possibly see some more public content of the upcoming Doom: The Dark Ages. There’s no doubt that this is id Software’s most anticipated title of this year. However, these five features are going to be a necessity to make Doom: The Dark Ages the best Doom title it can be.
Both Doom 2016 and Doom Eternal were proven to be a success for id Software. There’s definitely going to be a lot of expectations coming from the fans. But as long these five features are included in Doom: The Dark Ages, the game is heading towards the right direction.
A Campaign That Rivals Doom 2016/Eternal
It’s safe to say that Doom fans enjoy an engaging campaign, and that is what makes the series so great. Both Doom 2016 and Doom Eternal offered players an excellent campaign experience. What made them so fun was the many diverse missions, and certain moments that made them memorable. Players can easily recall the intense encounter with the Cyberdemon to experiencing Urdak’s eccentric atmosphere.
Doom: The Dark Ages should definitely try to have some of these moments as players play through the campaign. It would also be appreciative if the campaign does offer a lot of quality and quantity at the same time. After all, Doom fans expect the campaign to be main experience of this series. It should definitely be lengthy, but a blast at the same time.
On top of that, the campaign should have some more incentives to keep players replaying it. That is something that the last two Doom installments could’ve improved upon. Maybe, this is something that Doom: The Dark Ages is planning to rectify.
More Epic Boss Fights!
This idea is sort of correlated to the last suggestion. But there should definitely be more engaging boss fights for Doom: The Dark Ages. If there is something I noticed that the modern Doom series has done a great job at, it is creating boss fights. These boss fights are a lot more interesting and mechanical compared to the classic games.
It’s nice to engage these boss fights and figure out its mechanics to overcome them. Doom Eternal already has done an excellent job at creating these types of boss fights. To this day, I believe Doom Eternal has the best boss fights within the series. Let’s hope Doom: The Dark Ages continues this trend.
My personal favorite boss fight in Eternal.
A Soundtrack to Remember
The Doom series is certainly known for its excellent soundtrack. The composer of Doom is still confirmed to be unknown for now. However, hopefully this person can live up to the legacy that Bobby Prince and Mick Gordon has done. I’m expecting groovy metal riffs that will please the most diehard metalheads.
On top of that, there should also be some ambient-oriented tracks to be thrown into the mix. There are always peaks and valleys in the Doom games. The music should definitely emphasize that too.
A Likable Multiplayer Mode
The modern Doom series has been experimenting various multiplayer focused modes. In Doom 2016, its multiplayer felt like a fusion or Halo and Quake. In Doom Eternal, it had a multiplayer experience that somewhat similar to the Left 4 Dead series. One player would control the Doom Slayer who is the human character and the others would control a demon. Both of these modes have been lukewarm experiences for Doom fans. There should be a multiplayer mode that actually have some power against the campaign.
It also would be nice to have an alternative mode to play outside of the expected single player campaign. I think making a cooperative focused mode would be the ideal way for Doom: The Dark Ages. Doom has always been centered on killing demons, and who doesn’t want to kill demons with their friends? Id Software has already played with a Horde Mode in Doom Eternal, and they should bring it back again for this Doom installment. A cooperative focused Horde Mode seems like a dreamful idea for Doom fans.
Bring Back Doom SnapMap
Map making has always been a thing that kept the old Doom games alive. Even to this day, there are people that are still making levels for Doom 2016. I do believe id Software should reconsider of bringing back SnapMap again for this Doom title. Not only this mode is going to appeal to the creative gamers, but it will bring in more replay value for the game itself. It was disappointing to see Doom Eternal abandoning a strong feature from Doom 2016. Doom: The Dark Ages shouldn’t forget the importance of fan creation content. It will be the thing that’s going to keep the game replayable for years.
Those are my personal five features that Doom: The Dark Ages should adopt. It will make the game a lot better and create more hype among their fans. Quakecon 2024 is getting near to us. I’m hoping id Software will include at least one of these features in their latest Doom game.
