Two Doom: The Dark Ages Additions Would Make Great…

Summary

Doom: The Dark Ages is a prequel to the 2016 reboot, with a slightly slower pace emphasizing stand-and-fight gameplay over running and gunning.
The game lacks multiplayer at launch, but introduces features like mech battles and dragon-riding that could make great multiplayer modes.
While developer id has not mentioned any plans for it, future updates could potentially expand on these inclusions and turn them into excellent multiplayer modes.

Doom: The Dark Ages, the third and latest of the modern entries in id Software's demon-slaying series, is a prequel to the 2016 reboot that brings the Slayer back to the time when the Night Sentinel's world of Argent D'Nur was under siege by hell's hordes. Doom: The Dark Ages takes its iconic fast-paced frantic formula and slows things down ever so slightly, asking players to, in the words of the developers, "stand and fight" more rather than the focus on running and gunning in the previous two games.

One other notable element this time around is that Doom: The Dark Ages lacks a multiplayer suite. While it was known beforehand that it would not be including this, with id saying that it wanted to "focus all of our energy on making the best campaign we could," it still stings a bit for it not to have multiplayer at launch. However, there are two new features in The Dark Ages that would make for fantastic multiplayer modes should the studio consider adding ones in the future.

Why Doom: The Dark Ages is Igniting Debate Over a Missing Feature

Doom: The Dark Ages makes some changes to a staple of modern Doom, which has stirred up a bit of discord within the franchise's fanbase.

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By Nick Rodriguez

Doom: The Dark Ages' Mech Suit and Cyber Dragon Sections Could be Excellent Multiplayer Experiences

Doom: The Dark Ages Lacking Traditional Multiplayer Opens Up a Door to Add a Fresh Spin on It

Going back to its origins, Doom has a long history of including and, to a large degree, inventing multiplayer modes. The original couple titles' classic death matches set the stage for countless games to include them afterward, and Doom's legacy as a multiplayer franchise alongside its single-player action has long been cemented. As such, Doom: The Dark Ages skipping this feature in favor of emphasizing its campaign has understandably left some players disappointed that this portion was cut for the recent entry. And both the mech battles and the dragon-riding levels introduced in the newest entry would provide great opportunities for multiplayer should the developer change its mind.

How Doom: The Dark Ages Could Turn its Atlan Fights and Dragon-Riding Segments Into Their Own Multiplayer Modes

As players tear their way through the demonic forces in Doom: The Dark Ages, the Slayer will sporadically suit up in Atlan armor, essentially a giant mech, to face off against equally massive Titan demons. Towering over Argent D'Nur's landscapes and smashing buildings to pieces with a single stride as the hulking figures clash makes for a visceral power fantasy and a good change-up from the ground combat. Likewise, the portions where the Slayer mounts an armed and armored cyber-dragon are striking spectacles. But the gameplay for each is kept fairly straightforward, and they feel like they could have been taken further, especially if expanded and re-tuned with a multiplayer focus.

While neither of these sections are strictly quick-time events, they can seem a lot like them due to their simplicity and how swiftly they can be over, which diminishes their impact, if only a little. With a few more touches and added complexity, though, id could give fans something resembling a Kaiju vs. Mech fighting game mode, as well as one that might play like Star Wars Squadrons or Star Fox, with players piloting and dogfighting with dragons in intense and acrobatic aerial combat.

Though, again, id does not currently have any plans for multiplayer for Doom: The Dark Ages, the studio has experimented outside classic death match modes, as in Doom: Eternal's 2v1 mode. It could later decide to pivot, however, and accommodate making the above two designs into fully-fledged multiplayer experiences. This would allow it the perfect chance to try something new and iterate on prior templates, as well as satisfy those fans who are lamenting the loss of multiplayer components in The Dark Ages.

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