Doom: The Dark Ages’ ‘iron tank’ gameplay takes things back to the very beginning: ‘It feels more like classic Doom than any game we’ve made up to this point’

In a press Q&A ahead of today’s Xbox developer direct, id Software creative director Hugo Martin and executive producer Marty Stratton expanded on some of the gameplay changes coming to Doom: The Dark Ages. In particular, they outlined how some of the criticisms of 2020’s Doom Eternal led the team to look for inspiration in the ’90s originals.

“I like to harp on the negative [comments] and see what people didn’t like,” said Martin. “Some people said [Doom Eternal] was too hard. I actually think it’s too complex. I think that the complexity of the control scheme led to unnecessary difficulties. You really want to be fighting the demons, the bad guys, not your controls.”

Which is not to say that id wants The Dark Ages to be an easier game, just one with a lower barrier to entry. Martin hopes it has a more “ergonomic” control scheme, “So that way, when we do pressure the player, they’re not reaching for buttons that they aren’t really familiar with.”

According to Martin, the team found the ergonomic, intuitive feel it was looking for in the original two Doom games. “I think I spent more time playing classic Doom on this project than I did in any other one,” Martin said.

“The original Doom, and why it’s stood the test of time is [that] it’s really one of the most accessible shooters, first person, single player campaigns ever made,” said Martin. “That’s not to say it’s easy. I don’t think an ergonomic control scheme or an intuitive control scheme and a combat system that streamlined means easy.”

The boots on the ground, projectile-dodging throwback combat promised by The Dark Ages has my inner boomer shooter sicko vibrating. Something I’m curious about is how retro the level design in-between combat will be⁠—Martin didn’t rule out exploration entirely, while the developer direct trailer mentions level secrets and shows off a cheeky medieval-style keycard⁠—but Martin made it sound like that boomer shooter, combing back through the level after you’ve killed everything, “where am I supposed to go now?” feeling is something that id is trying to avoid. “I think there’s a lot of modern conveniences that the original Doom doesn’t have around exploring a level,” Martin argued, citing critically important doors hiding in wall textures as an example.

Even if Doom: The Dark Ages’ levels wind up being straight shots in-between heavy metal ragnarok battlefields, it looks like there’s going to be plenty to chew on here. We don’t even have that long to wait either. Doom: The Dark Ages is set to grace our screens on May 15.