The Dark Ages’ Fight Over Flight Style

Doom: The Dark Ages throws the iconic Slayer into an unforgiving and heavy metal-inspired medieval setting, bringing a unique twist to the long-running franchise. Since the beginning of the series, Doom has aimed to put action and bloody carnage front and center, and Doom: The Dark Ages continues this legacy.

There are several changes made to Doom: The Dark Ages that set it apart from Doom (2016) and Doom Eternal, and it helps the game stand on its own in the franchise’s new era. However, there is one feature from both Doom (2016) and Doom Eternal that Doom: The Dark Ages actually improves upon, and that’s increased health drops when players are low on health.

Doom: The Dark Ages Continues to Encourage Players to Charge Head First Into Hell

In Doom: The Dark Ages, Low Health Isn’t a Death Sentence

When a player’s health gets low, enemies drop more health orbs, ultimately saving gamers from an untimely death. Doom: The Dark Ages is at its best when it brings unrelenting action to players, and addressing health drops this way incentivizes running into the conflict instead of retreating. There are some truly harrowing fights in Doom: The Dark Ages, and it’s easy to panic when one’s health dips below 50%, but id Software’s approach flips low health on its head.

Once players realize that lower health brings more health drops, it can be a game-changer. When a player’s health plummets, it now becomes an opportunity to truly jump into some serious chaos. The Doom franchise has maintained its reputation as a non-stop gore-fest, and turning low health into the ultimate chance to put the pedal to the metal keeps up the heart-racing pace of fights.

Other Games in the Action Genre Should Follow Suit

Since the Doom games give players a chance to have a hardcore power fantasy as the Slayer, it can really affect how one approaches playing. The more frequent health drops during low health moments only make sense, but there are other franchises that could benefit from this method just as much. Games like Halo, God of War, and Gears of War could potentially have a similar system that encourages players to fight on in spite of being on the verge of death.

While these three franchises are quite different to Doom, they all lean into power fantasies in different ways. Halo’s Master Chief is the best Spartan around, while God of War’s Kratos is a literal demigod. Gears of War taking the Doom: The Dark Ages approach could be a great way to immerse players in the role of Marcus Fenix, as charging forward despite the threat of certain death would be on brand. However, there are also plenty of reasons for these franchises to keep their current health systems, as they’re important to their overall identity, but Doom: The Dark Ages at least has a strong second option if their developers ever wanted a change.

Doom: The Dark Ages Balances New Ideas With Staple Features

Since the series was rebooted back in 2016, Doom has introduced some fresh features, like Glory Kills, but each new entry has also had fun with experimenting. When taking on enemies in Doom: The Dark Ages, a blend of being as aggressive as possible while also being methodical is key, and the franchise’s use of health drops makes combat a far more balanced and fun experience. Doom: The Dark Ages may not be the first in the series to use health drops this way, but it feels like the franchise’s most satisfying implementation yet.