Doom: The Dark Ages is one of the most anticipated games of 2025, coming May 15, and while I'm excited about it, I'm also a bit worried. Doom 2016 is one of the best modern shooters, and Doom Eternal proved to be a disappointing sequel, although not at first. I really enjoyed Doom Eternal on my first playthrough, but as time went on, it got old fast, and it's for a certain reason.

The core gameplay loop was poorly designed from a long-term standpoint, and Doom: The Dark Ages previews have looked incredible, but fixing this core issue is a must.

Doom Eternal Is Way Too Restrictive

Id Went Overboard

There are three key pillars in making a great old-school-style FPS game in the vein of Doom. There are the maps, the weapons, and the enemy roster. Many games excel in those last two. My personal favorite is Serious Sam, which has one switching weapons constantly to adapt to the current situation and enemy priorities. The visceral, enjoyable combat is the point, but Doom Eternal somehow couldn't do any of this organically.

The on-the-fly combat dynamic is essentially ruined in Doom Eternal because the ammo is so low that one will be forced to use other weapons regardless of whether they match the current situation. In games like Serious Sam or even Classic Doom, a player will switch weapons naturally in different combat scenarios due to how the enemies are designed around the guns.

Still, Doom Eternal forces them upon the player. This makes the combat significantly less interesting to play than other titles, but it gets even more problematic. Once a player gets good at Doom Eternal and learns the core loop, ammo isn't an issue, but the game itself becomes much less fun.

The Better You Get At Doom Eternal, The Worse It Gets

The Opposite Of What Should Happen

It's extremely telling that the opening of the Ancient Gods Part Two DLC outright tells the player how the game "should be played" for those who didn't get it. The core of Doom Eternal isn't the weapons or enemies but the loop of Glory Kills, Flame Belch, and the Chainsaw.

Playing well should be satisfying, feel great, and not a total bore.

Those last two are on cooldown timers, and to succeed in Doom Eternal, one has to use all three almost like a routine in combat. Doing this over and over again gets very old and, frankly, boring. It feels almost robotic over time, knowing that now is the time for a Flame Belch or a Chainsaw. This gameplay loop completely destroys the fun in freeform combat, adapting on the fly. Every combat encounter feels the same when one has to do the loop repeatedly.

One of my favorite games of all time is the Xbox 360 classic Ninja Gaiden 2, because every combat encounter feels different each time it's played. In contrast, Doom Eternal gets extremely stale. I have no interest in ever going back to this title because of it. A game should never get worse once you've mastered it. Playing well should be satisfying, make you feel great, and not be a total bore. Doom: The Dark Ages has to fix this crucial issue.

Doom: The Dark Ages Has To Be Different

It Must Be Good Long Term

It's frustrating that Doom Eternal was an actual run ride on the first playthrough, exploring and collecting secrets, but I just don't ever want to go back to it. Doom: The Dark Ages has to be fun in the long term. That's partially why Classic Doom still lives on 30 years later; the gameplay remains incredible to this day and never gets old.

Yes, most of it is due to the continued modding with fan-made megawads, but still, that wouldn't matter if the gameplay didn't hold up. Recently, Doom: The Dark Ages Official Trailer 2 dropped, and once again, it looks like a lot of fun and is definitely pushing these current-gen consoles. However, I thought the same thing about the trailers for Eternal, and I'm never going back to that game again. So, we'll have to wait until Doom: The Dark Ages releases to see how its combat compares.