Secrets In Doom: The Dark Ages One thing I loved about Doom (2016) and Doom Eternal is how neither game hands things to you. Sure, you had a comprehensive arsenal of weapons, but learning how to best utilise them and transform yourself into a killing machine was something only players could bring to life.

If you fail to learn the synergy shared between weapons, the importance of weak points, mods, or mechanics like the flame belch or grenade launcher, you are going to have a far harder time reaching the end of the campaign. id Software created an experience that could deliver the perfect power fantasy, but only if you were willing to work for it.

Doom Games Wouldn’t Be The Same Without Secrets

The same philosophy can be applied to secrets in both modern Doom titles. Some are easy to stumble across, and you’ll do so naturally due to your own curious need to explore and the chaotic rushing of Doom’s gameplay. But others are deviously hidden, or even require specific actions from the player just so they appear. Classic levels in the original reboot spring to mind, and how you’re required to pull levers hidden in the level before even gaining access to these retro distractions.

It wasn’t uncommon to reach the end of a level and be flummoxed by how many secrets you had missed despite spending ample time exploring and going over every nook and cranny. It spoke to how creative and layered the level design truly was, and how merely spotting some secrets was only a part of actually discovering them. To earn the collectible or even the true satisfaction of unlocking a secret, you needed to figure out how to get there, defeat enemies, or some other contextual action that made replaying levels a joy.

The player zaps a zombie to pieces with a plasma rifle in Doom Eternal

It almost reminds me of replaying levels in the Lego titles, especially since you are often doing so with more weapons and abilities than ever before.

After finishing my review playthrough of Doom: The Dark Ages and hoovering up most of its secrets, I briefly revisited the two previous games to see how they measured up. All three take notably different approaches to gameplay and world design, so it was worth doing a brief comparison.

But what I noticed right away is how more challenging and complex most of Eternal is compared to its successor. It is more difficult, more complicated in level design, and has secrets that most normal players will either miss or won’t have the patience to seek out. It encourages repeated playthroughs, but I can’t say the same for The Dark Ages.

And Doom: The Dark Ages Puts Secrets On The Backburner

A landscape shot of hell from id software's Doom.

Don’t get me wrong, Doom: The Dark Ages is a good game, as you can read about in my full review, but it’s also the weakest of the trilogy. Its ‘Stand and Fight’ mantra puts parrying your enemies and exploring larger, less complicated locations at the forefront. As a consequence, most of the secrets you uncover aren’t intricately hidden within levels in ways that are either challenging or natural, but instead are simply placed around corners or sometimes positioned right in front of you. It’s like id Software doesn’t want you to miss anything.

This makes the act of exploring levels and chasing the completionist dragon less engaging, and replaying them at all far less exciting, because on the first run there’s a huge chance you’ll already have seen everything they had to offer.

The Doom Slayer and the dragon in Doom: The Dark Ages.

I was rushing through things to nail an embargo, and even then, I finished most levels with only a couple of wayward secrets yet to discover. With challenge levels and slayer gates no longer a thing in The Dark Ages, there are only a couple of secret encounters in each level worth bothering with, and few of them are hard.

The predictable nature of the objectives you are asked to complete isn’t helpful in this notable lack of secrets either, since they follow a pattern that soon grows tired.

Doom: The Dark Ages is larger in scope with both its level design and enemy encounters, but this increase in size has resulted in a notable suppression of ambition. It wants to give players a power fantasy with a more malleable feeling of challenge – which is no bad thing and the accessibility features on offer here are wonderful – but it’s hard to deny the finished product isn’t lacking in worthwhile secrets or a desire to experience this adventure a second time.

I feel like I’m done with it, while Doom (2016) and Eternal are, well, eternal.