For some, the hardest part of playing The Dark Ages will be letting go of Eternal. I see this game as an overcorrection from Eternal. DOOM is one of the most respected franchises ever, and while each entry has its own camp, nearly all of them are beloved by the majority of players. That said, there’s always an inevitable clash between industry trends and player expectations. Sometimes, pushing a franchise forward is necessary. I respect the fact id keeps trying but it's not always as easy to appreciate a work for what it is, though I still appreciate it's fresh.

If you thought Eternal was too "gamified," guess what? Dark Ages is also too gamified just in a different way. Sure, it’s more grounded and rounded across the board. I don’t know why people label this as a "stand and fight" game because, believe me, it’s not. It still has the DOOM run-and-gun mayhem at its core; it’s just not as rhythmically demanding as Eternal, where optimal play required using every weapon in your arsenal while platforming like a madman. I loved Eternal, but Dark Ages is more of an all-rounder. It’s still rhythmic in terms of parrying (the timing window is forgiving, so you’ll get it naturally), but you have more freedom in weapon choice. If you preferred 2016, this might address some of your issues though I doubt the 2016 camp will inherently fully embrace it.

Grenades are gone, replaced by a trusty shield that’s just as eager to chop enemies apart. Melee and close-quarters are better than ever. The weapons are creative enough to keep the flow engaging, and the BFG has been swapped for a BFC (a crossbow, obviously), which fits the theme quite well. I miss the Crucible already, there’s no equivalent here but it is what it is. Unfortunately, glory kills feel downgraded. I get why, but unless you approach enemies from specific angles, you’ll see the same few animations repeatedly. After Eternal’s variety, this left a sour taste.

I finished my Nightmare playthrough in about 18 hours, collecting around 3/4 of the upgrades and secrets. And that’s where my biggest gripe lies. Collectibles aren’t just codexes and toys they’re tied to upgrades, too. This baffles me. We’re drowning in soulslikes and RPGs, open worlds packed with busywork. I do that every month. Now I am doing more of the same in DOOM? I don’t see the necessity. If it were just a few levels, fine but most are sprawling, encouraging free-roaming exploration. At first, I welcomed it, but it got old fast. I lost focus and grew bored, the worst possible outcome in a DOOM game. Regardless, I still appreciate how some missions lets you take them at your own pace and do objectives in any order.

The levels themselves are monotonous and lack dynamism. This is another consequence of stepping back from Eternal, where some accused the game of turning into Mario Galaxy with its platforming. Fine, keeping traversal grounded is certainly a choice but the levels also lack distinction. Most look and play the same, with some elevation but nothing like Eternal’s verticality. You’ll mostly run circles in arenas.

Dark Ages is more accessible than Eternal, which some found demanding. In fact, it might be the most accessible DOOM yet. Achievements are easy to 100%, and Nightmare was rather easy until the final missions, where the game unapologetically spams enemies. The challenge wasn’t playing "Simon Says" with the parry cues but constantly getting hit from off-screen. It’s still tailored for hardcore players but is not an exact ''sweaty palms'' game like 2016 either. Dark Ages itself plays like a mediator between two different DOOM entries.

The mech (Atlan) and dragon sections are disappointingly shallow. The Atlan feels clunky, with little room for mastery—mostly just perfect dodges and button-mashing. The dragon is underwhelming, requiring lock-on attacks and more of the perfect dodges. You can’t park your dragon and freely explore; landing zones are predetermined. The only real interaction is chasing fleeing ships (loot goblins, essentially) to be rewarded by the mission challanges. It’s bland.

If you wanted cinematic presentation in DOOM for whatever reason, you’re in luck. Dark Ages has the most presentation in the series. Funny, considering 2016 initially prided itself on anti-narrative (though even it had unskippable cutscenes). Eternal drowned in convoluted lore dump, while The Dark Ages goes for a straightforward, cinematic approach. It’s easy to follow, and I don’t mind it being there but do I care? Honestly, hard to give a ♥♥♥♥.

The Slayer is still the dude. He rips, tears, and makes folk run for their life. But the rest of the cast? Generic military tropes, Sentinel war councils, and bits of outsider-vs.-locals perspective. It was interesting to see how the Slayer earned his place, but the storytelling relies on tired, overused set pieces. I don’t care about Sentinels war plans or whatsoever, just let me shoot something in the face.

The pacing also feels stretched. Unique bosses are unevenly spaced (you fight all in the last 3 chapters), and the only rune, Rage, is introduced late for gimmicky fights. I missed traditional power ups, this type of gameplay could have benefited greatly from them.

The guns still feel punchy, but mastery challenges only reward skins. I didn’t feel compelled to upgrade everything, sticking to one or two favorites. Each weapon has two mods (switchable anytime), and upgrades grant perks like the classic flame flares (armor on hit) for the shotgun its often associated with.

I recently revisited DOOM 3. Love it or hate it, it was a bold departure. Made during an era of industry experimentation, took risks. Newer DOOMs feel more like Painkiller than DOOM 3 in an ironic way. Players clearly love weapon-juggling, fast-paced combat, and arena shooters hence the indie boom of "retro-feel boomer shooters," many of which are even faster than this trilogy. Most aren’t true to DOOM's (or Duke 3D's) roots either, but that’s just how trends go.

I never opened the map until I hit a breaking point. Constantly checking the map isn’t something I associate with DOOM. If you love exploring every corner of given levels, more power to you. But this isn’t my idea of an FPS sandbox. I expect something more calculated and focused; Dark Ages sacrifices that precision of the former two for openness. Still thrilling, but its highs are lower due to design restrictions.

The new remix of the main theme (the one that greets you in the menu) is cool and all, but the rest of the BGM... If you could ask the soundtrack itself, it would agree that it misses Mick Gordon. At some point, Gordon had to move on, but it’s a shame how he departed. I don’t think the new tracks are as memorable as those in the former two. Must be a part of why I got bored. The music has the similar tunes, sure, but is not as vibrant, intense and energetic. Instead it's more flat and obviously far less experimental although some might still find it catchy. The mixing needs some serious help however.

DOOM strangely followed Tomb Raider's path so far, a beloved franchise from '90s making a strong comeback with arguably a great reboot debut, followed by a more divisive sequel and finishes up with a messier entry. That's just how I interpret it. What's next? Another reboot? That I don't know but I do know this: Dark Ages is still a good game. It's just not my type of jam. Each to their own, I don't feel apologetic as I hated both RAGEs hence feel like id sometimes do miss the mark but the ongoing theme here is clear enough. It's what you prefer. To me, Dark Ages will remain the weakest link of the new trio. Maybe it should take a longer break but whatever's next, I want to believe it'll be always good to play more of DOOM. The lack of multiplayer is saddening actually.


[Turn on auto sprint on btw]

★★★½☆☆
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Expedition 33 needs not any introduction like its relentless protagonists. As the word-of-mouth did its job, Clair Obscur did hit 129k concurrent players as I was typing this. It's now (to my knowledge) #3 JRPG on Steam.

Expedition 33 are the ones who continue when one falls. To speak of Expedition 33 is to speak of persistence and human tenacity, the unyielding march forward. Congratulations to Sandfall on becoming the newest darling of a studio, progressing the industry and giving people a sense of hope. From its first reveal, its Belle Époque-infused world delighted me and I had a gut feeling that its narrative would shape up to be something unique and special, I was desperately trying to find an early copy. Little did I know how it would completely consume me and check all the boxes. An instant classic...

Though, I must admit I am not as surprised it came from an AA budget project compared to AAA behemoths. Alan Wake II was a declaration already, a $50 million incantation made by around 130 folk with a 4 years of dev time? Immediately became a beacon in survival horror’s renaissance. It dared to step up and differ, and for that, it forever earned my respect. And the JRPG landscape, though still fertile with remasters and remakes, had grown complacent. Yet here, a studio who 'dares to try' emerges. It's no less audacious than AW2. It's not only a statement it's a whole ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ testament. A scripture. Of what can be achieved with humble beginnings. For that alone, it deserves all the reverence.

Speaking of humble beginnings, let's revisit KCD that had one. Also recall Split Fiction that still offers twin copies for only $50. Two GOTY frontrunners of 2025. Now, Clair Obscur makes a devestating debut. Perhaps this is just how should you be treating a new IP after all. The AA revival itself truly feels like a vindication. And Clair Obscur, priced at a generous $50 (further chastened by launch discounts), has already slipped the bonds of expectation. Physical copies vanish around the world including JP and the USA, the collectors edition is already a relic in auction houses, in span of a week!

Statistics are mere footnotes. What is Clair Obscur, truly?

It is the razor’s edge between life and death. It is grief and obsession ossified into ritual, trying to cling to ghosts, to illusions, to the fragile beauty of fantasy. Loss calcified into addiction. Its narrative is a blade-sharp, deliberate, cutting deep within the very first hour. Never lets you lose your interest. From top to bottom, start to finish the narration is incredible. So is the worldbuilding, the twists, characterization and the backstories. The little shared moments at the camp through relationship levels and are damn well done. It manages to tell a classic tale with such a fresh way. That's such a strength that gives whole another life to a work. It wields the macabre with such a precision, yet leavens its sorrow with humor, with fleeting beauty. Even its comedy-relief characters are more fleshed than the hollow protagonists of today's releases.

Its genius is not confined to storytelling. Its filmmaking stands shoulder-to-shoulder with TLOU Part II and AW2. Each frame, each colour, each set piece is a monument to intentionality. I have not been so grabbed since FF7/X injected their spells into my youth. The score, too, is a revelation: original compositions that each and every one of them do matter, each of the 33 collectible records (that you can play at your camp just like Lies of P) a vial of distilled emotion. Metaphor was robbed of its Best Soundtrack crown at the TGA, but here, you MUST NOT go wrong.

The voice cast is stellar. It was already making noises with Charlie Cox’s Gustave, Andy Serkis’s Renoir (great great stuff), Ben Starr’s Verso, Jennifer English’s Maelle but everyone else does equally matter. Even the optional expedition journals, voiced like tragic epistles, add layers to the world.

As someone who crowned Metaphor last year’s GOTY, I now must bow to Clair Obscur. Where Metaphor honored JRPG traditions, this feels like the genre’s platonic ideal. It surely borrows popular systems and mechanics though smartly: checkpoint expedition flags, respawning enemies, a parry/dodge system that demands mastery. The turn-based core remains familiar. Buff-stacking, weakness exploitation but the parry mechanic adds a thrilling edge even though it's a bit too rewarding to a point that it would make everything secondary. It's still tough to master parry to a such perfection so I can give that a pass. Regardless, I'd believe the parry (perfect dodges if you can't afford parries) is the bone of the game.

Balancing can clearly be tough but I can’t ignore that it perhaps might be Clair Obscur’s weakest aspect. Act 3 stumbles slightly. Overleveling trivializes the finale, draining its weight. So if you plan to see everything before the ending: please don’t.

I love breaking games, pushing the limits. Exploiting, trivializing, abusing systems. I despise scaling (none here). My issue isn’t with Clair Obscur’s philosophy, categorically I am not opposed to it, but with its structure: the endgame plays like post-game content. You should save it for after the credits (something I didn’t realize at the time). Though it also makes sense (in-game explanation) why your state is reversed back to the final boss after beating the game.

Aside from Simon, I steamrolled the late-game. Quite unintentionally. His fight is the exception. A brutal skill check demanding perfection. On paper, he’s the pinnacle of design: a test of survival and optimized damage output. In practice? I couldn’t beat him fairly and resorted to cheese. The rest of the bosses? Often so easy you’re forced to hold back to baby them. I don't know what's the regular player experience here but something feels off.

I know these are all player choice but the Pictos (equippable perks that grant game-breaking power) are both a blessing and a curse. Double turns, resurrections, damage-cap removal. They enable absurd builds but obliterate balance. My goal in any first playthrough is simple: crush foes as efficiently as possible. If you prefer restraint, you can self-limit, but would most players?

And no, this isn’t just about Maelle’s 100m one-shots. Verso demands precision, while Maelle (especially /w Lune) melts bosses risk-free via stacked multipliers. The damage cap til Act 3 also feels off, why use ‘extreme dmg’ moves when multi-hit spam outperforms them? It’s a system at odds with itself.

The overworld has too minor frustrations. No minimap, compass or markers. Occasional janky traversal (you can get stuck but easily reload a previous save, no biggies there) until Esquie (a truly godlike entity and the most influential philosopher alive) grants flight. Landmarks eventually orient you as you familiarize them, but early on, the map becomes a crutch, opened and closed in a cycle. The UI is clean but unremarkable. Movement can feel janky, though it adds annoying fun to parkour challenges like Gestral's 'Only Up' minigame. Animations, however, are consistently excellent.

It's mostly optimized well with occasional drops. Don't let that fact disrupt you from realizing it does work well in spite of UE5. It's a budget game so I do understand using built-in options like Lumen but it's messy. And here we are still tweaking '.ini'.

Clair Obscur is that rare complete package, a true all-rounder. Great pacing, never a dull moment. Its few flaws pale against its triumphs, making forgiveness effortless. In an era of compromised releases, it doesn't just deserve leniency it makes the case for why we should still believe in ambitious games. Few recent releases demand such generosity; fewer still so thoroughly earn it. And, I like to honour those who dares.

Tomorrow comes.
★★★★★

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