Recreating the ‘Classic Doom’ Experience with Dark Ages Difficulty Sliders

Hugo Martin, the seasoned director of the forthcoming Doom: The Dark Ages, recently opened up about the game’s new difficulty sliders—a topic that’s sparked plenty of chatter among fans. These sliders offer players the chance to tweak gameplay speed, projectile speed and damage, enemy aggression, and how much damage both the player and foes can withstand.

This latest installment marks the eighth entry in the storied Doom saga and explores the ascent of the famed Doom Slayer, the series’ iconic hero. Speculation has been swirling since early this year that Doom: The Dark Ages might arrive on the rumored Nintendo Switch 2. April 2 is shaping up to be an exciting date when more details could be unveiled at Nintendo’s anticipated Switch 2 showcase, potentially indicating if this title will accompany the console’s launch or be added to its growing library later.

On Doom’s official Twitter channel, Martin shared a concise video delving into the game’s difficulty sliders. Stressing the flexibility these sliders offer, Martin highlighted that the game could be made “super hard or super easy,” aligning with id Software’s philosophy. “If we’re gonna allow you to slow the game down, we have to enable you to speed the game up,” he said, emphasizing a balanced approach across the board. Additionally, classic Doom titles have seen recent updates this year, featuring improvements, patches, and multiplayer mod support across multiple platforms. For those yearning for the nostalgic chaos of earlier Doom titles in The Dark Ages, these difficulty sliders can replicate that feel.

Martin gave an illustration of classic Doom fun by discussing how altering projectile speed can invoke the retro “shmup” sensibility of earlier Doom games. “It’s a great way to enhance the three-dimensional shmup, the bullet hell adventure that classic Doom provides,” Martin elaborated. Notably, as this medieval adventure serves as a prelude, it cleverly hints at earlier entries (or later, considering chronological order) in id’s collection, thanks to these nods.

While the adjustable difficulty aims to offer every player a tailored gameplay journey, Martin has had to counter criticisms suggesting these sliders might dilute Doom: The Dark Ages’ challenge factor. Some classic Doom enthusiasts worry this feature could simplify combat, undermining the series’ hallmark intensity. Martin, however, stands by the feature, reassuring that while it can ease the challenge, it can also ramp up the difficulty considerably.